Buying the Wind
Regional Folklore in the United States
9780226158624
Buying the Wind
Regional Folklore in the United States
This anthology of regional folklore displays the abundance, humor, and continuing vigor of the American oral tradition. The collection explores rich and distinctive lore of Maine Down-Easters, Pennsylvania Dutchmen, Southern mountaineers, Louisiana Cajuns, Illinois Egyptians, Southwest Mexicans, and Utah Mormons.
Their tales, songs, riddles, proverbs, games, superstitions, and customs provide a wealth of living folklore presented here as it was recorded in the field. And this unvarnished folklore fact—retains the spicy flavor of authentic narrative, told in the vernacular of the skillful folk storyteller.
Their tales, songs, riddles, proverbs, games, superstitions, and customs provide a wealth of living folklore presented here as it was recorded in the field. And this unvarnished folklore fact—retains the spicy flavor of authentic narrative, told in the vernacular of the skillful folk storyteller.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Collecting Oral Folklore in the United States
I. Maine Down -Easters
1. Sea Traditions
Bad Luck at Sea
Buying the Wind
The Haunted Ship "Resolution"
The Sailor Who Went Inland
2. Hero Legends of Barney Beal
Barney Kills a Horse with his Fist
Barney Beal Kills Prize Fighter
Barney Beal Lifts Rock out of Dory
Feats of Barney
How Barney Beal Awed the Bully of Peak’s Island
How Barney Beal Got the Bump on his Nose
The Cause of Barney’s Death
3. Witches and Spirits
Mother Hicks the Witch
Calling Up the Spirits
Curses of Emma Alley
Treasure Guardians
Forerunners
4. Anecdotes of Local Characters
Anecdotes of Captain Horace Smith
Anecdotes of Art Church
Personal Anecdotes of Curt Morse
5. Jocular Tales
Stories about Couples
Stories about a Man
Stories about a Woman
Stories about Irishmen
6. Local Ballads
The Serenade
The Injun Devil
Eben Stanwood the Peddler
The Champion of Moose Hill
The Jam on Gurry’s Rock
II. Pennsylvania Dutchmen
1. Brauche and Hexe
The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses
Detecting the Witch
Stilling the Blood
The Golden Ring
The Bewitched Automobile
2. Farm Folk Beliefs
Stockraising and the Barnyard
Planting, Sowing, and Reaping
3. Belief Tales
Christmas Eve in the Stable
Sewing on Ascension Day
Taking Off of the Moon
4. Noodle Tales
Eileschpijjel
The Great Need
Counting Noses
The Swabian Wedge
5. Proverbs
Farm Sayings
Personal and Local Proverbs
Wellerisms
6. Proverbial Tales
Think Thrice Before You Speak
The Best of Three (I)
The Best of Three (II)
7. Riddles
The Riddle of Ilo
Riddles of the Farm
8. Songs
"We Journey to America"
"When I Came to This Country"
"The Merztown Cornet Band"
III. Southern Mountaineers
1. Jack Tales
Jack the Giant Killer
Quare Jack
2. Jocular Tales
The King and Old George Buchanan
Kentucky Highland Jets
North Carolina Mountain Jests
3. Murder Legends and Ballads
The Crying Stair Well
Old Foster
"Lula Voyers"
"The Murder of Lottie Yates"
"Zeb Tourney’s Gal"
4. Cante Fables
The Cante Fable in Eastern Kentucky
A Cante Fable in North Carolina
5. Riddles
6. Folk Drama
Survivals of Old Folk Drama in the Kentucky Mountains
The Christmas Play
The Turkish Knight
7. Carols
"Mummers’ Carol"
"The Cherry Tree Carol"
IV. Louisiana Cajuns
1. Folkways
Folkways of Avoyelles Parish
2. Contes Populaires
Bouki and Lapin in the Smokehouse
Bouki and the Rabbit and the Well
Foolish John and the Errands
Foolish John and Parsley
