In this Book

summary
The madstones that J. Frank Dobie writes about have their counterpart in the bezoar stones of ancient India, and some of Howard C. Key's twisters dipped down into Texas last spring. There are still people who believe that a madstone will take the poison out of a bite by a mad dog or a rattlesnake, and the devastating and freakish tricks of tornadoes will always make the front pages of the newspapers. Some of the pieces deal with what happens to folk beliefs and practices when a people exchange one way of life for another. The lore of weather and of planting that used to be expressed by the almanacs has been weakened, though many people still believe that root crops are to be planted only when the moon is in the dark. Like almanacs, prairie dogs have seen their day. Mexican lore is well represented in this volume as is family lore.

Table of Contents

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  1. Cover Page
  2. p. i
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  1. Title Page
  2. pp. ii-iii
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  1. Copyright Page
  2. p. iv
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  1. Preface
  2. pp. v-viii
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  1. Contents
  2. pp. ix-x
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  1. Madstones and Hydrophobia Skunks
  2. pp. 1-17
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  1. A European Folklorist Looks at American Folklore
  2. pp. 18-44
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  1. Folklore in a Literate Society
  2. pp. 45-51
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  1. Twister Tales
  2. pp. 52-68
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  1. The Prairie Dog
  2. pp. 69-80
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  1. Almanac Lore
  2. pp. 81-90
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  1. The Mexican Corrido: Its Rise and Fall
  2. pp. 91-105
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  1. Chisos Ghosts
  2. pp. 106-122
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  1. More Chisos Ghosts
  2. pp. 123-127
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  1. Two Oil Tales
  2. pp. 128-132
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  1. The Adventures of Ad Lawrence
  2. pp. 133-148
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  1. Reminiscences of a Texas Pioneer
  2. pp. 149-153
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  1. Around the Fire with My Abuelitos
  2. pp. 154-159
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  1. Russell Tales
  2. pp. 160-166
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  1. Contributors
  2. pp. 167-170
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  1. National Endowment for the Humanities Funding Information
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