BIBLIOGRAPHY OF TEXAS LEGENDS
This bibliography makes no pretension to completeness. Mere references to legends, such as references to buried treasure, are not listed, the citations being confined almost altogether to actual narrative or explanation of narrative. Legends marked with an asterisk are either quoted or retold in this volume. It is hoped that the bibliography will continue to grow. Additions, especially of current newspaper accounts, are invited.
Agreda, Madre de Jesus de. See Blue Woman, The.
Alamo, Ghosts of the. De Zavala, Adina, History and Legends of the Alamo and other Missions in and around San Antonio, San Antonio, 1917, pp. 54–56. Included is a ballad, “Ghosts of the Alamo,” by Grantland Rice, from the New York Tribune.
Alamo, Legend of the Statue of Saint Anthony at the Church of the, De Zavala, op. cit., pp. 56–57.
Antonette’s Leap. See Lovers’ Leap, Mount Bonnell.
Arroyo Hondo, an Indian legend of the origin of. Dyer, J. O., Galveston News, March 28, 1922.
Barton Springs, Indian legend of the origin of. Brown, Frank, Annals of Travis County and the City of Austin, unpublished manuscript in the archives of the University of Texas, Chap. V, p. 29.
“Black Devil,” Mustang Stallion, Ruled Texas. Pioneer legends of a mustang, San Saba country. Dyer, J. O., Galveston News, February 10, 1924, p. 15.
“Black Wolf’s” Indian Legend. An Indian Rip Van Winkle and the coming of the whites. Duval, John C., The Adventures of Big Foot Wallace, 1870, pp. 51–55.
“Blue Woman,” The. Bolton, H. E. (editor), Spanish Explorations in the Southwest, pp. 354–355, 387. *“Letter of Fray Damian Massanet,” translated by Professor Lilia M. Casis, reprinted from Texas State Historical Association Quarterly, Vol. II, pp. 253–312. De Zavala, Adina, History and Legends of the Alamo and other Missions, San Antonio, 1917, pp. 61–62; 103–106. See bibliographical references given by Heimsath, Charles M., “The Mysterious Woman in Blue,” this volume.
Brazos River, legend of the naming of. *Kennedy, William, Esq., Texas: The Rise, Progress, and Prospects of the Republic of Texas, R. Hastings, London, 1841, Vol. I, pp. 167–168. Thrall, H. S., A History of Texas, p. 37. *Davis, M. E. M., Under the Man-Fig, Boston, 1895, pp. 1–3. Girardeau, Claude M., “The Arms of God” (verse), Texas Magazine, Houston, May, 1897, Vol. II, pp. 431–434.
Brazos River, mythical origin of. *Spillane, James, “An Indian Legend of the Flood,” Philadelphia Times (date?); reprinted in Galveston News (date?). See in this volume Littlejohn, E. G., “How the Brazos and the Colorado Originated.”
Brazos River, mysterious music in. *Hudgins, Charles D., The Maid of San Jacinto, New York, 1900, pp. 12–13n.
Brazos River, sea serpent in. Galveston Weekly Journal, May 12, 1853.
Buckner, Strap and the Devil. *Taylor, N. A., Texas the Coming Empire; or, Two Thousand Miles in Texas on Horseback, Barnes and Company, New York, 1877, pp. 74–88.
Cave of Three Raps, The. Stevens, Walter B., Through Texas, St. Louis, 1892, pp. 33–34.
Cherokee Rose, legend of. Austin Statesman, August 25, 1882, p. 3, col. 4. Wylie, Lottie Belle, Legend of the Cherokee Rose and Other Poems, Atlanta, Georgia, 1887, pp. 5–15.
Colorado River, mythical origin of. See Brazos River, mythical origin of.
Concepción de Acuna, Legends of Mission de Nuestra Señora de la Purisima, San Antonio. De Zavala, Adina, History and Legends of the Alamo, etc., pp. 116–117: the milk moistened mortar, the joyous bells. [[256]]
Death Bird, The Cry of Served as a Warning. Motes, Isaac, Frontier Times, Vol. I, No. 1, October, 1923, pp. 20–21; reprinted from the El Paso Times.
Diablo Canyon, The Mystery of. Stevens, Walter B., Through Texas, St. Louis, 1892, pp. 28–29.
Eagle Lake, legend of. *Morning Star, Houston, June 13, 1839, p. 2. Richmond Telescope, June, 1839; Telegraph and Texas Register, June 19, 1839. *Darden, Mrs. F. A. D., The American Sketch Book (Texas Pioneer Magazine), Austin, Vol. VII, No. 2, 1881, pp. 99–102. Duke, Mrs. Emma, the Eagle Lake Headlight, 1909. *Carothers, Mrs. H. W., “Legend of the Lake,” four-page folder, in verse, “written for the Eagle Lake Chamber of Commerce,” circum 1922.
