Unique to each and every culture, folk tales originate in and are passed on by word of mouth. Each culture has its own stories that are timeless and passed down to every generation. American folklore is filled with super-human beings with amazing strength and abilities. Pecos Bill is a prime example of one of these. His ranching abilities go far beyond any human ability. Lost by his parents at a young age, Pecos Bill was raised by a pack of coyotes who treated him like one of their own. When Bill reached adulthood, he left his coyote family and took up ranching and cattle herding as a profession. Most of Bill’s adventures him protecting his herd of prized cows out in the sandy desert. He rode a snarling mountain lion and a swirling cyclone to make sure they did not take his cows. Bill even used a lasso of rattle snakes to rope his whole herd at …show more content…
Pecos Bill was simply just a fiction character brought into existence by creative authors. Written long after the migration to the west, these stories could not have been “glamorizing” the west to make it seem like a desirable settling place. It would have been irrelevant at that time. Bill was brought into existence purely for the pleasure of reading stories of super strength and ability. O’Reilly even later admitted to inventing the character of Pecos Bill. These stories were put into circulation by a magazine, not passed on through history. Even though this story may not have originated in the Wild West centuries ago, that does not make them any less fun to read. Bill acts of strength and amazing cowboy abilities are purely unique to American folktales. Pecos Bill is one of many different super-human characters in American folklore. Paul Bunyan and John Henry, along with many others, all exhibit the same fantastic abilities in their stories. Whether from history or not, their stories are just as entertaining and fun to read as Pecos
As they continue toward Mexico, Josey and the gang ride through a small town in Texas. They encounter Union soilders and bounty hunters as they pass through. Since Josey is a wanted man, it is likely that everywhere he goes trouble will follow. Leaving a trail of more dead men behind, Josey and the gang continue on in search of freedom from those pursuing them. Shortly after their encounter in Texas, Josey and the gang come across a group of Comancheros who have taken in their captivity a family from Kansas. Here Josey not only saves a Grandmother and her husband, but also his second damsel. This scene features Josey riding in on his horse, out numbered by the Commancheors, yet he still manages to kill them all with the quick draw of his pistols. Although Josey saves the day yet again, this creates more trouble for Josey because the Commancheros he killed had intended to trade the captives to the Comache Chief, known as Ten Bears, in exchange for horses. There is also the conflict of Josey trespassing on the land of the Comanches.
Henry Starr was a 17 year old Cherokee cowboy working a steady job at a ranch. One day, however he was framed for stealing two horses by a man that was in cahoots with a crooked sheriff. Henry’s uncle paid his bail, and Henry went back to work. A little while later, a rival cowboy hid whiskey in Henrys wagon, and Henry was stopped with a whiskey warrant, which was a way for crooked lawmen and lawyers to make money off of each other. Once again, Henry’s uncle bailed him out.
Romantic Author James’s Fennimore Cooper created characters in the tradition of independence and self-control. Apart of his “Leather Stockings” series, “The Last of The Mohicans,” uses the American frontier an aesthetic articulation of male Identity. (“Masculine Heroes” American Passages Voices and Visions) In an excerpt from Cooper’s classic, “From Volume I Chapter III”, (Cooper. 485-491) the reader is introduced to the recurring character Natty Bumppo – referred to as Hawkeye-- and his friend Chingachgook. Both men can be seen as representations of the American Frontier, Heroes that embody the mythic elements in Cooper’s setting. They are rugged frontiersmen that thrive self-sufficiently, in a world of harsh realities.
Buffalo Bill was one of the most interesting figures of the old west, and the best known spokesman of the new west. Buffalo Bill was born in 1846 and his real name was William Frederick Cody. Cody was many things. He was a trapper, bullwhacker, Colorado 'Fifty-Niner';, Pony Express rider, Civil War soldier, wagonmaster, stagecoach driver, and even a manager of a hotel. He changed his name to Buffalo Bill sometime in his early twenties for his skill while supplying railroad workers with buffalo meat. He would soon begin his career as one of the most famous prairie scouts of the Indian Wars.
In fact, Davy Crockett career as a politician help to develop his reputation as a frontiersman. “[…] [I]n 1834 Crockett a grand speaker conducted a triumphal speechmaking tour of Whig strongholds in the East. During these tour he was famous for telling attention catching stories. Many of those stories appeared in newspapers and books during his congressional years, the legend, rapidly grew of an eccentric but perceptive “bar-hunting” and Indian-fighting frontiersman”. David Crockett the rebellious Politian, sharpshooter, tale-spinner and larger-than-life frontiersman became a legend, mostly because he was able to package himself and win votes during his political campaigns. Crockett fame helped him defeat the incumbent candidate in three out of four bids for re-election to Congress. But most of all David Crockett’s ability to tell a story made him the peoples champ. He was labelled the king of the tall tales (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Crockett).
