Spin Me a Yarn

[katl8e]

I live in an area, with a colorful history, rich with legends, lore, outright lies and some true stories. These yarns stood me in good stead, when I was a performer and tour guide, in Tombstone and I've missed having someone to tell them to. I'll leave you to decide which stories are true and which are intended to bumfuzzle gullible tourists.

For instance, have you ever heard of STICK LIZARDS? These are small (approximately 4" long) lizards, that carry sticks in their mouths. When the desert sand gets too hot, for their little feet, these lizards plant the sticks in the sand and climb up onto them. Once their feet have cooled down, the lizards shinny down their sticks, pick them up and skitter across the desert, until their feet get too hot again.

Post YOUR legends, lore and lies, for our entertainment.

 

[carolcat]

Hurm.......very interesting....:-)

 

[katl8e]

The occupants of Tombstone's Boothill Cemetery are the subjects of many colorful stories. The losers of the OK Corral gunfight are buried thare, along with many lesser-known folks. Their stories are just as interesting.

Tom Waters was a miner and, as miners were wont to do, he spent his paydays patronizing Tombstone's saloons (there were 103 of them). One payday, prior to stepping out on the town, Tom bought himself a brand-new, black-and-blue buffalo plaid shirt. This purchase proved to be his undoing.

The large, brightly-colored plaid made Tom the object of much teasing. As he toured Tombstone's saloons, sinking deeper and deeper into his cups, Tom became more and more irate at the comments about his new shirt. He vowed to deck the next person, who said anything about the shirt.

Enter Tom's friend, E.L. Bradshaw: "Howdy, Tom - nice shirt." That was all it took - in a drunken rage, Tom Waters landed one punch, leaving Bradshaw unconcious, on the barroom floor. Waters then took his bottle of whiskey and went to sit on a bench, outside of Vogan's Alley Bar.

Coming to, E.L. Bradshaw, angered by what he saw as an unprovoked attack, went home and got his gun. Finding Tom Waters, outside of Vogan's, he asked why Tom had hit him. Still enraged, Waters lunged for Bradshaw. Bradshaw fired once and Tom Waters was dead.

Bradshaw was aquitted of Waters' murder - it was ruled self-defense. As for Tom Waters - he's buried in Boothill, wearing his new shirt for all eternity.

The moral of this story: Gentlemen, let your wives pick out your shirts.

 

[batgirl2good]

This sounds like a fun thread!

 

[carolcat]

AH HA HA HA HA, good one! :-)

 

[carolcat]

Er, I have a "story" if anyone is interested, I will "G" rate it....snert!

 

[bigorangemenace]

Hm... I dont know of any stories really...

but one oddity in the county I live in is that about every year a handful of people report seeing a large, black cat (a black panther) SOmetimes they see it hunting, spotting deer, driving.... Its one of the things that is tied up with bigfoot and the lochness monster because it's that well known. Probably just a poor black puma that lives around the area and somehow avoids getting shot. Of course... it could be a 100 year old ghost of a black panther... or the people that saw it were probably jsut drunk. I dont know I've never seen it.

 

[sunnicat]

Welcome to the "Land of Lincoln". I grew up in Springfield, our capitol. Lincoln's home, Lincoln's Tomb and New Salem, where he grew up. Now we have the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. We tease about it, but it actually draws in many tourists each year. Although I tend to take it all for granted, my friends who visited from Australia last year were quite interested. There is so much Lincoln lore here...I wouldn't know where to begin, though!

 

[miss mew]

My mommy has been to Springfield and she told me that she loved it!

I live in Sioux Lookout Ontario right now. Mommy brought me here about 2 months ago so that we could live with daddy again. (I love my daddy).

This place has alot of rich history. It's long...so I posted the link

http://www.siouxlookout.com/legend2000.html

All I really know is that I love it here...I am an indoor cat that longs for the outdoors...my mean overprotective mommy is afraid that a bear or bald eagle will come and take me away. So, I sit in my bed by the window on the lake and watch the birds and otters play in the water.

 

[katl8e]

The White Lady of Gates Pass

Gates Pass is avery steep, narrow road through the Tucson Mountains, west of town. Travelling westbound, one drives up a moderately steep grade, with a sharp, hairpin left turn at the top of the pass. This turn is hemmed in by rock walls and is so sharp, that buses, RVs, semis and vehicles towing trailers cannot negotiate it.

Travelling down the west side of the pass, there is a VERY steep grade, with a hard right turn, at the bottom. If you do not watch your speed, you'll not make the curve and will end up going over a 100-ft. drop, crashing down into a rocky canyon.

Legend has it, that many drivers, negotiating the pass at night, have seen the figure of woman, dressed all in white, standing in the curve. Swerving to miss her, they've wound up at the bottom of the canyon. Many of the survivors (there have been a few) have claimed to have seen this woman.

Noone has ever claimed to have seen the White Lady, while driving UP from the west side. Personally, I prefer to blame speed and an unfamiliarity with mountain driving. If you don't shift into granny low and ride your brakes, you can easily be going 70 mph, when you hit that curve.

 

[kluchetta]

Hey Carol - gonna post that story? Sounds interesting.

 

[menagerie mama]

We have 2 stories 'round here. One is the Witch's house. I think it's down by Lake Michigan, and supposedly she catches little kids at night and terrorizes them (or eats them, I don't know but it doesn't sound pleasant, whatever she does) . Another is also down by the lake, and a colony of "small people" live there. If you drive through it at night, they come running out with hammers and pound on your car and yell at you, and Heaven forbid they ever catch you! I don't know if either on of these are true, but they are well known things around these parts! We don't go by the lake at night!

 

[katie=^..^=]

Originally Posted by Miss Mew

My mommy has been to Springfield and she told me that she loved it!

I live in Sioux Lookout Ontario right now. Mommy brought me here about 2 months ago so that we could live with daddy again. (I love my daddy).

This place has alot of rich history. It's long...so I posted the link

http://www.siouxlookout.com/legend2000.html

All I really know is that I love it here...I am an indoor cat that longs for the outdoors...my mean overprotective mommy is afraid that a bear or bald eagle will come and take me away. So, I sit in my bed by the window on the lake and watch the birds and otters play in the water.

Reilly I've wanted to tell you for a long time that you have beautiful eyes.

Katie - human to Graycie, Go Go and Princess

 

[wellingtoncats]

Very interesting thread. Please keep the stories coming