Ozark Tales and Superstitions

Table of Contents 

Preface     9

Acknowledgements     13

FOLKTALES     15 

Tales of the Supernatural
The Legend of Ghost Hollow     17
Lady of the Valley     18
The Monster of Peter Bottom Cave     21
The Phantom Caboose     24
The Fairview Ghost     25

Indian Legends
The Legend of Virgin’s Bluff     27
The Legend of Ginger Blue     29
The Legend of War Eagle     30

Treasure Tales

The Cross Hollows Treasure     34
Tales of Callahan Mountain     35
The Treasure of Mill Ford Hollow     38
Lost Louisiana Mine     40
The Yokum Dollar     41
Boston Mountain Gold     43

Outlaw Stories

Belle Starr’s Horse Race     45
The Ozarks’ Last Horseback Outlaw     47
The Legend of Floyd Edings     50
Death Hoax of the James Brothers     52

Nature Lore

Jewels of the Devil     57
Plant Legends     58
The Legend of Mistletoe     60
Miracle Waters     61

Ozark Sampler: History, Passion, Humor

The Legend of Viva     65
Wild Bill Hickok’s Ozark Gunfight     69
Heavener Runestones     71
Kingston’s First Telephone     73
Mule Lore     75

SUPERSTITIONS

Omens and Wishes

Bad-Luck Omens     81
Good-Luck Omens     83
Death Omens     84
Wishes     85
Love and Marriage     85
Miscellaneous Superstitions     87 

Moon Signs     89

Weather Signs      91

Cures and Remedies     94

Folktales

            Around the same time James Yokum, his two brothers, and their families were on their way west in covered wagons drawn by oxen.  As they reached Springfield they learned of the fertile territory available for homesteading near the James and White rivers.  Their journey ended on the beautiful land they found there.

            The Yokums became close friends of the many Indians in the region.  They often inquired about the source for all the beautiful silver jewelry the Indians wore, but the tribe would never reveal their secret. 

            When the U.S. Congress passed the Indian Removal Acts it was necessary for the Indians to leave the region for lands further west.  The Yokums traded horses, blankets, wagons, and food to the tribe for their silver mine.

            U.S. currency was in short supply in the Ozarks; most transactions were made by trading goods and services.  The Yokum brothers acquired some blacksmithing tools and shaped molds into the size of U.S. silver dollars.  They then began minting what soon became known as “the Yokum Dollar.”  Since the Yokum dollar had more pure silver content than the rarer U.S. dollar, the Yokum coin was in great demand as currency throughout the Ozarks and was used for barter throughout the hills for several years.

The U.S. Government was not aware of the special Ozark currency until laws required that filing fees be paid when homesteaded lands were recorded.  Many homesteaders tried to pay their fees in Springfield with their Yokum dollars.  This resulted in notification of the U.S. Treasury Department.  Soon federal agents were searching the hills for the Yokum mine.  The Yokum family was threatened with prison terms if they would not reveal its location, but they held firm and would not reveal their secret.

Boston Mountain Gold

            The story of the Boston Mountain treasure began when Indians attacked a Spanish party and stole gold, silver, and jewels valued at $200,000.  These Indians apparently suffered great hardship and many deaths shortly after their conquest and believed that their cache of gold had brought an evil spell upon them.  Hoping to rid themselves of the hex, they buried the treasure near their campground in the Boston Mountains of south Washington, County, Arkansas.

            A Mr. Jones had grown up in the Boston Mountain region before moving to Texas and raising a family.  He often told his children the old tale from his own childhood, and his sons developed an interest in the story.  In July 1925 they decided to come to Arkansas in search of the gold.

            During the 1920’s Edgar Cayce, an Ohio photographer, was discovered to have astounding psychic powers, His wife began recording the predictions he made during his self-imposed hypnotic sleep, and he soon became nationally known for the accuracy of his readings.  His initial fame came in the field of medicine.  Doctors who were having difficulty diagnosing a patient’s medical problems began writing Cayce for assistance.   Over the years the amazing accuracy of his sleeping diagnoses was said to have saved hundreds of lives.

The Legend of Vivia

            As dawn first broke on a bitter cold morning in January 1870, a guard patrolling the grounds surrounding Fort Gibson, Indian Territory, rushed to report to the commanding officer.  He had found the frozen body of young Private Thomas lying across a grave in the cemetery near the fort.

            The body was taken to the fort’s infirmary.  As it was being examined to determine the cause of death, a most unusual discovery was made.  Private Thomas, who had enlisted only a few weeks earlier, was found during the examination to be a woman.  As the commanding officer and his staff were reviewing these strange circumstances and wondering how Thomas had succeeded in passing herself off as a man, an old priest at the fort came forward with one of the most romantic and unusual stories in the annals of military history.  Young Thomas had related her secret to the priest in confidence only a few days prior to her death.  The priest’s story was the beginning of the legend of Vivia that has been told ever since by families living in and around Fort Gibson in what is now eastern Oklahoma.

            Vivia Thomas was the high-spirited daughter of a wealthy Boston family.  She had been educated at the finest schools in the East and regularly attended Boston society’s finest affairs.  It was at one of the many Boston society balls that were held during the years following the Civil War that Vivia met and fell in love with a handsome young lieutenant.