bois de vache

American  

[bwah duh vash] / ˌbwɑ də ˈvæʃ /

noun

1. dried buffalo dung, used as fuel by Canadian and U.S. fur trappers in the 18th and 19th centuries.

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Etymology

Origin of bois de vache

1835–45, < Prairie Canadian French: literally, buffalo wood ( vache buffalo, French: cow)

Example Sentences

The bois de vache was collected, a fire was kindled, and hump steaks, spitted on sticks, were soon sputtering in the blaze.

From The Scalp Hunters by Stewart, F.A.

Stopping near its bank, we gathered bois de vache, and made a meal of buffalo meat.

From The Oregon Trail: sketches of prairie and Rocky-Mountain life by Parkman, Francis

Beyond this stream we traveled over high and level prairies, halting at small ponds and holes of water, and using for our fires the bois de vache, the country being without timber.

From The Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, Oregon and California To which is Added a Description of the Physical Geography of California, with Recent Notices of the Gold Region from the Latest and Most Authentic Sources by Frémont, John Charles

Last year’s signs of them were provokingly abundant; and wood being extremely scarce, we found an admirable substitute in the bois de vache, which burns exactly like peat, producing no unpleasant effects.

From Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 7 by Sylvester, Charles Herbert

It was the bois de vache, or buffalo “chips,” as it is called by the trappers; and they knew that where this was found, the buffaloes themselves would not be far off.

From The Boy Hunters by Unknown