Egg-Nog Branch, Nacogdoches County, origin of name of. Fuller, Henry C, “The Story of Egg-Nog Branch and Fall of Fredonia Republic,” Houston Chronicle, February 4, 1923.
Enchanted Rock of Llano County. *New York Mirror, October 20, 1838, p. 135: letter of a traveler lately returned from Texas. *Reid, Samuel C., The Scouting Expeditions of McCulloch’s Texas Rangers, Philadelphia, 1848, pp. 111–112. *Dewees, W. B., Letters from an Early Settler of Texas (compiled by Cora Cordelle), Louisville, Kentucky, 1852, p. 152. Brown, Frank, Annals of Travis County and the City of Austin, unpublished manuscript in the archives of the University of Texas, Chap. I, p. 16. Hörmann, von, Pater Alter, Die Tochter Tehuans oder Texas im vorigen Jahrhundert, Fredericksburg Publishing Company, Fredericksburg, Texas, 1917. The book is a fictional expansion of the legend of the Enchanted Rock as told in this volume by Julia Estill. Wehmeyer, I. G., “The Enchanted Rock,” Fredericksburg Standard, September 3, 1921, p. 1. Dietel, William, “An Indian Legend Retold,” Dallas News, May 28, 1922, Magazine Section.
Fig tree at Columbia, Brazoria County. Tree grew out of blood of a murdered man. Davis, M. E. M., Under the Man-Fig, Boston, 1895, p. 9.
Fort Phantom Hill, Old (Jones County). Chittenden, W. L. [Larry], poem in Ranch Verses, New York, 1893, p. 97.
Galveston Bay, legends of life about. Sjolander, John P., “Rhymes of Galveston Bay”: *“The Padre’s Beacon,” Texas Magazine, March, 1911; “Pinto and the Stingaree,” ibid., 1911, pp. 48–50; “The Ballad of the Bayou Belle,” ibid., June, 1912; *“The Boat that Never Sailed,” ibid., May, 1913.
Haunted Mansion, Mitchell Lake, near San Antonio. Barnes, Charles Merritt, Combats and Conquests of Immortal Heroes, San Antonio, 1910, pp. 240–241.
Headless Horseman on the Nueces, legend of. Reid, Captain Mayne, The Headless Horseman, A Strange Tale of Texas, London, 1866, pp. 361–362. The legend may be purely fictitious.
Honca Tree, The Accursed. How it got its thorns. Raht, Carl, The Romance of Davis Mountains and Big Bend Country, El Paso, 1919, pp. 286–293.
Hornsby’s Bend (Travis County), When Spirits Walked at. Dealey, Edward M., Dallas News, October 2, 1921, Magazine Section, p. 3. In Morphis, J. M., History of Texas and Wilbarger, J. W., Indian Depredations in Texas, the incident is told as history and not as legend, and certainly the weight of evidence seems to be on the side of history. The story of “The Scalping of Josiah Wilbarger,” and the consequent apparitions is reprinted from Wilbarger’s Indian Depredations in Frontier Times, Bandera, Texas, Vol. I, No. 6, March, 1924, pp. 28–31.
Huisache, The Spring of the—An Apache Legend. Wright, Mrs. S. J., San Antonio de Béxar, Austin, 1916, 123–124.
Indian Maid’s Vision, An. A legend of the New Braunfels Oak. De Zazala, Adina, Interstate Index—The Pioneer Magazine of Texas, San Antonio, April, 1922, p. 12.
Lafitte, Jean, legends concerning treasure of.
*“Lafitte’s Treasure Vault,” Galveston News, October 27, 1908.
*“Seeking for Buried Treasure,” Houston Post, date uncertain. See “Horror Guarded Treasure of the Neches,” this volume. [[257]]
*“Pirates and Their Sacks of Gold,” Galveston News, date uncertain.
“Empty Chest Revives Tales of Buried Treasure Horde,” Port Arthur News, July 1, 1923.
“Buried Treasure of Jean Lafitte,” Frontier Times, Vol. I, No. 8, May, 1924, pp. 24–26; reprinted from the San Antonio Light, February 17, 1923.
Lost Canyon in the Big Bend of Texas. *“A Lost Valley in a Texas Canyon,” Western Story Magazine, December 2, 1922. The same account, evidently syndicated, appeared in the New York World early in 1923 and was reprinted in “Cattle Clatter” of the San Antonio Express early in 1923.
