The Cherokee Swamper

I met a swamper once in the Edmonton Greyhound terminal. She was an Oklahoma Cherokee, and she was headed north to the oilfields of Fort Mac to help support her family of seven siblings. She told me she really wanted to be a journalist, but her English was not too good.

I, a journalist, was in awe. What could be more romantic than being a Cherokee swamper from Oklahoma?

Some of the traditional jobs in the North American petroleum industry have wild and wonderful names; they’re a kind of folk poetry. See if you can guess what each of the following workers actually does.

Answers tomorrow.

Roustabout
Slasher
Toolpusher
Hot shot driver
Swamper
Derrickman
Power tong operator
Mud logger
Roughneck