Singers and Storytellers Page: 25
v, 298 p. ; 24 cm.View a full description of this book.
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STORYTELLERS I HAVE KNOWN
figure was as elongated as that of Abraham Lincoln and his
countenance was as tristful as that of Don Quixote, though he
had a strong laugh in his belly. He had a long-drawn-out voice
that was lingeringly pleasant to hear; his eyes could see a long
way into space and also into people. He belonged to the live
oaks, mesquites, prickly pear, ranch manners, dry weather,
homemade ethics, and take-your-time psychology of Atascosa
County, which is down in the brush country.
He was a lawyer-mainly a criminal lawyer-belonging to
times antedating the corporation practice of retaining most of
the good lawyers of the country. He was proficient in selecting
juries and also in swaying them with voice and words; he
studied humanity more perhaps than he studied law books.
He lived on a few acres including a calf pasture out from
Jourdanton. He called his place Goat Hill and his friends
called him the Philosopher of Goat Hill. A few people knew
that his first name was Ralph, but everybody called him
Railroad. He had read a good deal of history and poetry. He
admired Jim Hogg-the one statesman, a liberal, that Texas has
had for governor since Sam Houston-and he had a genius for
letting things soak into him while he rested in the shade.
The bent of some of his ideas may be deduced from a
pamphlet that he published in 1925. The title-page reads: "A
Little Preachment and a Short Epistle to the Bigots of Texas,
by Brother Railroad Smith. For sale to Students of the Univer-
sity of Inquiring Minds and to Ex-Students of the University
of Texas at 25 Cents the Copy, Prepaid." The time could come
when this will be as much a "collector's item"-often a term for
something nobody wants to read-as a pamphlet written by
some ignoramus on some criminal of six-shooter notoriety.
However, I myself do not expect to see the cult of violence
surrender to cultivation of the civilized.
One of my long talks with, or, more accurately, listenings
to, Railroad Smith was about the time "A Little Preachment"
came out. I don't remember where we started, but midnight25
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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.
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Boatright, Mody C. Singers and Storytellers, book, 1961; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc67655/m1/31/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Press.