Lost Company of Irish Troops, tradition of, on the Rio Grande. Richardson, T. C, “Trodding [sic] ‘Old Rough and Ready’s’ Path through the Brownsville Country,” Houston Chronicle, November 26, 1922.
Lost Mines. See Treasure Legends.
Lovers’ Leap (also Lover’s Leap and Antonette’s Leap), Mount Bonnell, Austin. *Morphis, J. M., History of Texas, New York, 1874, pp. 510–513. Reprinted in the Austin Tribune, circum 1908, according to Miss Louise von Blittersdorf. Swisher, Bella French, The American Sketch Book (Texas Pioneer Magazine), Vol. IV, 1879, pp. 94–95. The legend is incorporated in “A Historical Sketch of Austin,” and is said to be reprinted from the Courier-Journal. Two years later Bella French Swisher incorporated it in a story called “Mount Bonnell,” which appeared in The American Sketch Book, Vol. VII, No. 1, 1881, p. 34. Whitten, Martha E., “Mount Bonnell,” in Texas Garlands, “Author’s Edition,” Chicago, 1889, pp. 218–221; verse. Rumpel, Charles Frederick, in Texas Souvenir [Poems], Austin, 1903, p. 36. Rumpel plays with the legend in vers de société. Brown, Frank, Annals of Travis County and the City of Austin, unpublished Ms., University of Texas, Chap. VI, p. 49. The Brown account, essentially the same as that of Morphis, appeared in the Austin American, under the title “Austin’s Romantic History,” January 20 and January 27, 1924. Moreland, Sinclair, The Noblest Roman, 1910, 1911, pp. 256–257.
Lover’s Leap, South Llano, Kimble County. *Jaques, Mary J., Texan Ranch Life, London, 1894, p. 255.
Lover’s Leap, Santa Anna. *Callan, Austin, Santa Anna Beautiful, Santa Anna, Texas, 1907. Pamphlet.
Lover’s Leap, Waco. Everett, W. E., “The Legend of Lovers’ Leap,” Waco Times-Herald, December 19, 1913; verse. Scarborough, Dorothy, “Traditions of the Waco Indians,” Publications of the Folk-Lore Society of Texas, No. I, pp. 50–51.
Margil, Fray Antonio, “The Blessed,” also called “The Venerable,” legends of.
“The Blessed Margil’s Enchantment—A Legend of the San Antonio Valley,” Wright, Mrs. S. J., San Antonio de Béxar, Austin, 1916, pp. 127–128. Barnes, Charles Merritt, Combats and Conquests of Immortal Heroes, San Antonio, 1910, “Legend of Enchantment,” pp. 80–81. The versions are practically the same.
*“The Holy Spring of Father Margil at Nacogdoches,” Fuller, Henry C., Galveston News, 1902. Contributed to this volume by Littlejohn, E. G.
“The Margil Vine, Legend of the First Christmas at the Alamo,” De Zavala, Adina, folder, stitched, San Antonio, 1916. Reprinted in History and Legends of the Alamo and Other Missions in and around San Antonio, by De Zavala, San Antonio, 1917, pp. 65–68.
*Legend of the mission bells ringing at the death of Father Margil, De Zavala, op. cit., pp. 150–151.
See also San Antonio River, origin of.
Medina, The Maniac of. Domenech, The Abbê, Missionary Adventures in Texas and Mexico, London, 1858, pp. 113–116.
Mexicans, transmigration of souls of into mesquites. [Page, D.], Prairiedom: Rambles and Scrambles, “by a Suthron,” New York, 1845, pp. 129–130. [[258]]
Miracles, The Lord of. “Legend of el Señor de los Milagros,” De Zavala, History and Legends of the Alamo, etc., pp. 195–196.
Mocking Bird, Origin of. “Origin of the Mocking Bird, A Legend of Southern Texas,” Sale, Ellen L., Ladies’ Messenger, July, 1888; reprinted in The Bohemian, “Souvenir Edition,” Fort Worth, 1904, pp. 99–100. Verse; lovelorn Indian maiden drowns herself in the San Antonio River; her soul takes the form and song of the mocking bird. According to Mrs. A. B. Looscan, the legend has also been written in verse by Lee C. Harby for either the Gulf Messenger or Texas Magazine, Houston publications. Complete files of these magazines are difficult to find.
Monk’s Leap. Aimard, Gustave, The Freebooters, A Story of the Texan War, Philadelphia (no date given), Chap. XXIII.
Mount Bonnell. See Lovers’ Leap, Mount Bonnell.
Navajoes, a legend of the. “The Dancing Man,” Hunter’s Frontier Magazine, Vol. I, No. 1, May, 1916, pp. 17–18.
