Up next in 10
In Part Two of Cowboy Superstitions" we venture deeper into the beliefs that traveled across the American frontier. From ominous owl calls and the legendary La Lechuza of South Texas to Irish fairies, and even military taboos. These stories reveal how Native, Tejano, Irish, and military traditions helped shape the superstitious world of the American West.
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Kent Rollins
Cowboy Cooking, Cast Iron, Outdoor Cooking, Grilling, Dutch Oven Cooking
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0:00
the cowboy superstitions [music] and you
0:01
guys
0:02
>> loved it.
0:03
>> Loved it. We got to do a part two.
0:04
>> Got to do part two. They're a sign of
0:07
death. We don't trust the whipper wheel.
0:09
When you die, they swoop down [music]
0:12
and gather your soul.
0:17
[music]
0:19
>> Gosh, we're getting like a full outdoor
0:21
experience today.
0:26
>> Howdy. My name is Kent Rollins. I've
0:29
been a cowboy and a chuck wagon cook for
0:31
over 30 years cooking for [music]
0:33
ranches all across America. You might
0:35
have seen me on the Food Network or
0:37
alongside my beautiful wife Shannon in
0:39
our YouTube show where we share cowboy
0:41
cooking from the trailer. But now
0:43
[music] we're going to take you behind
0:44
the scenes to real campfire
0:46
conversations. Join us as we share
0:48
humor, cowboy wisdom, and stories full
0:51
[music] of history, heart, faith, and of
0:53
course, a little fire. So, grab you a
0:55
cup of coffee, pull up a chair, and
0:58
welcome to the podcast.
1:04
>> Well, hello everyone.
1:07
Welcome. Um, I do want to say, man, we
1:10
got hit with some virus, flu, something
1:14
this week.
1:15
>> The epazis consumption something.
1:18
>> It was It was a little rough. So, we're
1:20
on the men, but if our voices sound
1:21
maybe a little bit different, that is
1:23
why we've got our like little raola
1:26
drops here,
1:27
>> just in case.
1:28
>> It's been a long week.
1:30
>> I mean, it was that kind that just like
1:32
knocks you out. Like you you're you wake
1:34
up in the morning, you think, hey, I'm
1:35
feeling I think this is the day I'm
1:36
going to feel good. And then you walk to
1:38
the kitchen, you're like, I'm done.
1:39
>> Yeah, it's over.
1:40
>> I can't do it anymore.
1:41
>> So, anyway, if anybody else has been
1:43
feeling that, I think it's the whatever
1:45
that's going around. We got it.
1:46
>> Yeah. So, it was a few episodes back
1:51
that we did the cowboy superstitions and
1:54
you guys loved it.
1:56
>> Loved it. And we got so many good
1:57
comments and people sharing different
1:59
stories that they had heard growing up
2:01
and so we thought, "Yep,
2:03
>> we got to do a part two.
2:04
>> Got to do part two." So this one we're
2:07
going to go a little more in depth in
2:09
some of those the folklore one that we
2:12
had briefly talked about and then also
2:16
some new
2:18
um superstitions
2:20
particularly that have kind of evolved
2:22
through culture particularly through the
2:25
the American frontier and like where
2:26
those came from
2:27
>> and a lot of Native American
2:29
>> and of course yeah we had mentioned and
2:30
Native American. So without further ado,
2:33
I want to jump right into this one
2:34
because this is the one that I think we
2:36
got
2:37
>> maybe the most feedback on and I think
2:41
>> translates a lot to different cultures
2:44
and that is the hoot owl.
2:47
>> The hoot.
2:48
>> Can you give me a little hoot owl? Kent.
2:50
>> Woohoo. Woohoo. Woohoo.
2:55
>> Okay. Now, what particular
2:59
owl is that? Do you have a
3:01
>> Well, for years I thought it was a great
3:04
horned owl.
3:05
>> Okay.
3:05
>> And still think it is sometimes because
3:07
owls can mimic each other.
3:08
>> Oh.
3:09
>> But a lot of that too is a barn owl.
3:12
>> So I didn't I guess I just never really
3:14
thought about I mean I know there are
3:16
different species of owls, but I want to
3:19
kind of give everybody an overview of
3:22
the different types of owls and and the
3:24
ones that predominantly kind of come
3:26
into the f folklore aspect. So, of
3:28
course, there is the great horned owl.
3:31
>> This is probably what we consider the
3:35
American hoot owl. Now, hood owl isn't a
3:38
technical term.
3:40
>> No, I mean it's and when you think about
3:42
the great horned owl, it's got these
3:45
tufts of feathers that stick up and you
3:48
think they're horns
3:49
>> and really they're not even ears. The
3:51
the sound that he hears is deep within
3:55
them feathers that are embedded on its
3:56
side. It's not like he has two big ears
3:58
that are sticking up there. But I think
4:00
we need to give the owl a lot of credit,
4:02
too. Um, you take that owl, he can see
4:08
35 times better than we can.
4:12
>> Oh,
4:12
>> it's like he can see a candle a half a
4:15
mile away in the dark.
4:17
>> Yeah.
4:17
>> They're some of the greatest hunters
4:19
they ever was.
4:20
>> Yeah.
4:21
>> And they control a lot of rodent
4:23
population.
4:24
>> Well, and they're nocturnal.
4:26
>> Yes. And so I think that's part of the
4:28
association with kind of the the lore
4:31
and the spookiness of them. So the great
4:33
horned owl is also a powerful nighttime
4:35
hunter as you had said and it is
4:38
associated with watchers, warriors,
4:41
warnings, and supernatural power.
4:45
>> But moving on,
4:46
>> I'm getting a little scared.
4:47
>> Are you?
4:48
>> Yeah.
4:49
>> The screech owl.
4:50
>> Yeah.
4:51
>> Can you do a screech owl impersonation?
4:53
>> Good. Because um
4:54
>> I have I I don't know if I've heard
4:56
>> I I bet you have at the wagon. You'll we
4:58
used to be in a spot maybe there'd be a
5:00
creek down below us or something and
5:02
it'd be always heard a lot of them right
5:06
before it got white.
5:07
>> It says it has a a horselike winnie.
5:11
>> I never heard that as much as it was
5:13
just a screeching sound like
5:16
>> I mean I cuz you could hear them so far
5:20
>> and you'd think man them things is
5:22
close. But when it's so quiet and the
5:25
that that sound is really high pitch,
5:27
the decibel level, it travels further.
5:30
>> It does say that these ones are a little
5:32
more mysterious because they're often
5:35
seen or they're often heard but not
5:37
seen.
5:38
>> You don't see one a lot.
5:39
>> Uh
5:39
>> but you you could hear them. And uh my
5:42
oldest brother Dale, he could do a good
5:44
screech out.
5:45
>> They are associated more so the screech
5:47
owl on um death warnings. Yes. Have you
5:50
heard that?
5:50
>> Yes. Um particularly in the Arapjo and
5:53
other Native American cultures. Yeah.
5:56
>> And then finally the good old barn owl.
5:59
>> Yeah. And we used to have a lot of them.
6:01
They they inhabited a lot of old barns
6:04
or hay barns that they could get in to
6:06
roost at night, you know. Uh and you'd
6:09
always know when you had one in there
6:11
from their droppings. I mean, and
6:12
they're pretty good size.
6:14
>> They're droppings.
6:14
>> Yeah. They're little poops.
6:16
>> Oh.
