Kevin's How To Speak Butte

Kevin Shannon is co-author with Jim Edwards of the book Memories of a Mining Camp, a collection of poems, yarns and expressions that were unique to Butte.

Instead of saying "Take it easy," we say "Tap ’er light," an old expression that goes back to hand drilling the holes for the dynamite in the mines. One guy was holding the steel and turning it while the other was pounding it to bore the hole. The guy holding, worried about getting his hand whacked, would say, "Tap ’er light."

When they switched to electric drilling, the expressing became "Tamp ’er light" meaning to be careful tapping the blasting powder sticks into the hole.

"Cousin Jacks" were the lads from Cornwall, England. The Cornish introduced the famous pasty (a pastry-wrapped meal of meat, onions and potatoes). They called it a "Letter from Ome."

The pasty quickly caught on with most of Butte’s ethnic groups and, today, pasties are as popular, both for take-out and in restaurants, as they were with the miners.