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Welcome to American Tall Tales . Net
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Pecos Bill American Tall Tales
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Paul Bunyan American Tall Tales
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John Henry American Tall Tales
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Wild Bill Hickok
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Johnny Appleseed
 Tall Tales Legends Johnny Appleseed DVD  was $14.98 Now $9.99
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Daniel Boone
 Daniel Boone- Retail $9.99 Now $5.99
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Davy Crockett - American Tall Tale Legend
One of America's greatest heroes is Davy Crockett, self-proclaimed "King of the Wild Frontier". Crockett has been the subject, or perhaps more accurately, the victim of tall tales or fictional portrayals even before his death.
David Crockett (though, he was often referred to as "Davy" in American Tall Tales) was born in Greene County, Tennesse, on August 17, 1786. He was not educated well, but in 1813 he was able to serve under General Andrew Jackson in the campaign against the Creek Indians. Jackson would eventually become President.
In 1828, the little educated Davy would go on to be a Congressman where he supported the rights of Native Americans who were being exterminated as a result of Andrew Jackson's new Indian Removal Act. Because of his opposition to Jackson, Crockett was defeated when he ran for re-election in 1831. Crockett would win only once more-in 1833-before he would be defeated twice again. It was during this time in 1834 that Crockett wrote a book titled, "A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett" and went to the East to promote it. Seeing that he probably could not win political campaigns any longer, Crockett parted the
East by saying a phrase that, even today, still stands the hair on the back of every Texan's neck: "You may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas."
He did just that and went Westward, joining the Texas Revolution in their fight for Independence from Mexico.
Crockett took part in the Battle of the Alamo on February 23 through March 6, 1836, where for many years he was believed to have gone down fighting. However, new evidence has been unearthed since 1955 depicting Crockett as having been executed along with around a half dozen other men who were taken prisoner after the battle by the Mexican Army.
One of his sayings, which were published in almanacs between 1835 and 1856 (along with those of Daniel Boone and Kit Carson) was, "Be always sure you are right, then go ahead."
In 1954 his legend was again popularized by Walt Disney, who made four movies and a television series about him (starring Fess Parker); the Ballad of Davy Crockett and coonskin caps like the one he wore in those films were all the rage for young boys for a time. After that fad had waned, John Wayne starred as Crockett in the 1960 feature film The Alamo (the first film he also directed).
Today, Crockett's legend still lives strong and the story of the Alamo is one of the most filmed subjects in the History of Cinema with Crockett being portrayed by: Charles K. French (1909), Allan Sears (1915), Dustin Farnum (1916), Cullen Landis (1926), Jack Perrin (1937), Lane Chandler (1937), Robert Barrat (1939), George Montgomery (1950), Trevor Bardette (1953), Fess Parker (1954), Arthur Hunnicutt (1955), James Griffith (1956), John Wayne (1960) Brian Keith (1987), Merrill Connally (1988), Johnny Cash (1988), Tim Dunigan (1988 & 1989), David Zucker (1991), John Schneider (1995), Scott Wickware (2000), Justin Howard (2002), Billy Bob Thornton....and many more!
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♦♦♦♦♦ The History of American Tall Tales
♦♦♦♦♦ American Tall Tales Retail $19.95 Your Price $12.41 USD
American Tall Tales were born 1800's as a way for pioneers to understand the greatness of the American west. There were huge forests, ferocious animals, deserts, and mountains. The pioneers were trying to conquer these elements, and that was a scary business. The heroes and heroines in the tall tales were also huge and often ferocious. They made the taming of America a little easier to handle. Some of the heroes and heroines in american tall tales are real people like Davy Crockett, Johnny Appleseed, Daniel Boone, Wild Bill, and Annie Oakley. Each time the story got passed on to the next person, the stories got grander and g r a n d e r, thus the word 'Tall' in American Tall Tales. Other american tall tale characters were not real people. Characters included sea captains, loggers, railroad workers, cowboys, and firefighters. Tall tale tellers combined information about what was really happening at the time with wild tall tale fantasy. Survival, pioneers, and exploration was part of America in the 1800's. The American Tall Tales you'll read will have good amounts of exaggeration, but that's what makes them fun to read.