6:16
>> Uh but there would be little mouse
6:18
skeleton bones and everything. They
6:21
>> they catch a lot of mice. Yeah.
6:23
>> You know, so I never did run one out of
6:26
the barn, you know. And I never heard a
6:28
barn owl make a sound more than
6:31
>> Oh. Oh, interesting.
6:34
>> He never was one of these great singers
6:36
to me that went
6:39
like
6:40
>> like the great horn.
6:41
>> Yeah. Which we would call a monkey owl
6:43
sometimes.
6:44
>> Oh. And we always used an owl call when
6:48
we were turkey hunting cuz you would you
6:51
didn't want to gobble like a turkey when
6:52
you was out there at 4:00 in the
6:54
morning. You and you're doing this for a
6:57
reason to locate the roost tree.
7:00
>> Mhm.
7:01
>> Not that we're going to shoot them off
7:02
the roost, but that way we know where
7:04
these turkeys are going to fly off at
7:05
the roost and we go call. So you'd be
7:08
sitting there all lodged up. I mean, I'd
7:10
have camouflage everywhere, have my face
7:12
painted up, you know, and have these
7:14
turkey hunters that I was guiding, and
7:16
I'd say, "We going to see if they some
7:19
down there in that creek." So, you'd
7:25
And then you'd hear,
7:27
>> "Oh my gosh, we're getting like a full
7:29
outdoor experience today."
7:31
>> Yes. And that way you knew, but
7:33
[clears throat] you wasn't giving away
7:34
your location as a turkey call.
7:37
>> Yeah. Yeah,
7:37
>> but as an owl.
7:39
>> Clever.
7:40
>> So,
7:43
I I have a lot of respect for the owl.
7:45
Very wise animal.
7:46
>> Well, and um the barn owl. So, it's a it
7:49
can be associated with ghosts,
7:51
graveyards, witches, and again, death
7:54
omen. And in um this is interesting in
7:56
Irish or in Gaelic, it's trans um
7:59
>> translated
8:00
>> translated thank you to the graveyard
8:03
screeature, which is interesting. I
8:05
don't know. We are going to go into a
8:07
little more of Irish lore because if
8:10
y'all know the Irish are big on their
8:12
folklore, but I want to jump in because
8:15
when we're kind of highlighting the owl,
8:18
a lot of you commented on our past video
8:21
about the owl. So, I want to just bring
8:22
in a few comments that I thought were
8:24
interesting. This is coming from Harley
8:26
H. In ' 08, I moved into an old
8:29
farmhouse. A sparrow flew into the
8:31
house.
8:32
>> Oh, that's a bad sign.
8:33
>> I didn't know that. there's so many like
8:35
bird signs. Well, he said his girlfriend
8:38
freaked out because she said that was a
8:39
death omen. Well, he didn't even give
8:41
much thought to it, but um that was the
8:43
only time that that had happened. And
8:45
then in the morning, he found a dead
8:49
barn owl at the front door.
8:52
>> Not long after that, he found another
8:54
dead barn owl at the back door. And he
8:57
said both later that year, both his wife
9:00
and his father died.
9:02
So I mean there's a lot of like is it
9:06
coincidence? Is it you know and some
9:08
people do do feel like the the owl
9:11
brings in uh certain messages. Now what
9:16
I think is interesting is we talk a lot
9:18
about the owl being um bringing in death
9:22
or bad or harm.
9:24
>> Yeah.
9:25
>> But the owl in a lot of cultures and
9:27
birds in general can bring good news. Oh
9:30
yes.
9:30
>> Or or warnings in a good way like just
9:32
be careful.
9:33
>> The Cherokee Indian thought so much of
9:35
the owl. Sure there was that still same
9:38
omen, you know, like he it's not it's
9:40
not good. But they used him too. They
9:43
seen them as like they were guides that
9:46
were sent out before battle and they
9:50
would tell them what was going on.
9:52
>> Oh.
9:52
>> If they heard a screech out to the left
9:54
or to the right, they were going to be
9:56
victorious in battle. But if they heard
9:59
one in front of them or behind them, it
10:02
wasn't going to go well.
10:03
>> Oh wow.
10:04
>> So it wasn't just a horn owl too. It was
10:06
the screech
10:08
cuz they would listen to his words.
10:12
>> Left, right. We are fixing to win the
10:16
battle.
10:17
>> That's interesting. And so I'm assuming
10:18
that that did change battle plans for
10:22
those who truly believed.
10:24
>> Um I've got another comment here. This
10:26
is from Red Billy Reckoning.
10:28
And this goes back in showing that the
10:31
the owl has represented different
10:34
cultures. So the hoot owl equals death
10:38
thing has been mentioned as far back as
10:41
Rome. They believe they were messengers
10:43
from the underworld and foretold the
10:46
death of several emperors such as Julius
10:48
Caesar. So the the owl has transcended
10:52
cultures and time and even
10:55
>> not just go back to the Native
10:57
Americans. Let's go way way back. The
11:00
owl has always been a symbol. But when
11:03
you look at it too as Native Americans
11:05
looked at it, the the owl was always to
11:09
a symbol that you'd see on a lot of
11:11
their war shields.
11:12
>> Uhhuh. But also uh the feathers in which
11:16
they had uh a lot of the rapo even
11:20
believed that they had these rattles the
11:22
witch doctors would and everything and
11:23
they had these owl feathers on them.
11:25
>> Mhm.
11:26
>> Uh they were a great sign. But we need
11:29
to look back at the owl again too and
11:30
what are these why were these feathers
11:33
so fluffy, so soft? You know, he is a
11:37
bird of prey. Hunts at night.
11:38
>> Mhm. Soft feathers down like this make
11:42
no sound. It's not a
11:47
>> interesting.
11:49
So they were undetectable.
11:51
>> Yes. That way the little animal that
11:53
they are hunting not even know this
11:55
night creature is there. Swoop down
11:58
powerful claws.
12:00
[clears throat]
12:01
Supper time.
12:02
>> You just woke Major up from that.
12:04
>> It's time to get up, Mage.
12:06
>> It's He'll be back to sleep in a second
12:08
here. Um, that's interesting. So, you're
12:09
talking about the Arapjo and the Native
12:12
American cultures. I think for us in
12:14
what we're calling the American
12:15
frontier, that's where we really feel
12:18
those stories come alive and they really
12:21
lived and believed in these things. And
12:23
that's where I think it comes to
12:24
prominence [music] is through that.
12:31
Can Can I say you have been looking
12:34
extra sharp lately and and I know why.
12:38
It's because these poncho shirts. I
12:40
don't get excited about clothes much.
12:42
>> No, you don't.
12:43
>> But I do love a poncho shirt. What we do
12:47
for a living and when I get to stand by
12:49
a fire, I want something that's durable,
12:52
but something that's cooling, so
12:54
comfortable.
12:55
>> They're very lightweight and breathable.
12:57
>> The thing I like about them, too, is
12:59
they'll come in a slim fit.
13:00
>> Yes.
13:00
>> To where they make you even look better
13:02
than you already do. And I had a comment
13:05
from the other day when I was wearing
13:06
one of these on a podcast. What's the
13:08
little little string here for? Well,
13:11
folks, I'm going to tell you right here,
13:12
you can keep your glasses in there.
13:14
>> It's a little hidden pocket.
13:15
>> Yes. And it's so handy. And I I love a
13:18
pearl snap shirt, and I'm going to wear
13:20
a long sleeve shirt 90% of the time.
