Not a pion-wrangler, after all....

[stoutfellow]

Prompted by a reference in Dunnett's Race of Scorpions, I just looked up the etymology of "pioneer". It turns out that the root "pion-" comes from the same root as "pawn", or foot-soldier. A pioneer, originally, was a guy who went out ahead of the infantry and made sure they could get through - laying down roads, building bridges, generally doing the things an army engineer does. Its extension to people in Conestogas and to innovators of all kinds seems straightforward; but I wouldn't have guessed its origins.