Roclore
The Frog and the Princess
The Mouse, the Sausage, and the Bird
3. Folk Doctors
"Traiteurs" or Folk Doctors in Southwest Louisiana
4. Conjure, Hoodoo, and Gris-Gris
Conjure
Hoodoo
Gris-Gris
5. Riddles
6. Nicknames
7. Folk Celebration
Country Mardi Gras
"La Danse de Mardi Gras"
8. Chansons
Acculturation in Cajun Folk Music
"Eyòuss que t’es marriage"
"Le mariage anglais"
V. Illinois Egyptians
1. Place Names
"Egypt"—A Wandering Place-Name Legend
2. Ghosts
Ghost-Stories in Egypt
The Ghost and the Sewing Machine
The Avenging Voice
The Dutchman’s Ghost Story
The Ghosts of Dug Hill
The Flying Wagon
The Dutton Hill Ghost
The Miser’s Gold
The Girl Who Died of Fright
Buried Alive
3. Bogies
Chat Carla
The McConnall Banshee
4. Witches
The Witch Who Stole Milk
The Dried Footprint
The Witch Hare
The Wreath in the Pillow
Snakes in the Hole
Water Witches in Egypt
5. Folk Medicine
Folk Medicine in Southern Illinois
Folk Remedies
Cures
Cutting the Fever
6. Folk Beliefs
Weather Signs
Beliefs Connected with Birth and Infancy
Beliefs Connected with Dreams
7. Folktales
Tales from Ireland
How Death Came to Ireland
The Village Fool
Jack and the Sheep’s Head
When Death Comes
Lies
The Cold Snap of ’83 in Thebes
Davy Crockett and Old Bounce
The Cat with the Wooden Paw
Beating the Storm
The Gregarious Turtle
The Power of Rich Soil
Cornfields in Arkansas
Anecdotes
"You Haven’t Packed the Saddle"
Substituting for the Off Ox
The Draper and the Bible
Too Busy to Lie
8. Folk Speech
Folk Sayings and Expressions from Southeastern Illinois
Some German Proverbs in Southern Illinois
9. Games and Game Rhymes
Children’s Games in Egypt
Outdoor Games
Indoor Games
Singing Games in Southern Illinois
"Let’s Go Down to Rowsha’s"
"Bingo"
"Old Dan Tucker"
Rope-Skipping Rhymes
Jingles
10. Folksongs
Songs from Great Britain
"Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight"
"I Have Four Brothers"
"The Hold-Up"
Native American Ballads
"Brother Green, or the Dying Soldier"
"Pearl Bryant"
"William Stafford"
"Casey Jones"
"The Death of Charlie Burger"
Songs of Sin, Politics, and Love
"Young People Who Delight in Sin"
"Don’t You Know"
"Sober Quaker"
"Dutch Courtship"
"The Old Girl of Cairo Town"
VI. Southwest Mexicans
1. Cuentos
Ignez Was a Burro
The Three Lovers
Pedro de Ordimalas
The Two Witches
2. Leyendas
The Weeping Woman
The Hermit of Hermit’s Peak
A Dead Cowboy Speaks
From the Folk Bible 3. Cuentos Humoristicos
Don Peanut and Doña Peanut
Cavacato
The New Mexican and the Californians
The Smart Indian Lawyer
The Mean Rich Man
Confession
The Apple Tree
The Countryman
The Fool
The Two Farmers
No Estiendo
Moochers
La Flora y la Fauna
4. Mal de Ojo and Susto
The Evil Eye
A Case of "Susto"
5. Proverbios
6. Adivinanzas
7. Pastorela
8. Corridos
"Corrido de Gregorio Cortez"
"Corrido de Jacinto Treviño"
"Corrido de la Muerte de Antonio Mestas"
"El Contrabando del Paso"
"Mi carro Ford"
VII. Utah Mormons
1. Saints’ Legends
Collecting Oral Legends of the Three Nephites
How Mrs. Fisher’s Voice Was Restored
The White Bread on the White Cloth
The Hungry Missionaries
The Hitchhiking Ghost Nephite
The Roving Jew
2. Local Heroes
The Devil Appears at the Site of the Mountain Meadows Massacre
A Massacred Mother Returns to See Her Child
The Miracle of the Miller’s Sacks
3. Comic Stories
Anecdotes of Marriage. Golden Kimball
Danish Dialect Stories of the Mormon Church
Missionaries and the "Spirit"
4. Folksongs of Mormons
"The Mountain Meadows Massacre"
"Brigham, Brigham Young"