13:22
>> Mhm.
13:22
>> But I have some poncho short sleeve
13:25
shirts. And folks, I done wore them off
13:27
to church.
13:28
>> You know, you talk about the
13:29
lightweight, but they also make denim.
13:32
Oh, you know, denim's usually really
13:34
thick and stiff, but this is super soft.
13:37
It comes in some different colors. So,
13:39
as we're going into fall, that's also a
13:41
great option.
13:42
>> I'm just going to tell you right now, if
13:43
you're looking for comfort, you're
13:45
looking something that's going to last
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and it's cool and you're going to look
13:48
good in it, don't look no further than
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Poncho because that's what you're going
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to see me wearing. So go to
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ponchooutdoors.com/cowboy
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coffee hour and enter your email to get
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$10 off and free shipping on your first
14:02
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14:10
coffee hour. Head there, drop in your
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email, and you'll get $10 off and free
14:14
shipping. And once you try one, you'll
14:17
get why I've got a whole closet full.
14:21
So [music] the Arapjo, particularly with
14:23
the screech owls, they have been
14:25
associated with spirits and ghosts. And
14:28
there is a story that's pretty prominent
14:30
in this culture where there was an
14:32
Arapjo camp and there was a a man
14:36
outside the camp. I don't know if he was
14:38
necessarily part of the camp. And this
14:41
is hard because most of all of these
14:43
stories are oral. So he's outside of
14:46
this camp and there was a gentleman
14:47
inside the camp and he kept watching him
14:49
and he kept moving around and he's
14:51
thinking this is really strange like I
14:53
need to check out this guy may might not
14:55
be good news. So he goes out out of camp
14:59
more into the forest where he's been
15:01
seeing this man and he's looking around
15:04
and he sees an owl up in the tree. Well,
15:07
he grabs his gun to shoot it which I'm
15:09
thinking why would you do that? because
15:10
you already know the owl is kind of a a
15:13
sacred foretelling creature.
15:15
>> Anyway, he shoots the owl.
15:18
>> So, he's looking to where this owl has
15:20
fallen and he looks down and he sees the
15:23
dead man laying there who he has shot.
15:26
And what's interesting about this is
15:28
we're looking at the owl. So, was this
15:32
owl a warning? Did he predict the death?
15:36
Did he transform? Was it this man's
15:38
spirit? So there's a lot of different
15:41
angles and interpretations of what the
15:43
owl can represent.
15:46
>> I don't think I'm going to go hunting
15:47
owls at night, you know,
15:50
>> especially in that culture. Like you
15:51
think I don't know and I don't know,
15:53
maybe this was um an Arapjo story
15:56
telling of like another camp like not
16:00
their own. Maybe that makes more sense.
16:02
I don't know.
16:03
>> We had one more comment too that sort of
16:05
stood out to me. guy was taking a
16:07
95year-old friend to the doctors
16:11
and uh he got to tell him about all the
16:14
aliens, everything he'd done in his
16:16
life, his folk stories and all this, you
16:19
know.
16:19
>> Yeah.
16:20
>> And just out of the blue, the old man
16:22
told him, he said, "You know, the
16:24
universe is trying to contact you and
16:25
you just ain't paying attention cuz you
16:27
ain't taking care of yourself."
16:29
>> So he just sort of throwed that off with
16:31
a grain of salt, you know, and said,
16:33
"I'll start taking care of myself."
16:34
Crazy old man.
16:36
>> Yeah. Two or three nights later, he
16:38
wakes up and he hears a great horned owl
16:41
out there and he thinks something is
16:42
trying to get his chickens.
16:44
>> Oh, you know.
16:44
>> Yeah, of course.
16:45
>> So, he goes out in the backyard and he
16:48
walks around and he sees this owl. But
16:49
this owl won't fly off and he walks on
16:53
down there a little owl just turns his
16:54
head and watches him the whole time, you
16:56
know, just keeps watching him.
16:59
He didn't think a whole lot about it. He
17:01
was taking this guy back to a doctor for
17:03
treatments, you know. And he said, "I
17:05
had the weirdest thing happen to me last
17:06
night," the old man said. And he said,
17:08
"You seen the owl?" He said, "The owl
17:11
has been trying to contact you to tell
17:14
you what was going on in your life." And
17:17
he goes on to comment, and I'm going to
17:19
give his name here,
17:23
AF1987,
17:24
Potato for Soul.
17:26
>> That's his username.
17:27
>> Uh-huh. And he said, "You saw La. That
17:30
means they're trying to reach out to you
17:32
and give you the message. Obviously, he
17:34
said my blood ran cold and I had no
17:36
idea. He knew what I was going to say.
17:39
Fast forward 5 months later and I find
17:42
out my sister is terminally with liver
17:44
failure. I go to the ER to visit and
17:46
meet up with my family and my mom is
17:48
wearing a dress with a gigantic owl on
17:50
it.
17:51
>> Oh.
17:51
>> My sister passed away in May of 25.
17:55
So there is so many and I got so many
17:58
comments from people saying there was a
18:01
death in my family or something
18:03
happened. But I I want to ask the
18:05
viewers too.
18:07
Is this just circumstance that happens?
18:10
Is it foretold?
18:12
Is it superstition or is it just
18:16
folklore that stories have passed down
18:18
and got a little bit?
18:21
I think there is a a large window of
18:24
coincidence in a lot of these cases but
18:27
here so I don't consider myself to be
18:30
very superstitious however
18:33
I am not going to cross superstitions
18:36
like I'm not going to willfully walk
18:39
under a ladder or I'm not going to like
18:41
purposely walk through a graveyard or do
18:45
you know do these things that would be
18:46
superstitious. So I don't know does that
18:49
I don't I don't know. I mean, are the
18:51
all these old stories and stuff and the
18:53
tales that have been handed down from
18:55
generation to generation to generation,
18:59
were they warnings?
19:02
>> Well, they had to start from somewhere,
19:04
right? So, there had to have been some
19:07
circumstance that made somebody think,
19:09
hm, this is a little odd.
19:10
>> Yeah, this is, you know, this is a
19:11
little fishy cuz this has been happening
19:13
for a long time,
19:14
>> right? And uh there's so many beliefs
19:18
out there in all cultures, but
19:20
especially when you look at it, and I
19:21
was the Native American culture, how
19:24
they used all animals as a symbol of one
19:26
thing or the other.
19:27
>> Correct.
19:28
>> You know, so
19:30
I'm I'm not going to doubt history, you
19:33
know?
19:33
>> Right. Like that's the thing. I'm not
19:34
going to challenge it.
19:35
>> No. Um, you know, we we've talked about
19:38
the the owl and you have said like birds
19:41
in general are great storytellers or
19:47
warers or hey, they have things to say.
19:51
>> Yeah.
19:51
>> Particularly, and I was pulling up the
19:54
whipperw.
19:55
>> Oh my gosh. The bird that kept me awake
19:57
longer than anybody in the world.
19:59
>> So, I didn't even know what a whipper
20:00
will looked like. So, I looked it up.
20:02
They're not very attractive birds. No,
20:04
they're not very big.
20:05
>> They're not very big. And they're kind
20:07
They're just like black. You know what
20:09
they almost look like to me is they kind
20:10
of had like a snake skin look to them.
20:12
>> Yeah. Sort of sort of like that a
20:14
leathery scaly look.
20:15
>> Yeah.
20:16
>> I got to I want y'all to hear the sound.
