Reading Diary, Week 10: Tejas Legends

How the North Wind Lost his Hair was a cool story because it explained two different things. The first was why the South is so much warmer than the North. I thought it was an interesting twist to think that one of the winds had beaten out the other. It also explained the Spanish moss in the trees. I wonder why they chose to combine the two stories? I want to research more about how the wind and the moss would be connected where it would make sense in their minds to combine the two. 

It sounds like to me that the Indians found drugs in the story When the Woodpecker Pecks. The fact that they ate buttons that gave them visions, caused them to forget about their children and work, and fall asleep definitely sounds like the effect of some kind of hallucinogen. Its curious to me that this would make it into their folk stories and be part of an explanation for something in nature, like a woodpecker. It makes me wonder whether drugs were a large part of Indian culture?

The Tejas legends seem to include a lot more creativity than some of the other legends. The stories are much more imaginative than some of the other one's I've read. They also seem to explain more than one thing. For example, in The Cloud That Was Lost, I first thought it was explaining fog since the cloud was down near the Earth. Then, it turns out it was explaining how the phlox got their color. 

Wild Flox
Photo by: Tim Ross 

I also like how the Tejas legends explain so much in nature. It was difficult for me to understand the purpose behind some of the other folklore stories we've read. I like how with the Tejas legends, it is very obvious what they're explaining. Yet, they do it in a very creative way. In my storytelling, I want to strive to be more creative. Truth be told, I could put more thought into some of my writing. I want to take the time to think up good ideas so that I can write more imagery and have more of a creative spin on my writing. This would not only strengthen my skill but also make my stories more interesting to read.

Bibliography:
When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indian Legends retold by Florence Stratton.