Chuck and Chuck Wagon

Chuck and Chuck Wagon terms which belong to the era of the cowboy in the west of the USA. Chuck was what they ate, and the chuck wagon was where the cook prepared it. ‘Come an’ Get It’ was the cry with which the cook announced that food was ready. It is also the title of the admirable book by Adams (1952) which records with picturesque details the equipment and supplies of the chuck wagon, the idiosyncrasies of the cooks and their helpers (called wranglers), and the nature of the food (in which loomed large meat stews, such as sonofabitch stew, sourdough bread, dry biscuits, ‘frijoles and fluff-duffs’, and strong coffee often without sugar but with insects and Carnation milk).