20:18
>> I didn't I didn't really know what it
20:19
sounded like. So, can you give us You're
20:21
not going to do it yourself?
20:22
>> I can't no more.
20:29
>> [whistles]
20:31
>> So I I would think like the first few
20:34
times that would be nice, but if you
20:37
hear it like continually
20:39
>> constant.
20:40
>> Did Do you have a bad whipperwheel
20:42
experience? Is that where you're going?
20:43
>> Constant. Yes.
20:44
>> What? Tell me about it, Kim.
20:45
>> We had whipperwheel stew.
20:48
>> Where were you?
20:49
>> I was in far eastern Oklahoma in the
20:51
summertime cooking for a ranch that had
20:53
droughted out. I was the only person in
20:55
camp.
20:56
>> Uhhuh. Everybody was staying in the air
20:58
conditioned bunk house. 100° humidity
21:01
80%. Ticks and the chiggers was about to
21:04
carry me off. And I'm thinking we got a
21:06
little breeze that evening late. You
21:09
can't zip up the TV, you know, so hot.
21:12
So, I'm just laying there thinking it's
21:15
cool breeze and I hear that sound
21:19
and it's for a minute or two it wasn't
21:21
so bad
21:22
>> like oh nature
21:24
>> and then it's constant
21:27
>> and this one whipper wheel that's
21:28
sitting out there maybe 20 yards from
21:30
the teepee has called all his family and
21:34
relatives in to join in and it got so
21:37
loud. I mean it's just deafening.
21:39
>> Oh, really?
21:40
>> Yeah. And I'm thinking these are a song
21:43
bird probably.
21:44
>> Yes,
21:44
>> they're protected by the wildlife
21:46
department.
21:47
>> Oh,
21:48
>> is there a good recipe for them? That
21:50
was the next thing that come to mind. I
21:52
wasn't going to shoot no whipperwhe.
21:54
Okay.
21:54
>> Right.
21:54
>> But I have my shotgun in the TP with me
21:57
at all times. So I just go out there and
21:59
fire off about four. Boom. Boom. Boom.
22:01
Boom. Quiet.
22:03
>> Oh.
22:05
>> Laid back down. [clears throat] Whipper
22:07
wheel. Whipper wheel. Come on. He was I
22:09
mean saying till morning.
22:10
>> They're aggressive.
22:12
>> Yeah. I mean it was like you don't even
22:14
know where we're at out here.
22:15
>> Well, okay. So, you'll have to tell me
22:17
the the
22:18
>> But that was a bad sign.
22:19
>> Well, did you know that at the time?
22:21
>> Not until I asked an Indian guy later
22:22
that day that was there.
22:24
>> He was a Cherokee.
22:25
>> So, I I it says that it the whipperwill
22:29
stories are really common in Appalachian
22:31
and southern folklore primarily. Okay.
22:34
So calling repeatedly near a house
22:37
foretells death or misfortune. Now we
22:40
will consider your TV a house.
22:42
>> Yes.
22:43
>> You didn't experience death. Did you
22:44
have misfortune?
22:45
>> Yes. I had a lot of ticks on me. A lot
22:48
of chiggers.
22:49
>> There you go.
22:49
>> We had a skunk in camp the next night.
22:52
Misfortunes.
22:53
>> It was just being nice and like trying
22:55
to give you a heads up.
22:56
>> Yeah. Well, that same Cherokee told me
22:59
when he cuz he was friends with them
23:01
people that own the ranch and I was
23:03
telling him about them whipperw wheels
23:04
and uh he said they're they're a sign of
23:09
death. We don't we don't trust the
23:12
whipperwheel because
23:14
>> these poor birds
23:15
>> when you die they swoop down and gather
23:19
your soul.
23:20
>> Yes. So that's what's interesting about
23:22
the whipper wheel that you don't get
23:23
with the owl so much is that they are
23:27
are they soul stealers or are they just
23:29
like helping the soul?
23:30
>> Uh no they're stealing and um
23:33
>> I don't as far as ever
23:37
knowing anything that bad happened from
23:39
anybody telling me a tale about a
23:41
whipperwheel something really bad I
23:43
never heard. You know
23:45
>> it's interesting. This is another one
23:47
sort of like the screech owl where you
23:49
hear them but you don't see them a whole
23:52
lot and they are because of the way that
23:54
their their feathers are. They're kind
23:56
of camouflaged.
23:58
>> Um males will repeat a three note call
24:01
continuously in the darkness.
24:03
>> Yeah. And and you can't see them.
24:06
>> Well, and it's kind of eerie too like
24:08
you're getting a warning over and over.
24:11
>> Yeah. But once would have been enough
24:13
the SOS, you know. [laughter]
24:15
send a little Morse code to you,
24:17
something like that. He didn't have to
24:18
sit out there all night.
24:20
>> Given that the the whipperwill is kind
24:22
of more um prominent when when you're on
24:26
ranches, are there any specific like
24:28
camp stories you have of whipperwills
24:30
where maybe people were on edge? Is is
24:33
the whipperwill a cowboy superstition
24:36
particularly? I
24:38
>> I don't think as much as the owl.
24:40
>> Oh, really? probably because there is
24:42
such a there's a a closer connection
24:45
between Native American and cowboy
24:47
cultures, I would assume.
24:48
>> Yeah. And I really think whipper wheel
24:51
habitat is more
24:53
easternbased woodlands and a lot of
24:57
ranch country that was almost so wide
24:58
open they might not be but one tree to
25:00
roost in and everybody done claimed it,
25:02
right? You know, so I never heard any
25:05
cowboys say anything about a
25:07
whipperwheel except when they was
25:09
singing that old song, that whipperwheel
25:11
song.
25:12
>> What's that song?
25:12
>> It was on an old John Wayne movie, Rio
25:15
Lobo, something like that. And I can't
25:17
remember that young Ricky Martin was in
25:19
the movie. And Dean Martin, I think it's
25:21
Ricky Martin. And he sang this song to
25:23
Will Brennan. Whipper will
25:26
in the moonlight.
25:28
Whipper will sing for me.
25:32
>> It was goes back to my rifle, my pony,
25:34
and me was the name of the song, but it
25:36
had whipperwheel in it.
25:37
>> Oh, I do know that song.
25:38
>> Do you sing it for us?
25:39
>> No. No. Not enough to sing.
25:41
>> Oh,
25:42
>> nobody wants to hear that. In the
25:44
southern Appalachian, specifically in
25:46
North Carolina, they have a very simple
25:50
interpretation of the whipper whale. And
25:52
it was just like if it came close to a
25:54
house and someone was inside and they
25:56
were sick, that person's definitely
25:58
gone. And there's a lot, especially in
26:00
New England, this was what's what's
26:02
interesting. New England had a lot of
26:05
written down stories and lore about the
26:09
whipper whale specifically and the
26:12
taking of souls. And so I just find that
26:15
interesting why um up there and then
26:19
that that culture must have traveled
26:21
south during the westward expansion and
26:23
and that's how we got more of the
26:24
stories on the whipperwheel.
26:26
>> I I'm
26:28
okay. I I lay in the tepee a lot, you
26:30
know, and I get to hear nature's
26:33
symphony, the sounds, you know.
26:36
>> Hudal was always I love to hear them,
26:39
>> you know. And there's the the Bob White
26:41
quail.
26:43
>> Do that one.
26:44
>> I don't know if I got enough pucker to
26:46
whistle,
26:50
[whistles]
26:55
but
26:57
there was song birds. I love to hear.
