This is an excerpt from the 8-page glossary published in Woman War Chief.

Algonquin language

The language of the Arapaho, Blackfeet, Cheyenne, Atsina, and Plains Cree.

American Fur Company

Company created by John Jacob Astor, the most powerful fur company in the United States.

Astorians

Wilson Price Hunt led an American Fur Company overland expedition to the Pacific Coast in 1811-12 to establish trade with the Far East. The trading post was named Astoria and the members of the expedition were called the "Astorians." The project failed due mainly to the War of 1812 with the British.

Apache

This tribe was composed of the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Mescalero, San Carlos, White Mountain, and Kiowa-Apache tribes. They lived in the Southwest plains and spoke an Athapaskan dialect.

Arapaho

Speaking an Alogonquin dialect, the Arapaho lived in the Upper Platte River country. They were closely allied with the Cheyenne tribe.

Arikara

A war-like tribe which lived in earthen lodges along the Missouri River. They spoke a Caddoan dialect and were related to the Pawnee tribe.

Atsina

This tribe lived on or near the Milk and Saskatchewan Rivers in northern Montana and Alberta, Canada. They were also called the Gros Ventre of the Prairies as well as the White Clay People. They spoke an Algonquian dialect, were an offshoot of the Arapaho, and at times were allied with the Blackfoot Confederacy.

Bannock

A branch of the Northern Paiute tribe, these people dwelled in southeastern Idaho. They spoke a Uto-Aztecan dialect and were usually allied with the Snake River and Mountain Shoshone.

Bateau

A light boat with a flat bottom, tapered at both ends.

Big Horn Hot Springs

This famous spring is now called "Thermopolis" and is located in northern Wyoming on the Bighorn River. Its temperature ranges between 128 and 130 degrees Fahrenheit and it flows at three million gallons per day. As the heated water evaporates, it leaves large mounds of travertine deposits that resemble ice floes. Where the hot water enters the Bighorn River, temperatures vary from very hot to cold the farther you get from the flow. Today several commercial bathhouses and a state park are located at the spring.

Big Muddy River

Many Indians and early mountain men referred to the Missouri River as the "Big Muddy."

Blackfeet

The Algonquian-speaking Blackfoot Confederacy consisted of the Piegan, Blood and Northern Blackfeet or Siksika tribes. They controlled the upper reaches of the Missouri River, its tributaries, and the Saskatchewan River region of Alberta, Canada. They were friendly with the British but hostile to Americans and were constantly at war with the Crow. Bois d' arc This wood is also called Osage orangewood. The Plains Indians favored it for bow-making. The tree has a white, sticky sap and is easily identified by its large green apples. Calumet The long, ornamental smoking pipe of the Plains Indians was usually made from a red stone quarried in Minnesota. The pipestone was named "Catlinite" after the painter of North American Indians, George Catlin.

Cayuse

A tribe that resided in the northwest and spoke a Penutian dialect. They were related to and allied with their neighbors, the Nez Perce. Like the Nez Perce, the Cayuse were excellent horse breeders.

Columbia Fur Company

This fur company was founded and administered by Kenneth Mackenzie for trade in the Rocky Mountains. In 1828 the firm was taken over by John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company.

  Woman War Chief also includes a 6-page, 2-column index to help readers locate items, places and
   individuals of interest (example below). The index is only included in the print versions, not the eBook.

Excerpts from Woman War Chief © by Jerry A. Matney

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