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.

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"