26:59
>> You know, not all birds had bad meanings
27:03
or sounds or kept you up all night. You
27:05
know,
27:06
>> you see a cardinal
27:09
>> land out there in the tree, love is in
27:12
your area.
27:12
>> Oh, see that's a nice bird.
27:14
>> Yeah. The sandill crane, or not just the
27:16
sandill crane, but cranes in general,
27:18
especially back over in a lot of Asia
27:21
and European countries and many years
27:23
ago, they were a symbol of peace, of
27:25
prosperity, you know. Uh, so there's I
27:29
mean the Al got a bad rap. He did, you
27:33
know, because he's seen as everything
27:34
you want to read about him in Native
27:36
American culture and everything. Sure,
27:38
he had good things, but one of the first
27:39
things they always mentioned was he
27:41
brought death.
27:43
You know,
27:45
>> I mean, as you're saying the owl again,
27:47
I do have a note here, and this is
27:50
interesting because this is going into
27:52
Mexican American folklore.
27:54
uh particularly, you know, we're looking
27:56
at central and south Texas and that
27:59
culture obviously blended in a lot with
28:02
the westward expansion, also with the
28:05
cowboys
28:06
moving up the trails, moving cattle.
28:09
We've got a lot of prominent cattle
28:12
trails. So, all of these cultures are
28:14
blending in in this particular area. And
28:17
what I want to bring out and people let
28:20
me know if you have heard this
28:22
particular owl. This is called lechusa.
28:28
>> Leusa.
28:29
>> It's Spanish for owl, especially a barn
28:32
owl. And the le la le lechusa is a bruha
28:37
who transforms into an enormous owl. Now
28:40
I want to go back to bruha
28:42
>> because bruhas fascinate me. I don't
28:45
know much about them, but this is kind
28:48
of a
28:50
prairie witch or a
28:52
>> mountain witch.
28:53
>> A mountain witch.
28:54
>> First time I ever heard I never even
28:57
know who a bruha was and I was packing
28:59
with uncle out there in the hila
29:02
and he's singing this song as we're
29:04
going in the dark 9 or 10:00 at night
29:08
and I said, "Why are you making all this
29:10
racket
29:12
to keep the bruhas away?" And I said the
29:16
what? Laosa.
29:18
>> Did he say that too?
29:20
>> Bruha, mountain witch in the form of a
29:23
owl, but it takes shape a lot of times
29:25
too as a woman, a witch.
29:28
>> I I looked all night up and down the
29:30
trail. I never seen one.
29:31
>> Was he serious? Yeah, he he was raised
29:34
with a lot of Mexican descent people out
29:36
there too in the but um
29:39
>> he definitely was afraid
29:42
>> of de Bruha.
29:44
>> Interesting. Okay. And so and I wouldn't
29:46
imagine that your uncle was a
29:50
really well I guess he is superstitious
29:52
but he's not he's like a more logical
29:54
guy like he wasn't going to believe in a
29:56
lot of like fairy tales.
29:58
>> No. These old-timers had told him out
30:00
there in the hill so many times all
30:02
these stories about these mountain
30:03
witches, these bruhas.
30:06
>> Interesting.
30:06
>> So he would always sing at night.
30:09
Singing kept him away. That's what he
30:12
told me.
30:13
>> Now most of the time when he was going
30:14
up there and his me and him, he might
30:16
have had a half a bottle of whiskey in
30:17
him while he was singing to him,
30:19
>> but he said, "You have to sing a song to
30:22
keep them away."
30:23
>> Interesting. because they were also
30:25
known as and he told me in these stories
30:29
that this was also in a way it did good
30:32
things.
30:33
>> Well, so I I looked up technically what
30:36
the brewhall was and it can be a healer
30:40
>> y
30:40
>> or a folk magic pi p p p p p p p p p p p
30:42
p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p
30:42
p p p p p p p p practitioner, so not
30:43
necessarily as bad or it can be someone
30:45
who cast curse and performs harmful
30:47
magic.
30:48
>> Yeah. But it was also a way too that
30:51
he'd tell me that they would uh go to
30:55
Reserve New Mexico, which was a little
30:57
bar up there north, and there was always
31:00
Bruhas up there because they tended to
31:03
be more out to harm
31:07
the people who were
31:11
abusive, drunk,
31:12
>> doing bad stuff.
31:13
>> Yeah.
31:14
>> Yeah. Um, so this Lusa,
31:19
>> uh,
31:19
>> I hope I'm pronouncing this correctly,
31:21
is often described as an unnaturally
31:24
large pale or white, sometimes
31:27
possessing the face or an eyes of a
31:28
woman. So, we've got this correlation
31:30
between half owl, half woman,
31:33
transforming into both.
31:36
>> And there is no look, there's not really
31:40
an official origin story. Again, these
31:43
are oral traditions that have just been
31:45
passed down, so we don't really know the
31:47
beginning. Um, but she is a witch who
31:49
assumes owl form to travel unseen.
31:53
And she could be a wronged woman who
31:56
returns for revenge. She punishes cruel,
31:59
dishonest, or drunken men.
32:01
>> Yes.
32:02
>> Or she also carries away children who
32:05
wander outdoors after dark. Now, I think
32:08
>> that one Whoa.
32:09
>> What? You got a you got a
32:11
>> cuz I do remember Uncle Duck telling me
32:13
and that's what his name was Van. We
32:15
called him Uncle Duck. But he told me he
32:18
said I used to keep my kids close at
32:21
night when they was little when they was
32:24
living up there in the mountains cuz he
32:26
said them brewh just swoop down and get
32:28
them carry them off.
32:29
>> Oh my gosh. notes like that that makes
32:33
me feel like that was started by a
32:35
mother one day who wanted or like her
32:38
kids weren't paying attention and like
32:40
look the brew house's going to get you
32:42
if you get away. I mean that feels like
32:44
pretty effective.
32:45
>> So, you know, maybe that that's how that
32:47
starts off. I
32:48
>> I don't know. But it he was that was one
32:51
of the few things that I think he really
32:54
I don't know. I won't say he was scared,
32:57
but he wanted to make sure that he he
32:59
observes some old tradition.
33:01
>> Yeah.
33:02
>> You know, to sort of ward it off. Yeah.
33:04
>> Me, I would say, Lord, I don't know who
33:07
this is that's singing and I don't know
33:08
who these bruhas are, but if you'll help
33:10
me and my mule get to camp, I'd
33:12
appreciate it.
33:12
>> When you were in camp, especially in
33:14
these hunting camps where you're in the
33:16
hila, you are deep in the hila.
33:18
>> Yeah.
33:18
>> You're
33:19
>> 21 miles in,
33:20
>> right? And so there's nothing.
33:22
>> Uhhuh.
33:23
Did you ever get a odd sense like when
33:28
at night when you're in your teepee?
33:31
>> Uh
33:33
I heard a lot of owl out there. Yeah.
33:35
You know,
33:36
>> and at the time I hadn't heard all these
33:38
owl stories that these Native American
33:40
people were.
33:40
>> So you weren't concerned?
33:42
>> No. But
33:44
I would hear things at night that I
33:46
couldn't explain at times.
33:48
>> Ooh.
33:48
>> You know, I mean, there'd be snow on the
33:50
ground and you could hear the snow
33:52
crunch. you know, in the night and I
33:54
would get up and I'd think deer was in
33:56
camp or elk or was no bear that come by
34:00
and you would get out and you'd look
34:01
around the flashlight and there was no
34:03
tracks.
