Key Takeaways
The grit and determination of the American pioneer was really telling . Those who cross the country to settle the West , slogged through the muggy South , and fish the seas and wild rivers all had to face redoubtable obstacle includingfamine , predators , and what must have been expand periods of sheer boredom .
Withouttelevisionand picture show , entertainment in former 18th- and early 19th - century America was limited to campfire story and tales order around the open fireplace . You ca n’t fault storytellers for embellishing here and there to call down pursuit levels and inspire tired and weary hearer . The followingfolk legendshelped pioneers cope with uncertainty during heavy multiplication and animate the blind aspiration needed to explore the American frontier .
1. Paul Bunyan
If it were n’t forPaul Bunyan , America just would n’t be as interesting geographically . French - Canadian timber cantonment fable about Bunyan , which were later adapted by Americans , claimed that he was delivered to Earth by five giant storks , since he was already wads of feet improbable as a baby . Wherever he get as he got elder , he created major landmark . His footprints created Minnesota ’s 10,000 lake ; his shovel create the Grand Canyon as it dragged behind him ; his use of rock and roll to extinguish a campfire created Mount Hood . Bunyan was accompanied by his downhearted ox , Babe , who was almost as big as he was . statue of Bunyan and Babe have been erected all across the country as a will to America ’s love of a tall taradiddle .
2. John Henry
Unlike a great deal of the tall tale from America ’s formative years , the story of John Henry is somewhat establish in fact . There probably really was aJohn Henrywho was born a hard worker in the South in the mid-1800s . Legend has it that he was around six feet tall and weighed more than 200 pound . In those day , that was big enough to guarantee you ’d be grant exceptionally tough work – like construct railroads or tunnels . If Henry did exist , he probably form on the Big Bend Tunnel that went through the mountains of West Virginia . From there , the legend has thousands of variation . Some say Henry challenged the tunnel - making machinery to a affaire d’honneur to see who could drive stakes and flak rock and roll faster . Most stories take that he won , but that he died from enervation after the competition . Some say he succeed and run low on swingin ' his hammer from coast to coast .
3. Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett
Women in marvelous tales were few and far between , but there are some who made it into folklore as hard as nail , larger - than - living folks . Sally Ann Thunder is one that emerges , however infrequently , as the wife ofDavy Crockett . In reality , Crockett married several times and none of the record books have him married to anyone with Thunder in her name . But stories do exist of a gun - totin ' , tight - talking lady who assist get Davy out of sticky place and would n’t miss a antic . She reportedly don a real beehive as a lid and enjoy wrestling alligators in her spare prison term .
4. Johnny Appleseed
If you fag too deeply into the origins of American family heroes , you might be disappointed – the man bonk asJohnny Appleseedwasn’t a magical scatterer of apple cum from ocean to beam sea , he was just a veritable guy named John Chapman who worked as a nurseryman in the belated 1700s . While that ’s not as exciting as the legend , Chapman ’s real life history was interesting enough – he owned land from Ohio to Indiana , worked as a Christian missionary , and helped make peacefulness between Native Americans and white settlers .
5. Mike Fink
tarradiddle of Mike Fink spring up in the 19th 100 and were based on a literal man have a bun in the oven near Pittsburgh around 1780 . The real Fink sailed keelboats on the Ohio and Mississippi river and fought against various tribe of Native Americans . Fink was noted as being an exceptional marksman , though he was reportedly a rather hard - drinking and heavily - living quality . By many accounts it was Fink who begin diffuse improbable narration about himself , which may explicate his gloomy standing among more noble legends like Paul Bunyan and John Henry . Still , tales of Fink being " half - man , half - alligator " and being totally impervious to pain keep him in the canon .
6. Pecos Bill
Pecos Bill , one of the most popular American improbable tale , was lost while crossing the Pecos River with his parents . He was found by a camp of coyotes and live on among them until he met a cowboy and realized his true career . No one was better at ranching than Pecos Bill because he had an unearthly ability to win over animals to lick for him . Bill married a nice girlfriend named Slue Foot Sue and lived a farseeing biography of ranching , herding , and singing by the campfire .
study on to learn about some of the most well recognise figures in American folks lore , likeGeronimoand Davy Crockett .
7. Geronimo
Geronimo , an Apache leader from the Arizona area , was captured and forced onto a reservation by the U.S. Army in 1876 . The persecuted Apache leader fled to Mexico , but after that , things get murky and exaggerated . The story conk out that Geronimo ’s wrath toward the white world was such that he obliterate thousands over the years , using magical exponent and ESP to seek them out . It ’s said that it took many one thousand of soldier and scouts to cut through the warrior down . By the time Geronimo finally cede in 1886 , his group consist of only 16 warriors , 12 women , and 6 children . Geronimo and his people were shipped to Florida , then relocated to Alabama and Oklahoma where they were put in prison house and reservation . Geronimo died a prisoner of war in 1909 .
8. Old Stormalong
Though stories about Stormalong motley , most place him in Cape Cod as a large sister – a baby more than 18 infantry magniloquent ! Stormalong , a talented sailor , join the crew of a ship . When the ship had an coming upon with a kraken – a beast fromNorse mythology– Storm - along fought back but did n’t vote out the sea giant . Eventually , he wound up back on the high sea in hunting of the kraken that had escaped him . The ship he used was say to have slammed into the coast of Panama , mould the Panama Canal . According to fable , the same gravy holder supposedly got stuck in the English Channel , requiring the crew to slick it up with soap for get it out . The grievous bodily harm and the scratch natural process twist the White Cliffs of Dover whitened .
9. Davy Crockett
Born in 1796 , Davy Crockett was nearly a caption without pretended addition to his storey , but they come in nonetheless . By Crockett ’s own news report , he killed a bear when he was only three years old . on-key ? perchance not , but Crockett swore it pass off . More story emerged of Crockett ’s fierce and tough childhood with lots of bear , bully , and serpent encounters that all ended with him as the winner – whether or not these stories are true is unclear . What is true is that Crockett represented Tennessee in Congress , but when he was defeated for reelection , he went off to research Texas . His change of location led him into conflict at the Alamo , where he was shot and killed . Tales of Davy Crockett show him wear down a coonskin ceiling and carrying his rifle , which he lovingly call " Old Betsy . "
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:
Helen Davies , Marjorie Dorfman , Mary Fons , Deborah Hawkins , Martin Hintz , Linnea Lundgren , David Priess , Julia Clark Robinson , Paul Seaburn , Heidi Stevens , and Steve Theunissen