In 1872 he appeared on stage for the first time, playing himself in "Scouts of the Prairie." Thereafter he continued to act in the winter and scout for the Fifth in the summer. The Wild West show was inaugurated in Omaha in 1883 with real cowboys and real Indians portraying the "real West." The show spent ten of its thirty years in Europe. In 1887 Buffalo Bill was a feature attraction at Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. At the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893, only Egypt's gyrations rivalled the Wild West as the talk of Chica...
Unfortunately, today the true history of the West has become a nothing more than a myth. History was replaced by fiction, and these falsehoods are perceived by today's society as facts. The true American cowboy, white or black, no longer exists in the minds of Americans. It is only as one delves deeper into the facts that the unperceived truth arises. The success of settling the West can be contributed to men such as Nat Love, but one can certainly not omit the hardworking cowboys who did not live such a glamorous life. The Negro cowboys of this era played a crucial role in facilitating any work on America's new frontier. The Black cowboys were essential to the United States during the late 1800's, in a time when any Negro needed great perseverance against prejudice. For their valiant efforts the Black cowboys should be given great honor and prestige.
The cowboys of the frontier have long captured the imagination of the American public. Americans, faced with the reality of an increasingly industrialized society, love the image of a man living out in the wilderness fending for himself against the dangers of the unknown. By the end of the 19th century there were few renegade Indians left in the country and the vast expanse of open land to the west of the Mississippi was rapidly filling with settlers.
The native American tribe the Iroquois Confederacy has an origin story for the start of folk stories. This is an interesting piece of writing in the way that it describes how stories began. It shows the high regard for the art of storytelling. This story starts off by telling the reader about a young boy who had lost his parents. There was no other family that would look after him so he raised himself the best that he could. This young boy was unhappy as the villages saw him as an outcast and wanted nothing to do with him. The young boy one day came across a canoe. Once in the canoe the boy was brought into the sky and paddled until he stopped atop a peek. The boy had made a home and at night heard a voice calling out to him. The voice demanded the boy offer him Tabaco. After the boy obeyed the voice the voice preceded to tell the young man a story. The voice then told the young boy a set of rules that he must follow if he wanted to be told stories. This continued for a while and the boy also came
In this book, Robert M. Utley depicts the life of Sitting Bull a Hunkpapa Indian, from when he was born to his death in 1890. Utley shows both the personal life and political life that Sitting Bull endured throughout the years. Utley looks at Sitting Bull's life from both “...the white as well as the Indian perspective. From both, he emerges as an enduring legend and a historical icon, but above all as a truly great human being.” (xvi). To his tribe Sitting Bull was an extraordinary man who was brave and respected, but to many in the US government believed him to be a troublemaker and a coward. Utley works to prove how Sitting Bull was a man who became an American patriot.
Folklore is a collection of stories passed down from generation to generation that includes Legends, Myths and Fairy tales. Legends are a semi-true story, which has been passed on from a person to another person that has an important meaning. Myths are a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon. A Fairytale is a children's story about magical which they have imaginary beings and lands. Hispanic Folklore is the traditional is mostly about beliefs, legends, customs and stories of the community of the hispanic culture. Hispanic or latino culture encompasses the traditions, language, religious beliefs and practices, legends, music and history.
Because of the outlaw hero’s definitive elements, society more so identifies with this myth. Ray said, “…the scarcity of mature heroes in American...
...nd a man of reserve against violence. Also as a man who will stand for the good of the community, protecting those who need protecting as the Vigilante of the western frontier. The Virginian was a true cowboy hero because he was a vigilante who followed his own moral code. The cowboy’s moral code was not dictated by the laws of society because he was an independent who was working to escape civilization. The Virginian was the first of the western heroes who gave the world someone to look unto as an example. He showed a very strong moral code which had a special responsibility to the protection and respect of women such as Molly. He also had a great many skills which gave him the realistic air that made the hero’s of the west so popular in the early 1900’s as the western frontier came to a close.
Coyote is a character I found to be funny. I found his ignorance and interrupting behavior to create some extra humor to Green Grass, Running Water. I also wonder what Coyote’s identity is. I would also like to bring this up in discussion.
...hey leave the reader with a lesson that could influence communities. Their context, impact, and ability to be associated in any society allow them to function with power and vigor in societies to come and in societies past. Although the language and grammar of the trickster tales is challenging, the image that can be created is greater than any barrier. Dr. Bright of the Unviersity of California recognizes the persistence of the Native American tricksters tales in the world today.