Pacing White Stallion, or White Steed of the Prairies. *Kendall, George W., Narrative of the Texan Santa Fe Expedition, New York, 1844, pp. 88–89. Marryat, Captain, Narrative of the Travels and Adventures of Monsieur Violet in California, Sonora, and Western Texas, Leipzig, 1843, pp. 155–156. Marryat purloined his material largely from Kendall’s account as it appeared in the New Orleans Picayune. *Barber, J., “The White Steed of the Prairies,” The Democratic Review, New Orleans, April, 1843, Vol. XII, p. 367 ff. A ballad.
Pecos Bill, The Saga of. O’Reilly, Edward, the Century Magazine, October, 1923, pp. 827–833.
Pirate fortress on Galveston Island, legend of the founding of by Don Estevan de Sourdis and the Devil. Aimard, Gustave, The Freebooters, A Story of the Texan War, Philadelphia, Chap. XXI.
Pirates. See Lafitte.
Randado Ranch, Jim Hogg County, origin of name of. Falvella, J. Will, a feature article in the San Antonio Express, August 12, 1923.
Rio Grande: “Legend of the Great River.” Clark, A., Jr., Add-Rann (Texas Christian University), Vol. IV, No. 8, 1898. Verse; narrative of phantom lovers.
Sabine Lake, The Legend of. Reid, Mrs. Bruce, Port Arthur News, July 1, 1923.
San Antonio River, legendary origin of: *“Legend of the San Antonio River,” Barnes, Charles Merritt, Combats and Conquests of Immortal Heroes, San Antonio, 1910, pp. 76–79. Wright, Mrs. S. J., “A Legend of the ‘Blessed Margil,’ ” San Antonio de Béxar, Austin, 1916, 121–122. Swisher, Bella French, “The San Antonio River,” in Writers and Writings of Texas, edited by Davis F. Eagleton, 1913, pp. 86–87; reprinted from The American Sketch Book (Texas Pioneer Magazine). The versions by Barnes and Wright vary little. Swisher’s version employs a thunderbolt, lovers, and fairies.
San Antonio Valley, Discovery of. Wright, Mrs. S. J., op. cit., “An Apache Legend,” pp. 125–126.
San Antonio River, springs of. Wright, op. cit., “When the Springs Ceased to Flow,” pp. 124–125.
San Antonio, The Folk of the Underground Passages of. “The Padre’s Gift,” “The Courteous and Kindly Child and the ‘Good People’ of the Underground Passageway,” De Zavala, Adina, History and Legends of the Alamo, etc., pp. 58–65.
San Bernard River, mysterious music in. *Letts, F. D., an article in the Galveston News, no date given; reported by E. G. Littlejohn. *Wilson, Eugene, J., Jr., Gulf Messenger, Houston, December, 1894, Vol. VII, pp. 691–692. *“Wesley,” (J. W. Morris), two articles on “Fiddler’s Island,” Freeport Facts, summer of 1922; another article, ibid., on “Mystic Music in the San Bernard.” Western Story Magazine, “Music Heard on Texas River,” December 2, 1922, p. 131. All these versions are incorporated in “Mysterious Music in the San Bernard River,” by Bertha McKee Dobie, this volume. [[259]]
San Gabriel Mission, early Spanish legend concerning the abandonment of. *Bolton, H. E., Texas in the Middle Eighteenth Century, pp. 268–269.
San José Mission, San Antonio, legends of. “The Windows of the Voices” and “A Legend of the Bells of the Mission San José,” De Zavala, Adina, History and Legends of the Alamo, etc., pp. 142–145.
San Marcos River, A Legend of: how water lilies came in. *Swisher, Bella French, The American Sketch Book (Texas Pioneer Magazine), Austin, Vol. I (Vol. IV), 1879, p. 146; reprinted in Vol. II (Vol. V), 1880, pp. 91–92.
Santiago Peak, Big Bend, how it got its name. Raht, Carl, The Romance of Davis Mountains, El Paso, 1919, pp. 77–81.
Snively. See Snively under Treasure Legends.
Sour Lake, The Legend of. Young, Maud J. The legend is referred to in various places in Texasana, including Raines’ Bibliography of Texas, but I have been unable to find time or place of its publication.
Staked Plains, origin of name of. Gregg, Josiah, Commerce of the Prairies, 1855, Vol. II, p. 181. Marcy, Randolph B., Captain United States Infantry, Exploration of the Red River of Louisiana, 1852, Washington, 1854, p. 92. Parker, W. B., Notes … Through Unexplored Texas … 1854, Philadelphia, 1856, p. 161. Sneed, John, “Many Legends as to Staked Plains,” Dallas News, June 9, 1923.
Steed, White, of the Prairies. See Pacing White Stallion.