American Tall Tales also claims to explain the reason for some natural phenomenon, or sometimes illustrates how skilled the subject of the tale was. In either case, American Tall Tales are fiction, however, it can be based on a real figure in history. The tall tale is a fundamental element of American folk literature. The tall tale's origins are seen in the bragging contests that often occurred when the rough men of the American frontier gathered. The tales of legendary figures of the American Old West—such as Pecos Bill and the giant lumberjack Paul Bunyan—owe much to the style of tall tales.
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Casey Jones, Brave American Engineer and American Tall Tale Legend.
Casey Jones, the real railroad engineer of the Cannonball, known for getting his train to station on time, and in american tall tales it was all the time. He would blow the whistle a gradual increase to a wail that would echo throughout the land. His unique whistle let folks throughout the town know Casey was driving his train by.
April 29, 1900, Casey brought the Cannonball into Memphis on time, as usual. As he was leaving, he found out one of the other engineers was sick and unable to make his run. So Casey volunteered to help out his friend. He pulled the train out of the station about eleven p.m., an hour and thirty-five minutes late. Casey was determined to make up the time. As soon as he could, he highballed out of Memphis (highballing means to go very fast and take a lot of risks to get where your headed) and started making up for lost time.
About four a.m., when he had nearly made up all the time on the run, Casey rounded a corner near Vaughin, Mississippi and saw a stalled freight train on the track. He shouted for his fireman to jump. The fireman made it out alive, but Casey Jones died in the wreck, one hand on the brake and one on the whistle chord.
The Ballad of Casey Jones, a famous Ballad of American Tall Tales.
This version was considered by Janie Jones, Casey's wife, to be the most accurate representation of Wallace's original version.
Come all you rounders if you want to hear
A story 'bout a brave engineer,
Casey Jones was the rounder's name
"Twas on the Illinois Central that he won his fame.
Casey Jones, he loved a locomotive.
Casey Jones, a mighty man was he.
Casey Jones run his final locomotive
With the Cannonball Special on the old I.C.
Casey pulled into memphis on Number Four,
The engine foreman met him at the roundhouse door;
Said, "Joe Lewis won't be able to make his run
So you'll have to double out on Number One."
If I can have Sim Webb, my fireman, my engine 382,
Although I'm tired and weary, I'll take her through.
Put on my whistle that come in today
Cause I mean to keep her wailing as we ride and pray.
Casey Jones, mounted the cabin,
Casey Jones, with the orders in his hand.
Casey Jones, he mounted the cabin,
Started on his farewell Journey to the promised land.
They pulled out of Memphis nearly two hours late,
Soon they were speeding at a terrible rate.
And the people knew by the whistle's moan.
That the man at the throttle was Casey Jones.
Need more coal there, fireman Sim,
Open that door and heave it in.
Give that shovel all you got
And we'll reach Canton on the dot
On April 30, 1900, that rainy morn,
Down in Mississippi near the town of Vaughan,
Sped the Cannonball Special only two minutes late
Traveling 70 miles an hour when they saw a freight.
The caboose number 83 was on the main line,
Casey's last words were "Jump, Sim, while you have the time.
"At 3:52 that morning came the fareful end,
Casey took his farewell trip to the promised land.
Casey Jones, he died at the throttle,
With the whistle in his hand.
Casey Jones, he died at the throttlle,
But we'll all see Casey in the promised land.
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Thunder Ann Crockett - Famous Women in American Tall Tales.
Half of the Tall Tale Legendary Couple, Davy Crockett done married the prettiest, the sassiest, the toughest gal in the West, don't ya know! Her name was Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind and she was all that and then some! She was tougher than a grumpy she-bear and faster than a wildcat with his tail on fire and sweeter than honey, so that even hornets would let her use their nest for a Sunday-go-to-Meeting hat.