"The Seagulls and the Crickets"
"Don’t You Marry the Mormon Boys"
"The Mormon Coon"
"Down in Utah"
"Sweet Betsy from Pike"
Bibliography of Works Cited
Index of Subjects, Places, Persons, and Titles
Index of Tale Types
Index of Motifs
Index of Informants
Index of Collectors
Illustrations
Words and Music
"La Chanson de Mardi Gras"
"Le Mariage Anglais"
"Let’s Go Down to Rowsha’s"
"Bingo"
"Old Dan Tucker"
"Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight"
"The Dying Soldier"
"Young People Who Delight in Sin"
"Don’t You Know"
"Dutch Courtship"
"Jacinto Treviño"
I. Maine Down -Easters
1. Sea Traditions
Bad Luck at Sea
Buying the Wind
The Haunted Ship "Resolution"
The Sailor Who Went Inland
2. Hero Legends of Barney Beal
Barney Kills a Horse with his Fist
Barney Beal Kills Prize Fighter
Barney Beal Lifts Rock out of Dory
Feats of Barney
How Barney Beal Awed the Bully of Peak’s Island
How Barney Beal Got the Bump on his Nose
The Cause of Barney’s Death
3. Witches and Spirits
Mother Hicks the Witch
Calling Up the Spirits
Curses of Emma Alley
Treasure Guardians
Forerunners
4. Anecdotes of Local Characters
Anecdotes of Captain Horace Smith
Anecdotes of Art Church
Personal Anecdotes of Curt Morse
5. Jocular Tales
Stories about Couples
Stories about a Man
Stories about a Woman
Stories about Irishmen
6. Local Ballads
The Serenade
The Injun Devil
Eben Stanwood the Peddler
The Champion of Moose Hill
The Jam on Gurry’s Rock
II. Pennsylvania Dutchmen
1. Brauche and Hexe
The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses
Detecting the Witch
Stilling the Blood
The Golden Ring
The Bewitched Automobile
2. Farm Folk Beliefs
Stockraising and the Barnyard
Planting, Sowing, and Reaping
3. Belief Tales
Christmas Eve in the Stable
Sewing on Ascension Day
Taking Off of the Moon
4. Noodle Tales
Eileschpijjel
The Great Need
Counting Noses
The Swabian Wedge
5. Proverbs
Farm Sayings
Personal and Local Proverbs
Wellerisms
6. Proverbial Tales
Think Thrice Before You Speak
The Best of Three (I)
The Best of Three (II)
7. Riddles
The Riddle of Ilo
Riddles of the Farm
8. Songs
"We Journey to America"
"When I Came to This Country"
"The Merztown Cornet Band"
III. Southern Mountaineers
1. Jack Tales
Jack the Giant Killer
Quare Jack
2. Jocular Tales
The King and Old George Buchanan
Kentucky Highland Jets
North Carolina Mountain Jests
3. Murder Legends and Ballads
The Crying Stair Well
Old Foster
"Lula Voyers"
"The Murder of Lottie Yates"
"Zeb Tourney’s Gal"
4. Cante Fables
The Cante Fable in Eastern Kentucky
A Cante Fable in North Carolina
5. Riddles
6. Folk Drama
Survivals of Old Folk Drama in the Kentucky Mountains
The Christmas Play
The Turkish Knight
7. Carols
"Mummers’ Carol"
"The Cherry Tree Carol"
IV. Louisiana Cajuns
1. Folkways
Folkways of Avoyelles Parish
2. Contes Populaires
Bouki and Lapin in the Smokehouse
Bouki and the Rabbit and the Well
Foolish John and the Errands
Foolish John and Parsley
Roclore
The Frog and the Princess
The Mouse, the Sausage, and the Bird
3. Folk Doctors
"Traiteurs" or Folk Doctors in Southwest Louisiana
4. Conjure, Hoodoo, and Gris-Gris
Conjure
Hoodoo
Gris-Gris
5. Riddles
6. Nicknames
7. Folk Celebration
Country Mardi Gras
"La Danse de Mardi Gras"
8. Chansons
Acculturation in Cajun Folk Music
"Eyòuss que t’es marriage"
"Le mariage anglais"
V. Illinois Egyptians
1. Place Names
"Egypt"—A Wandering Place-Name Legend
2. Ghosts
Ghost-Stories in Egypt
The Ghost and the Sewing Machine
The Avenging Voice
The Dutchman’s Ghost Story
