Huckleberries grow in the Pacific Northwest region and the mountains of Montana and Idaho in North America. They can usually be found on the lower slopes of mountains. Walking along the "Road to the Sun" at St Mary's (the Eastern side of Glacier National park), we saw thousands of blooming bushes.
The huckleberry has fleshy fruit with 10 small stones, differing in this respect from the blueberry, so that the fruits, although tasty, are rather crunchy. They're a favorite and a staple of the Black and Grizzly bears in the summer months. A bear will munch on them for up to 14 hours a day in the summer, consuming as many as 30,000 berries a day.
So why the name "Huckleberry"? This is where my story derails for a bit:
Huckle means a hip or a haunch. Also refers to a projecting bunch of something or a part like a hip. Best I can guess is that the bushes grow about hip high so it seems like a good fit.
It turns out, huckleberry also refers to a large group of similar berries which grow in other places in the US. In the South, the huckleberry is actually red and sometimes called the "Southern Cranberry". Huckleberries in the south made me think of Mark Twain and "Huckleberry Finn". Why did he name his character that?
Mark Twain / Samuel Clemons: What's in a name? - in his book "Life on the Mississippi", the author states that "Mark Twain" was the call made when the steam boat was in safe water. Twain = two fathoms (12 feet). A good name for an author who wrote so much about life along the river.
As for the name Huckleberry Finn, that part is a little sketchy. Huck Finn was supposedly modeled after Twain's childhood friend, Tom Blankenship. Twain says about Tom in his autobiography,
"he was ignorant, unwashed, insufficiently fed; but he had as good a heart as ever any boy had... I heard (later in life) he was a justice of the peace in a remote village in Montana and was a good citizen and greatly respected." There are lots of huckleberries in Montana...
Twain did hear of the phrase Huckleberry as he was creating the character and found it meant someone insignificant and rustic. He also knew of the huckleberry bush from writers like Thoreau who described it as
"a plant that does not submit to cultivation and tastes best when picked wild." Some say Twain just liked the sound of the name "Huck Finn".
During that same time period "I'm your huckleberry" also meant, “I’m just the man you’re looking for” or “I’m the man for the job.” It can also carry a darker meaning as "Hucklebearer" was a term used in the old south for pallbearer.
Doc Holliday is quoted as telling Johnny Ringo, a member of the notorious Clanton Gang, "I'm your Huckleberry" or maybe he said "Hucklebearer", he had a strong southern drawl... This quote was made famous in the western film "
Tombstone" where Doc Holliday was played by Val Kilmer. Some believe his real meaning was "I'll play any game you want but you'll not like the outcome."
The Tombstone shoot out was Oct. 21, 1881 and Mark Twain published the first of several Tom Sawyer books starting in 1876, so Tom and Huck were well known by then. Because Doc was an avid reader, maybe he knew the character "Huckleberry Finn".
And since I'm a cartoon fan - What gives with the cartoon character "Huckleberry Hound"? I guess his southern drawl and laid back, carefree demeanor could be seen as a tribute to the Twain Character.
Now that I've taken you down this confusing, but hopefully entertaining path, I'll finish with the message I originally intended -
Huckleberries make damn good pie!
Bonus point if you can name this character...