Naturally, Davy Crockett was proud of his wife and liked to boast about her skills. "Yes sir, she can wrestle an alligator until it gets down on its knees and begs for mercy," he told everyone. Well, Mike Fink, that tough old Mississippi roarer, snag-lifter, and flatboat skuller, took a dislike to Davy Crockett's boasting about his wife (maybe on account of his wife weren't half so tough), and he tried seven ways to Sunday to scare her good and proper. 'Course, Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett didn't pay any attention to his antics, and Davy Crockett about laughed 'til he busted to see Mike Fink trying to pull a fast one on her. Finally, Mike Fink bet Davy Crockett a dozen wild-cats that he could scare Miz Crockett until her teeth came loose and her toe nails went out-of-joint. Davy Crockett figure this was an easy win, so he took the bet. Well, Mike Fink took the skin of a mighty big alligator and wrapped it around himself. Then he crept into the bushes and waited until Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett came strolling by for her evening walk. Mike Fink leapt out of the brush and started a growling and a howling and roaring so loud he about scared himself out of his wits. But not Miz Crockett; no sir! She put her hands on her hips and smirked at that raging critter like it was a misbehavin' child.
That made Mike Fink pretty mad. He was determined to scare the wits outta Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett if it was the last thing he did. He stretched out the claws on that 'gater skin and started walking toward Miz Crockett, reaching to pull her into its deadly embrace. Now it was Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett's turn to get mad.
"Don't you be fresh!" she told that crazy critter. She gave his a glare so full of lightning that it light up the sky from here to California, but Mike Fink kept a-coming 'cause he was determined to win the bet.
Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett took out a small toothpick that she carried with her to keep her smile all clean and pretty after she ate. She jest lit out with that toothpick and knocked the head right off that alligator skin. It whirled up and away about fifty-feet into the air, and it took all the hair on top of Mike Fink's head right along with it. So now Mike Fink was left standing in front of Miz Crockett with a half-bald head and the remains of an alligator skin clutched around him.
Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett was not amused when she realized the famous Mississippi roarer was trying to scare the dickens out of her. She put away the toothpick, since she figured it gave her an unfair advantage, and proceeded to knock the stuffing out of Mike Fink until he fainted away in his alligator skin. Dusting off her hands, she glared down at his still form and said: "Good riddance!" and marched off to tell her husband the story. Davy Crockett laughed so hard he nearly split a gusset! When folks asked Mike Fink how he got so busted up the next day, he told them he'd been chewed up and swallowed whole by an alligator. But he didn't fool Davy Crockett none with this story, so he had to give him a dozen wild cats to pay off his bet.
Mike Fink never messed with Miz Crockett again! Women and The American Experience,
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Calamity Jane - Famous Women in American Tall Tales Whose real name was Martha Jane Cannary-Burke (May 1, 1852 – August 1, 1903 (aged 51)), was a frontierswoman and professional scout best known for her claim of being a close friend of Wild Bill Hickok, but also for having gained fame fighting Native Americans. In 1870, Cannary signed on as a scout and adopted the uniform of a soldier. It is unclear whether she was actually enlisted in the United States Army at the time. From then on she mostly lost touch with her siblings, preferring to live a more wild and unsettled life. "Calamity Jane", as she would become known, did live a very colorful and eventful life starting in 1870, but as historians have since discovered, she was prone to exaggerations and lies about her exploits and thus a great American Tall Tale. Cannary often claimed associations or friendships with notable famous American Old West figures, almost always posthumously. For example, years after the death of Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer, she claimed that she served under him during her initial enlistment at Fort Russell, and that she also served under him during the Indian Campaigns in Arizona. One verified story about "Calamity Jane" is that in 1875 her detachment was ordered to the Big Horn River, under General Crook. Bearing important dispatches, she swam the Platte River and traveled 90 miles (145 km) at top speed while wet and cold to deliver them. Afterwards, she became ill. After recuperating for a few weeks, she rode to Fort Laramie, Wyoming, and later, in July 1876, she joined a wagon train headed north, which is where she first met Bill Hickok, contrary to her later claims. In 1896, Calamity Jane began touring with Wild West shows, which she continued to do for the rest of her life. Throughout this period, she claimed to have been one of Hickok's closest friends, a story that over time became the version history most often remembered as fact. Jane died from complications of pneumonia in 1903. In accordance with what was said to be her dying wish, she was buried next to Wild Bill Hickok in Mount Moriah Cemetery, overlooking the city of Deadwood. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Annie Oakley - Famous Women in American Tall Tales Whose real name was Phoebe Ann Oakley Mozee. She was named Phoebe Ann by her mother, but called Annie by her sisters. Annie promoted the Mozee spelling of the family name. While it has been variously recorded as Mauzy and Moses, Mosey is the version most commonly found in family sources. She took the stage name Oakley, reportedly after Oakley, Ohio.  BIRTH DATE: Aug. 13, 1860.
