DOWNEY — Roy Hansen took on a new name after he spent two years in Soda Springs living in a teepee with a coyote pup.

Friends now call Hansen, the president of the southeast Idaho chapter of American Mountain Men, “Crazy Cyot.”

“They figured I was part coyote, so they gave me a name that was only part coyote,” Hansen said. “And also, being dyslexic, that was how I spelled it the first few times, so it kind of stuck.”

Hansen’s organization has five members locally and about 10 statewide. Members must master 20 requirements, which include learning Plains Indian sign language, trapping, demonstrating and teaching primitive wilderness-survival skills and camping in all seasons. No modern equipment is allowed on campouts.

Before Hansen sews a mountain man outfit, he checks ledgers, journals, diaries, paintings and other bits of information from the past to make sure it’s authentic. July 10, Hansen plans on taking a 75-mile horse ride and camping trip into the mountains.

Roy “Crazy Cyot” Hansen breaks a Spanish Barb horse Thursday evening at his home.
Journal photo by John O’Connell.

He has three Spanish Barb horses on his 35-acre Downey property — Spanish Barbs were the first horses introduced to America.

Hansen, a former Astaris worker, said he hopes to make his living dressing in pre-1820 mountain-man garb and lecturing at schools and museums. To join American Mountain Men or book Hansen for a lecture, contact him at 897-0577. Let the questions begin.

ISJ: What is your favorite food?

Hansen: Camas and buffalo hump rib.

ISJ: If you could have dinner with one famous person, who would it be?

Hansen: Joe Meek, the merry mountain man, or Jim Bridger.

ISJ: If you could return to any age, what age would you be and why?

Hansen: Thirty — old enough to know better and still young enough not to care.

ISJ: What is your favorite appliance?

Hansen: My muzzleloading rifle.

ISJ: If you won the lottery, how would you spend the money?

Hansen: I’d buy a chunk of ground in northern Idaho that was so far back away from things you’d be hard-pressed to find me.

ISJ: What was the last good book you read?

Hansen: “My Life in the Rocky Mountains,” by Ferris. It’s a journal of a mountain man that came out west and was in this part of the country.

ISJ: What was your favorite vacation?

Hansen: Horseback riding in the Teton wilderness for five days, done mountain-man style of course — pre-1840 style, no modern stuff.

ISJ: What was the best day of your life?

Hansen: The day when I won that lottery ticket. Of course, it ain’t come yet.

ISJ: What is in your refrigerator?

Hansen: A beaver tail, a deer hide waiting to be brained, some brains to tan the hide with and some half-soured milk.

ISJ: What was the best piece of advice you ever received?

Hansen: Don’t do that again.

ISJ: What is the best and worst invention ever patented?

Hansen: The car made life easier and made man soft. That’s the worst. The horse is the best.

ISJ: What is your favorite movie?

Hansen: “The Mountain Man” with Charlton Heston and Brian Keith. I was an extra in that movie.

ISJ: What chores do you do around the house?

Hansen: Break horses, pack rocks for the wife, mend fences and dig holes.

ISJ: What is your idea of the perfect vacation?

Hansen: Riding horseback from here to Canada — hopefully someday.

ISJ: Favorite entertainer?

Hansen: Joe Meek and his tall tales.

ISJ: What is your ideal last meal?

Hansen: The one that never comes. My ideal meal would be buffalo tongue and bodins (the intestines of a buffalo stuffed with meat).

ISJ: What is your greatest fear?

Hansen: Getting thrown off a horse down a cliff or running nose-to-nose with a hungry grizzly bear without a gun.

ISJ: When was the last time you told a lie?

Hansen: The last time I spoke. I just don’t let the truth get in the way of telling a good story.

ISJ: What can’t you do that you wish you could?

Hansen: Make a living full time like the original mountain men did living off the land.

ISJ: What is your motto?