travois [< Cdn F (dial.var. of travail) < F travail one of the shafts by which a wheeled vehicle is drawn] Hist.
1 n. a simple wheel-less conveyance originally used by the Indians and made of two poles on which was a platform or net for holding a load, the contrivance being pulled by a dog. [See picture.]
See also: dog travail dog travois train ((2)) (def. 2) travail (def. 2)
2 n. a larger conveyance of similar design, drawn by a horse or pony, the shafts often being teepee poles. [See picture.]
See also: horse travail(le) travail (def. 1)
3a n. any of a number of similar simple drags.
3b n. Lumbering a kind of horse- or ox-drawn drag consisting of two poles or shafts bent so that their ends rode flat along the ground, 4 cross-pieces being fixed to these poles to serve as abed for a platform to carry a load or the butt of a log being skidded to the bank.
See also: bogan ((2)) crotch jumper ((1)) (def. 1b)
4 n. a logging road or skid road along which a travois (def. 3b) was pulled.