BIRTHPLACE: Patterson Township, Darke County, Ohio. EDUCATION: Annie did not attend school. FAMILY BACKGROUND: Quaker parents Jacob and Susan were originally from Pennsylvania. After a tavern fire ended their livelihood as innkeepers, they moved to a rented farm in Ohio. Father, who had fought in the War of 1812, died in 1866 from pneumonia and overexposure in freezing weather. Annie was the fifth of seven children. Her mother remarried, had another child and was widowed a second time. During this time Annie was put in the care of the superintendent of the county poor farm, where she learned to embroider and sew. She spent some time in near servitude for a local family where she met with mental and physical abuse. When she reunited with her family, her mother had married a third time. DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Whether it be a pistol, rifle, or shotgun, the legendary markswoman Annie Oakley was masterful with them all. Dubbed "Little Sure Shot" by Chief Sitting Bull (she was 5 feet tall), her sharp shooting in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show won her many awards and captivated audiences far and wide. Her name remains synonymous with firearms and entertainment. Annie was also mentioned in American Tall Tales. Born in a log cabin on the Ohio frontier, Annie Oakley began shooting game at age nine to support her widowed mother and siblings. She quickly proved to be a dead shot and word spread so much that at age sixteen, Annie went to Cincinnati to enter a shooting contest with Frank E. Butler (1850-1926), an accomplished marksman who performed in vaudeville. Annie won the match by one point and she won Frank Butler's heart as well. Some time later they were married and she became his assistant in his traveling shooting act. Frank recognized that Annie was far more talented and relinquished the limelight to her, becoming her assistant and personal manager. In 1885 they joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, run by the legendary frontiersman and showman Buffalo Bill Cody. For seventeen years Annie Oakley was the Wild West Show's star attraction with her marvelous shooting feats. At 90 feet Annie could shoot a dime tossed in midair. In one day with a .22 rifle she shot 4,472 of 5,000 glass balls tossed in midair. With the thin edge of a playing card facing her at 90 feet, Annie could hit the card and puncture it with with five or six more shots as it settled to the ground. It was from this that free tickets with holes punched in them came to be called "Annie Oakleys." Shooting the ashes off a cigarette held in Frank's mouth was part of the Butler and Oakley act. In a celebrated event while touring in Europe, Wilhelm, Crown Prince of Germany, invited Annie to shoot a cigarette held in his own lips. Annie had Wilhelm hold the cigarette in his hand and not his mouth; she accomplished this challenge, as always effortlessly. In this period Annie Oakley was easily recognizable by the numerous shooting medals that adorned her chest. In a train wreck in 1901, Annie suffered a spinal injury that required five operations and even left her partially paralyzed for a while. Although she recovered very well, Annie toured less frequently during the latter part of her career. Nonetheless, her shooting expertise did not wane and she continued to set records. In a shooting contest in Pinehurst, N.C. in 1922, sixty-two-year-old Annie hit 100 clay targets straight from the 16 yard mark. Annie Oakley died of pernicious anemia on Nov. 3, 1926, in Greenville, Ohio, at the age of sixty-six. A legend in her own time, the remarkable life of Annie Oakley would be celebrated in the 1946 Herbert and Dorothy Fields musical Annie Get Your Gun. In her life, Annie overcame poverty, mistreatment and physical injury with her determination and strength of character. She played a role in breaking barriers for women with her talent and accomplishments in her sport. She showed great compassion and generosity to orphans, widows and other young women. DATE OF DEATH: Nov. 3, 1926, age 66. Women in History. Annie Oakley biography. Lakewood Public Library. .
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