34:03
>> Mhm.
34:04
>> Who was making those tracks? Was it the
34:06
brew? Huh?
34:07
>> I don't know. There is a documented West
34:11
Texas Luza story.
34:13
>> Um, a man was walking home alone after a
34:16
dance one night. Um, and he got about
34:19
halfway home and he heard this piercing
34:22
whistling coming from a top of the tree
34:24
and he's looking up and of course he
34:26
sees this enormous bird perched up
34:29
there. And without warning, the bird
34:31
launches itself from the tree, flies
34:34
directly at this guy. It's beating its
34:35
wings. It's clawing at him. And
34:38
believing that this bird was the
34:40
lechusa, a witch, um, he begins to pray.
34:44
And he prays and he prays. And as he's
34:46
praying, apparently the creature
34:48
disappears.
34:49
>> Yes. Gone.
34:50
>> And I think this is interesting because
34:53
you had said the one of the origins is
34:57
of these people who are doing wrong.
35:01
>> Yes.
35:01
>> And so in that sense, this is a this is
35:05
like the Robin Hood of owls, right? Like
35:08
they're trying to kind of correct some
35:10
wrongs. like I I don't know in this
35:12
particular situation but like with the
35:14
the drunkenness or
35:16
>> disorderly conduct,
35:18
>> people hurting other people like coming
35:20
after them and there are rules for
35:23
surviving a lessa encounter
35:26
>> rules.
35:27
>> Yeah. So one is and this is in in Texas
35:31
accounts. You hold up a cross. You do
35:34
begin praying. You tie nine knots in a
35:38
rope saying a prayer for each knot. Now,
35:41
nine is that's considered in a novena.
35:43
Um, particularly in uh Catholic culture,
35:46
novena are very popular. It's a series
35:48
of nine prayers.
35:49
>> So, and I'm sure being in Texas in the
35:52
Mexican culture, there is that that
35:54
tithe. And um do not curse, insult,
35:58
shoot, or otherwise provoke the owl. And
36:01
do not follow strange whistles or cries
36:04
into the darkness. Well, that's a good
36:06
one in general.
36:06
>> Well, I don't think I was done that in
36:08
darkness anyway. Would you? I mean,
36:12
okay. You're You're just going to go out
36:13
here behind the house tonight, pitch
36:15
dark black, and you're just going to
36:17
walk around. Okay.
36:18
>> Yeah. That's not a good idea.
36:19
>> And you hear an owl.
36:21
>> Mhm.
36:24
>> I'm going to walk back toward the house.
36:26
You know what I mean?
36:26
>> Uhhuh.
36:27
And I'm not I won't say I'm I'm very
36:29
superstitious at all, but all this stuff
36:32
that's been handed down and given to you
36:34
and wrote about and sure you say a lot
36:36
of them are old stories told around a
36:38
fire. Uncle told them to me, right?
36:40
Somebody passed them down.
36:43
But somebody had to believe them a long
36:45
time ago for them to get this far. We're
36:46
talking thousands of years coming back
36:48
this way.
36:49
>> Yeah. Well, and of course, because most
36:50
of these are oral, they're changing.
36:52
They're morphing. They they they change
36:55
to fit
36:55
>> embellished a little. Yes. And they fit
36:57
the culture to where they are now
36:59
brought to. So um interesting you had
37:02
mentioned with um the drunken men.
37:05
>> This is a Rio Grande Valley version. And
37:09
this is a more modern told version where
37:13
it the lu leuza supposedly is the ghost
37:16
of a mother whose children were killed
37:19
by a drunk driver and she consequently
37:21
waits around bar districts and prays
37:23
upon drunken people traveling home. So
37:27
that is the more revenge version of the
37:30
owl.
37:30
>> Yeah. But in a way still doing some
37:32
good.
37:33
>> I mean hey you know
37:34
>> you know little justice. Um, I want to
37:39
transition now. We've talked about the
37:41
owl a lot.
37:42
>> Okay,
37:43
>> let's let's give the owl a break. Poor
37:45
thing.
37:46
>> But when we were talking in the previous
37:48
episode about superstitions and cowboy
37:52
lore, and I got to thinking like who the
37:56
cowboy was in the 1800s
37:59
and what kind of created their narrative
38:02
and their storylines of what they
38:04
believed. And a lot of that was
38:06
immigrants.
38:07
>> Absolutely.
38:08
>> And a lot of that was Irishmen.
38:11
>> Yes. And the Irish are well known for
38:15
their superstitions and folklore which
38:18
of course was then brought over and made
38:21
its way on the trail. And I'm sure like
38:23
we talked before about um the night herd
38:27
and the cattle and it was very common
38:30
for cowboys when they were riding
38:32
through the night herd to sing to mellow
38:34
the cattle out and many of those songs
38:37
were Irish lullabi.
38:38
>> Yes, old folks.
38:40
>> So I want to just touch base a little
38:42
bit on some Irish too before we go any
38:45
further. You are Irish, right?
38:46
>> I am Irish. Shannon, hello.
38:48
>> Well, I mean so
38:50
>> my middle name is Gallagher. Gallagher.
38:52
>> I'm figuring that this information we're
38:55
>> straight from this source. [laughter]
38:57
>> Straight from the wee people. It does
39:00
>> because you're not what are you? 4 foot.
39:02
>> That's not true. I'm 5'1 everyone.
39:06
Um, okay. So, I want to introduce this.
39:10
We all know or we've heard about
39:12
fairies, leprechauns, little people, the
39:14
wee people. But I think what gets
39:17
misconstrued a little bit is that we
39:20
have this idea of fairies and
39:22
leprechauns as these bright little happy
39:25
fun-loving creatures. But in traditional
39:28
Irish folklore going way back, the we
39:32
people, leprechauns, fairies were
39:34
actually not nice and they would cause
39:38
havoc. And really your whole point was
39:42
to just avoid them, make them happy,
39:45
don't upset them.
39:47
>> I'm a little bit confused here cuz I'm
39:49
I'm not Irish. Okay.
39:51
>> Uhhuh.
39:52
>> So
39:54
all these we people, little bitty
39:57
people. Yes. Okay.
39:59
>> I thought these were little people that
40:01
brought good luck and fortune. And
40:04
>> I mean, I think there is a version of
40:05
that, but but
40:08
originally, no. Especially the fairies.
40:10
>> Now, is this and I'm not even I'm not
40:12
trying to offend any, but I don't know
40:14
about this. Is this the little
40:15
leprechauns we're talking about?
40:16
>> Well, so there there is kind of
40:18
different classifications, you know, and
40:19
and primarily I'm going to be talking
40:21
about fairies or the Wii people.
40:24
>> All right.
40:24
>> Okay.
40:25
>> This I'm ready for this because I I want
40:27
to know where my bloodline's coming
40:28
from. So, and and I don't know like in
40:31
in Irish culture, I don't know if you
40:33
would say that you necessarily believe
40:35
in the fairies, but you do everything
40:37
you can not to make them mad. So then in
40:40
a way, don't you kind of
40:42
>> Could you do this in your Irish accent a
40:44
little more though, cuz it means a lot?
40:46
>> No.
40:47
>> Um, okay. So, one very common tradition
40:51
was to leave bread or toast outside.
