Singers and Storytellers Page: 13
v, 298 p. ; 24 cm.View a full description of this book.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
STORYTELLERS I HAVE KNOWN
scenery. He didn't take a gun with him, and so couldn't shoot
when he came upon another bear away up in the tall timber.
This second bear wasn't a bit shy and the saddlebear wasn't
either, and so Nat Straw dismounted and let them fight. He
rode without saddle or bridle. The two bears fought and they
fit, and Nat got scared that his bear was getting the worst
of it. Easing up to the bears, he grabbed one by the ear,
straddled him, and headed him down the mountain. About
halfway down he became unable to guide the animal and in
pulling its ears noticed that one of them was gotched-not his
bear at all.
At the time that Vanity Fair published "Golden Liars of the
Golden West," with Nat Straw leading all the rest, a friend of
mine named Clarence Insall was covering lots of country
gathering walnut roots to ship to France so they could be made
into briar pipes and shipped back to the United States for us
smokers. He knew Nat Straw and, expecting to see him on
the Gila River, took him a copy of the magazine making vain
use of his name. After reading the piece, Nat Straw told the
walnut root hunter to tell me that he certainly was not the
only liar in the West.
Maybe seven years later, I was in New Mexico trailing
down the Lost Adams Diggings, one of the happiest trails I
was ever on. After having received, high up in the Mogollones,
among the mountaintops, authentic tidings of things both
visible and invisible, I went to Santa Fe on the road to Texas.
Here I ran into two old friends, Stokely Ligon, naturalist, and
Dub Evans, rancher and lion-hunter. When I told them what
I'd been doing, they said, "The idea of being on the trail of
the Lost Adams Diggings and not seeing Nat Strawl Why,
Nat Straw took up with a Navajo squaw so he could learn the
tribal secrets of the Adams gold. You've simply got to see him
before you leave New Mexico. He's got more lore on the
Adams Diggings than any other man in the country."
I found Nat Straw on the Gila River above Silver City,18
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Related Items
Other items on this site that are directly related to the current book.
Singers and Storytellers (Book)
Collection of popular folklore of Texas, including personal anecdotes about storytellers and singers, as well as folk songs, myths, and ghost stories. The index begins on page 295.
Relationship to this item: (Has Format)
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Boatright, Mody C. Singers and Storytellers, book, 1961; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc67655/m1/19/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Press.