The Ghosts of Dug Hill
The Flying Wagon
The Dutton Hill Ghost
The Miser’s Gold
The Girl Who Died of Fright
Buried Alive
3. Bogies
Chat Carla
The McConnall Banshee
4. Witches
The Witch Who Stole Milk
The Dried Footprint
The Witch Hare
The Wreath in the Pillow
Snakes in the Hole
Water Witches in Egypt
5. Folk Medicine
Folk Medicine in Southern Illinois
Folk Remedies
Cures
Cutting the Fever
6. Folk Beliefs
Weather Signs
Beliefs Connected with Birth and Infancy
Beliefs Connected with Dreams
7. Folktales
Tales from Ireland
How Death Came to Ireland
The Village Fool
Jack and the Sheep’s Head
When Death Comes
Lies
The Cold Snap of ’83 in Thebes
Davy Crockett and Old Bounce
The Cat with the Wooden Paw
Beating the Storm
The Gregarious Turtle
The Power of Rich Soil
Cornfields in Arkansas
Anecdotes
"You Haven’t Packed the Saddle"
Substituting for the Off Ox
The Draper and the Bible
Too Busy to Lie
8. Folk Speech
Folk Sayings and Expressions from Southeastern Illinois
Some German Proverbs in Southern Illinois
9. Games and Game Rhymes
Children’s Games in Egypt
Outdoor Games
Indoor Games
Singing Games in Southern Illinois
"Let’s Go Down to Rowsha’s"
"Bingo"
"Old Dan Tucker"
Rope-Skipping Rhymes
Jingles
10. Folksongs
Songs from Great Britain
"Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight"
"I Have Four Brothers"
"The Hold-Up"
Native American Ballads
"Brother Green, or the Dying Soldier"
"Pearl Bryant"
"William Stafford"
"Casey Jones"
"The Death of Charlie Burger"
Songs of Sin, Politics, and Love
"Young People Who Delight in Sin"
"Don’t You Know"
"Sober Quaker"
"Dutch Courtship"
"The Old Girl of Cairo Town"
VI. Southwest Mexicans
1. Cuentos
Ignez Was a Burro
The Three Lovers
Pedro de Ordimalas
The Two Witches
2. Leyendas
The Weeping Woman
The Hermit of Hermit’s Peak
A Dead Cowboy Speaks
From the Folk Bible 3. Cuentos Humoristicos
Don Peanut and Doña Peanut
Cavacato
The New Mexican and the Californians
The Smart Indian Lawyer
The Mean Rich Man
Confession
The Apple Tree
The Countryman
The Fool
The Two Farmers
No Estiendo
Moochers
La Flora y la Fauna
4. Mal de Ojo and Susto
The Evil Eye
A Case of "Susto"
5. Proverbios
6. Adivinanzas
7. Pastorela
8. Corridos
"Corrido de Gregorio Cortez"
"Corrido de Jacinto Treviño"
"Corrido de la Muerte de Antonio Mestas"
"El Contrabando del Paso"
"Mi carro Ford"
VII. Utah Mormons
1. Saints’ Legends
Collecting Oral Legends of the Three Nephites
How Mrs. Fisher’s Voice Was Restored
The White Bread on the White Cloth
The Hungry Missionaries
The Hitchhiking Ghost Nephite
The Roving Jew
2. Local Heroes
The Devil Appears at the Site of the Mountain Meadows Massacre
A Massacred Mother Returns to See Her Child
The Miracle of the Miller’s Sacks
3. Comic Stories
Anecdotes of Marriage. Golden Kimball
Danish Dialect Stories of the Mormon Church
Missionaries and the "Spirit"
4. Folksongs of Mormons
"The Mountain Meadows Massacre"
"Brigham, Brigham Young"
"The Seagulls and the Crickets"
"Don’t You Marry the Mormon Boys"
"The Mormon Coon"
"Down in Utah"
"Sweet Betsy from Pike"
Bibliography of Works Cited
Index of Subjects, Places, Persons, and Titles
Index of Tale Types
Index of Motifs
Index of Informants
Index of Collectors
Illustrations
Words and Music
"La Chanson de Mardi Gras"
"Le Mariage Anglais"
"Let’s Go Down to Rowsha’s"
"Bingo"
"Old Dan Tucker"
"Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight"
"The Dying Soldier"
"Young People Who Delight in Sin"
"Don’t You Know"
"Dutch Courtship"
"Jacinto Treviño"