40:54
Now, this started during what was called
40:58
Sam Hayne around um Halloween time. And
41:02
Sam Hayne back in the day was the very
41:06
um traditional feast time celebrating
41:09
the end of harvest. And so what you
41:12
would do is you would leave bread or
41:14
toast, maybe even spilled milk. I don't
41:16
know why that would be
41:17
>> porridge,
41:18
>> porridge, um butter, maybe even part of
41:22
the meal. You would leave it outside for
41:24
the wee people to make them happy. Give
41:27
them a little Give them a little You had
41:29
to pay them off
41:30
>> and they'll leave you alone. Yeah,
41:31
exactly.
41:32
>> They're like the little mafia.
41:33
>> And you know, in Irish culture, cattle
41:35
were very important. They were part of,
41:37
you know, the dairy, milk, cheese,
41:39
butter.
41:40
>> Absolutely. But unfortunately, fairies
41:43
and we people were known to mess with
41:45
cattle
41:46
>> and that was really hard on people
41:48
because this was their livelihood. Um
41:50
there was a lot of instances of what
41:52
they call you know supernatural
41:54
interferences
41:55
with cows and and I don't know why but
41:58
it was particularly strong during Mayday
42:03
>> and they considered this a very
42:05
vulnerable time for cows because I guess
42:08
the fairies and we people were more
42:10
active during this time and so that's
42:12
when they would really try to make them
42:14
happy. Um, they would put protective
42:18
branches or flowers out near the house
42:21
or the cow barn in hoping that they
42:24
wouldn't mess with them. They make the
42:26
sign of the cross on the cow.
42:29
>> Yeah. But there was a comment left too.
42:32
That cross that was made on them cows
42:34
had to be from the like you dip your
42:36
finger in the frothy milk. Yeah.
42:38
>> And put it on there. It couldn't, you
42:39
know.
42:40
>> Yeah. Or holy water.
42:41
>> Yes.
42:42
>> Yeah. So,
42:43
>> so see there people are going to great
42:44
extents not to make these little people
42:46
mad.
42:48
That's a little note for you. Don't make
42:49
this little person mad.
42:50
>> Were they Were they like little cattle
42:52
thieves?
42:53
>> I I don't They wouldn't steal them, but
42:57
they
42:57
>> maybe they make the cow go dry. You
42:59
wasn't going to get no milk, no butter,
43:01
no cheese,
43:01
>> or sickness or something. So, yeah, it's
43:05
um they would do a lot of things to
43:07
prevent that.
43:08
>> Wait a minute. I know there's a lot of
43:09
viewers want to know this, too. And I
43:11
want Have you seen these le wee little
43:14
people?
43:14
>> No, you never see them.
43:15
>> You don't ever see them?
43:16
>> No, you never see them.
43:17
>> No tracks, no nothing.
43:19
>> No, but Okay, so here's moving on. Fairy
43:22
forts. Have you heard of fairy forts?
43:25
>> Warts.
43:26
>> Forts like little house buildings.
43:28
Forts.
43:29
>> No, ma'am. We didn't have them. No.
43:31
>> Lone Hawthors. Now, the Hawthorne is
43:34
like a
43:34
>> I thought that was a bush.
43:36
>> It is. It's like a thorny bush. A lot of
43:38
times they're like in a row or together.
43:40
>> Yeah. To keep stuff from getting out.
43:42
>> But sometimes they're there's just one
43:44
lone one. Now, if there's a lone one,
43:46
that's supposedly a fairy dwelling or
43:49
hangout spot. So, you want to avoid
43:51
that.
43:51
>> Whoa.
43:53
>> And fairy forts. Now, we're not talking
43:55
about like little bitty like Barbieiz
43:58
castles where they're hanging out. No,
44:00
these are natural structures. So, a lot
44:03
of times in Irish culture, you'll see
44:05
mounds or different like natural
44:09
creations that maybe look a little odd,
44:11
and that is very much connected to fairy
44:14
living areas, and you want to stay away
44:16
from those. You're looking at me like
44:18
I'm crazy.
44:19
>> I mean, I love you, and I've known you
44:22
for quite some time, but this is just
44:23
now coming out. It's making me think, do
44:26
I want to sleep at night?
44:27
>> You don't want to cross a fairy path.
44:30
So,
44:31
>> but you said they didn't leave tracks.
44:32
>> Well, this this is these are a little
44:34
harder to describe now. And I'm not
44:37
entirely sure like identifying fairy
44:40
paths. I think one, they could look like
44:42
nature trails or two, they could just be
44:46
again these oral traditions that are
44:48
passed down to where people over
44:52
centuries and generations have just
44:53
said, "This is a fairy path. Do not
44:55
cross it." I've even heard where um
44:58
there's been construction on houses or
45:02
certain sites and there will be a maybe
45:05
mysterious person or somebody come in
45:07
and say like this is a ferry crossing,
45:09
you can't build here and they will
45:10
abandon it. I mean, this is this is
45:13
taken taken pretty seriously. Um,
45:18
there's also been reports of like houses
45:20
or structures that are built on fairy
45:22
paths or or near fairy paths and at
45:25
night you can hear kind of rumblings
45:28
supposedly the fairies going down the
45:31
path.
45:33
>> Folks, I I just want to apologize for
45:36
y'all.
45:37
>> Hey, I'm just saying.
45:40
>> Are you going to c really? Are you going
45:42
to cross them now, though? Are you going
45:43
to
45:43
>> I haven't never seen a I mean I see a
45:45
lot of game trails, cow trails, all
45:47
kinds of trails. But now I'm going to
45:50
have to be looking for little lone ferry
45:53
houses
45:54
>> only mainly in Ireland. I think they're
45:56
staying in Ireland. So if you go over
45:58
there though,
45:59
>> like you're you're you're looking at me
46:02
like a little crazy. But if someone told
46:04
you that's a ferry path, would you cross
46:06
it?
46:07
>> And over there in their country?
46:08
>> Yes.
46:09
>> Not if I'm in their country, maybe their
46:11
home grounds, you know? I don't want
46:13
them to sneak up on me at night. I don't
46:14
know nothing about them, but wherever I
46:17
go, I try to to get along and how would
46:21
I say this? Abide by people's beliefs
46:24
and regulations, you know. Oh, is there
46:27
signs
46:29
>> of the fairies?
46:30
>> Yeah, it's a lot fairy crossing.
46:32
>> I mean, sometimes, sometimes not.
46:36
>> I know we have a lot of folks from
46:37
Ireland that will that listen and watch.
46:39
>> Yeah, let us know. So, help me
46:42
understand this better. Uh, because
46:46
I mean, I've got my little Irish girl
46:48
here, but th this is very interest. I've
46:50
never knew nothing about the Lee the we
46:52
little people.
46:53
>> They're very It's It's very prominent.
46:55
Yeah. The stories and the the lore.
46:58
>> I mean, I I appreciate what the Irish
47:00
did so much for bringing their
47:02
traditions to the American cowboy.
47:05
>> There was so much history.
47:07
>> It's a super interesting culture.
47:08
>> They were great. A lot of them were
47:10
musicians.
47:11
>> Oh, absolutely.
47:12
>> And a lot of them knew all these old
47:14
folk ballads and songs that they could
47:16
sing and they turned into so many songs
47:19
that were sung around cattle and around
47:21
cowboys and stuff like that and the
47:22
ballads. So,
47:25
I mean, you have opened my eyes to new
47:27
things again today. Well, so as we're
47:29
wrapping up here, I want to ask, you
47:32
know, whether you think you're
47:34
superstitious or not, as you had just
47:37
mentioned, like you're going to honor
47:41
the culture.
