Tags
Beaver Dick, Great Britain, historical signposts, humiliating nicknames, Idaho, Jim Bridger, mountain men, obscure historical figures, Richard Leigh, suggestive nicknames, Tardsie, Tardsie The Backpack, unfortunate nicknames
By Smaktakula
Of the British-born Richard Leigh, who would rise to relative obscurity as the mountain man Beaver Dick, little is known or cared.
Unsurprisingly, When You Type "Beaver" And "Dick" Into A Search Engine, This Is One Of The Few Non-Pornographic Results.
Said to trail in fame only Jim Bridger and a handful of other mountain men no living man can name, Leigh’s humiliating nickname lives on through historical signposts.
Promethean Times' Ombudsman Tardsie The Backpack Traveled A Long Way To Find Beaver Dick.
Fan of shitty nicknames? You’ll find more here:
Promethean Times 
This post makes me giggle a little…mainly because my cousin, uncle and my grandfather are all Richard Leyh (the name is of german decent). Reason it makes me giggle the most…my uncle has the unfortunate luck of being the “Dick Leyh” in the family. My cousin is Rich, my grandfather went by Gordon (their middle name). Thought you’d appreciate it 🙂
Appreciate it we do. Thanks for the comment, Beth, and blessings to all the Dicklays out there!
I just wanted to thank you for printing the picture of my grandfather,grandmother, and their children(William,Little Rose, and my grandma Emma(far right). I met Rose a couple of years before she died,I was about 20 years old. Dick is buried near the Teton Dam site…he owned all that land there and trapped beaver on up the Teton and over towards Jackson,Wyo…..there are still quite a few descendants out here..and we are proud of his funny name……things didn’t mean the same back in those days…glen kirk
Thanks for the response, Glen. We’re amazed that someone descended from a long line of Dicks would be so cool.
In all seriousness, we do appreciate your reply and your good-natured response to our rather ungenerous portrayal of your ancestor. Thank you for sharing that bit of history with us. What a fantastic opportunity to have met Rose and by doing so bridge the gulf of time. If you have children, we’re sure they appreciate that story.
I stumbled to this page. This was my 12 stumble to your site, so I am now going to keep count how many times I hit upon it. Still love the site, but you already know that.
Did Dick ever have a white wife? My mother told me we were related to him some how. The woman died and her children to.
Richard Beaver Dick Leigh had two wives both Indian. Beaver Dicks daughter Emma was my suragate Grandmother. Anyone who laughs at Beaver Dick would also laugh at all those people
he guided through the Yellowstone valley.