travois

American  

[truh-voi] / trəˈvɔɪ /

noun

plural

travois

1. a transport device, formerly used by the Plains Indians, consisting of two poles joined by a frame and drawn by an animal.

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travois British  

/ trəˈvɔɪ /

noun

1. a sled formerly used by the Plains Indians of North America, consisting of two poles joined by a frame and dragged by an animal

2. a similar sled used for dragging logs

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Etymology

Origin of travois

1840–50; pseudo-French spelling of earlier travoy < North American French; compare Canadian French travail shaft of a cart to which the horse is hitched, French: frame in which unruly horses are held while they are shod (probably < Late Latin trepālium; see travail)

Example Sentences

In particular, a scene where Captain Henry and his men strap Glass' immobilized body to a travois and try to drag it up a steep, snow-slicked cliff recalls Fitzcarraldo in miniature.

From The Verge • Dec. 4, 2015

I was more than a little smug, trundling down the hill, helping to maneuver the weight of a full-grown buck on the travois we’d strapped together out of branches and sinew.

From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline

There were both men and women, and many of the ponies were dragging the pole travois upon which burdens were transported across the plains.

From The War Trail by Gregor, Elmer Russell

The travois as used at that time was similar to the example shown in plate 14, although the latter was in use by the Cheyenne a generation later.

From Villages of the Algonquian, Siouan, and Caddoan Tribes West of the Mississippi by Bushnell, David Ives

Joining them, I found Bache reclining in his travois and blazing away at some objects in the pool below him.

From Campaigning with Crook and Stories of Army Life by King, Charles