47:42
>> Yeah, I'm going to try.
47:44
>> So, why do you think we do that? Like,
47:46
we may not consider ourselves
47:48
superstitious, but there is a certain
47:50
part of ourselves that's like, "Ooh,
47:52
wait, maybe maybe I shouldn't do I think
47:54
a lot of it is just being polite
47:57
>> abiding.
47:58
>> So it's not you don't think it's a
47:59
necessarily a belief.
48:02
>> Well, I think to some small extent in
48:05
things, you know, I'm I'm not going to
48:08
go visit some Native Americans and say
48:13
this hoot deal is nonsense,
48:16
>> right?
48:16
>> You know, because you have to respect
48:18
their culture,
48:19
>> you know, and I do and I believe a lot
48:21
of the same things that they do.
48:24
And for the Irish people and the the
48:26
little fairies and all this, I'm not
48:29
going to go over there in their country
48:30
and stroll down the path and they say,
48:32
"Hey, you can't cross here. You know,
48:34
there's been some fairy traffic." And
48:36
I'm going, "Hey, these people know what
48:38
they're talking about. This is their
48:40
country. This is their belief. So, just
48:42
be obliging." Is there a particular
48:46
cowboy superstition lore story that you
48:50
wish people would would recognize?
48:55
>> Oh, that's that's
48:56
>> that's a tough question.
48:57
>> That is a tough question. Um
48:59
>> or maybe even like when you were on a
49:01
ranch somewhere and there was like
49:03
sacred ground or something like that.
49:06
There are so many things on ranches,
49:07
especially the old historically correct
49:09
ranches
49:10
>> that have pieces of ground that are
49:13
hallowed ground, sacred, you know, uh,
49:17
and you respected them.
49:18
>> Is that because something happened
49:20
there? There was a certain person on the
49:22
ranch. Like, why why is that?
49:23
>> I think a lot of it was from maybe there
49:25
was an old-timer that lived there that
49:27
meant so much to the ranch or he founded
49:29
the ranch, you know, but also
49:32
>> and I've grown across them in our
49:33
country a lot back in Oklahoma. you'd
49:35
just be wandering through there. You
49:36
just find a little family graveyard
49:38
sticking out somewhere, you know.
49:40
>> Uh it's about respect and being
49:42
observant to where you're at and around.
49:45
But I think
49:48
I got a lot of comments from people on
49:50
this last one, too, that said, you know,
49:53
I'm a I'm a firm faith believing
49:55
Christian. I don't have superstitions.
49:57
>> Yes.
49:58
>> You know, uh
50:00
the good Lord has carried me ever since
50:02
I've been born. And I hope he don't give
50:04
up on me yet. But to me, this is a part
50:07
of history in a way that I think people
50:10
need to look at every once in a while.
50:12
>> Mhm.
50:12
>> To see the cultures that built the
50:15
world, you know.
50:16
>> Yeah.
50:16
>> I'm going to go back to the owl for just
50:18
a minute.
50:19
>> The Cherokee thought and they believed
50:23
that the owl was one of the few things
50:26
that actually stayed awake the entire
50:28
time creation was brought about.
50:30
>> Oh, interesting. And that's why he was
50:32
so wise, why he could see so many things
50:36
because he was able to witness it all.
50:39
>> Yeah.
50:40
>> You know, and we've witnessed a lot of
50:42
things, me and you, on ranches and going
50:44
back everywhere and places we've been.
50:47
And some of it we might not believe. You
50:50
know, I remember at the bail ranch, we
50:52
were sitting there and I we staying at
50:53
headquarters one night cuz we got blowed
50:55
out and I woke up.
50:57
>> Don't Okay. No, this is going to be a
50:59
teaser story because we are going to do
51:01
a an upcoming episode because we're in
51:04
like kind of spooky season and we are
51:07
going to do a little more of a
51:10
supernatural things that we've
51:12
experienced on some of these old
51:13
historic ranches. And I will tell you as
51:16
a teaser, this had me absolutely freaked
51:19
out. I didn't want to stay in the house
51:21
anymore and we went back to the teepee
51:23
and stayed. That's all we're going to
51:25
say for this.
51:26
>> I swear I can't tell. tell the story.
51:28
You got
51:28
>> It's a really good story, too, folks.
51:30
>> So, you're going to have to you're going
51:31
to have to wait for the upcoming episode
51:32
of that because it is a good story.
51:34
>> So, superstition
51:37
as defined by Mr. Webster is believing
51:40
in something that has been handed down
51:43
from generations, whether it be
51:45
folklore,
51:46
>> truth, or fiction.
51:48
>> Okay.
51:49
>> So,
51:51
what do you believe in? Are you
51:53
superstitious?
51:55
Did somebody tell you a story a long
51:57
time ago and maybe you embellished it a
51:59
little and you know was a foreheaded owl
52:02
with 18 wings? Was it a bruha living in
52:05
your backyard?
52:07
>> Hey, I'm I'm all about history. I'm all
52:10
about learning some things.
52:12
>> So, if y'all got a a story, I'd love to
52:15
hear it. Wouldn't you? Cuz that's what
52:17
was one of the greatest things in this
52:19
last video was going through all the
52:21
comments and hearing about it.
52:22
>> Yeah. But 80%
52:25
the owl.
52:27
>> The owl always came back. So anyway, if
52:29
you do have one that uh we missed, leave
52:33
us a comment because we love hearing
52:35
about that. And like you said, it's I
52:38
think what's super interesting about it
52:40
is just the history of it and how these
52:43
are preserved through cultures and
52:45
timelines and regions and just having
52:50
sharing those and bringing those back is
52:52
kind of the purpose of this. So anyway,
52:55
leave us a comment. Thank you so much
52:57
for joining us for this part two of
52:59
Cowboy Superstitions.
53:01
>> And I'm just going to tell you, watch
53:02
out for the we little people. You never
53:05
know. I mean, I'm I'm
53:07
>> They're small, but they're mighty.
53:09
>> I'm gonna get in a pickup today and I
53:10
got to go somewhere and if I see a sign
53:12
that says fairy crossing, I'm just going
53:13
to turn around and come back home.
53:15
>> Absolutely.
53:15
>> Yeah, I know. But we do appreciate y'all
53:18
uh a whole lot. We know this is getting
53:21
to be a busy time of year. School has
53:23
started back for everybody. Everything's
53:25
going on. Uh I'll tell you something a
53:28
little more about superstition. Football
53:30
season is here and there's so many
53:32
superstitions that go with football.
53:34
>> Absolutely. So y'all be sure and leave
53:36
us a comment. Uh remember you're not
53:39
fans, you are family. Are we
53:42
historically correct on all this? I
53:44
ain't got a clue.
53:45
>> We did our best.
53:46
>> We did our best. But we do appreciate
53:48
y'all each and every one. But it is with
53:50
pride, honor, and privilege that I tip
53:52
my hat to all the servicemen and women
53:54
and all the veterans that have kept that
53:55
old flag of flying over camp. We commend
53:57
you all. We lift [music] you up in
53:58
prayer daily. Folks, remember that
54:00
prayer hotline's still open. you need us
54:02
pray for you, we'll sure do that, too.
54:04
God bless you each and everyone. We'll
54:06
see you down the superstition [music]
54:08
tree.
54:14
[music]
54:18
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People & Society