Tall tale characteristics Continue A high story is a story with incredible elements, told as if it were true and factual. Some high stories are exaggerations of real events, for example stories of fish (the fish that escaped) like, That fish was so big, because I tell you,' he almost sank the boat when I pulled it in! Other high stories are completely imaginary tales set in a familiar setting, such as the European countryside, the American frontier, the Canadian northwest, the Australian frontier or the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Events are often told in a way that makes the narrator seem to have been a part of the story; the tone is generally common sense. The line between legends and high tales is mainly distinguished by age; [necessary quote] many legends exaggerate the feats of their heroes, but in high stories exaggeration looms large, to the point of dominating history. High American Tale The High Tale is a fundamental element of American popular literature. The origins of the high narrative can be seen in the boast contests that often occurred when rough men on the American frontier gathered. The tales of legendary old West figures, some listed below, owe much to the style of high stories. Biannual speech contests held by Toastmasters International's public language clubs may include a Tall Tales competition. Each participating speaker is given three or five minutes to give a short speech of the nature of a high story, and is then judged on several factors. The winner moves to the next level of competition. The competition does not proceed beyond any district participating in the organization at international level. The comic strip Non Sequitur sometimes features high stories told by the character Captain Eddie; it is left to the reader to decide if he is telling the truth, exaggerating a real event, or simply saying a whopper. Examples Historical individuals Some stories are told about exaggerated versions of real historical individuals: Johnny Appleseed – A friendly folk hero who traveled the West planting apple trees because he felt his guardian angel told Johnny Blood – An American football player whose reputation for wild behavior was well known as his game on the field Jim Bowie – A Kentuckian borderman , Texas Ranger and land speculator who fought for the Texas cause in the Battle of the Alamo. He is known for the Bowie knife he used to gut his opponent. Daniel Boone – Blazed a path through Cumberland Gap to found the first English-speaking colonies west of the Appalachian Mountains Aylett C. Strap Buckner – An Indian colonial Texas fighter[1] Davy Crockett - A pioneer and congressman United States from Tennessee who later died at the Battle of the Alamo Mike Fink - The toughest boatman on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Also known as the king of the Keelboatmen River Peter Francisco - hero of the American Revolutionary War. John Henry – A powerful African-American Calamity Jane - A tough woman from the wild West Jigger Johnson (1871–1935), a Maine lumberjack and log driver who is known for his many off-the-job feats, such as the capture of bobcats alive with bare hands, and drunken brawls[2] Casey Jones – A brave and gritty railway engineer Nat Love, also known as Dead Dick , was born a slave in Tennessee in 1854. Tales of his adventures after emancipation, as a cowboy and as a Pullman porter, have earned such fantastic elements that they are considered tall tales Sam Patch - A reckless early 19th-century who died during a jump on Friday the Friday the 13th Molly Pitcher - A heroine of the American War of Independence Blackbeard had various tall tales surrounding her involvement with piracy from 1717-1718. Legendary figures paul bunyan's sidekick, Babe the Blue Ox, carved as a ten-meter-high tourist attraction By the side of the road The subjects of some high American tales include legendary figures: Tony Beaver – a West Virginia lumberjack and cousin of Paul Bunyan Pecos Bill – legendary cowboy who tamed the wild west Paul Bunyan – huge lumberjack who eats 50 pancakes in a minute and dug the grand canyon with his Cordwood Axe Pete - Younger Brother fight a drought Johnny Kaw, an imaginary Kansan whose mythological status itself was in a sense a fruit, as it was recently created, in 1955. Adherents of this assessment consider such fakelore stories Joe Magarac – a Pittsburgh steelworker in steel Alfred Bulltop Stormalong – an immense sailor whose ship was so large that scraped the Moon Similar traditions in other cultures The skvader, an example of a history of hunting high history. Similar storytelling traditions are present elsewhere. For example: High Australian tales The Australian frontier (known as the bush or outback) has similarly inspired the types of tall tales found in American folklore. The Australian versions typically concern a mythical station called The Speewah. Speewah's heroes include: Rodney Ansell Big Bill - Speewah's stupidest man who made a living cutting mining wells and selling them for Crooked Mick holes - A shearer champion who had colossal strength and quick wit. Another popular hero in Australian folklore is Charlie McKeahnie, the hero of Banjo Paterson's poem The Man from the Snowy River, whose courage, adaptability and risk-taking could embody the new Australian spirit. Canadian high stories The Canadian frontier has also inspired the types of tall tales found in American folklore, such as: French Canadian tales Big Joe Mufferaw, a giant of a lumberjack and lumberjack from the Ottawa Valley, loosely based on the royal lumberjack Joseph Joseph Johnny Chinook, a Canadian cowboy and Métis breeder from Alberta Ti-Jean of the Canadian West, a giant 10-year-old French- Canadian lumberjack, Sam McGee, the hero of Robert Service's poem The Cremation of Sam McGee (1907) European high stories The Columnar basalt that makes up the Giant's Causeway; in legend, a beautiful set of hexagonal milestones for Scotland, made by Fionn mac Cumhaill Some high European tales include: Toell the Great was one of estonia's great high tales. The Republic of Babin in Renaissance Poland (1568) was a satirical society dedicated entirely to mocking people and telling high stories, Juho N'tti (1890–1964), known as N'tti-Jussi, was a Finnish lumberjack known for telling high stories; his stories have also circulated as folk tales and have been collected in books. The life of Gargantua and Pantagruel (16th century) by the writer French Rabelais told the story of two giants; father and son. The many far-fetched adventures of the fictional German nobleman Baron Munchausen, some of which may have had a folklore base. Legends of the Irish mythological warrior-hunter Fionn mac Cumhaill, also known as Finn MacCool, have meant that he built the Giant's Causeway as a springboard for Scotland, so as not to wet his feet, and that he once also picked up a part of Ireland to launch it at a rival, but lost and landed in the Irish Sea; the lump became the Isle of Man, the pebble became Rockall, and the void became Lough Neagh. A brown bear that covers itself with baking soda to be acceptable to humans like a polar bear, a boy selling frozen words, and a woman whose voice cuts through a giant tree to release oranges that light up the polar night are all stories told by an elder Pomor in the Soviet animated film Laughter and Pain from the White Sea (1988). Cumbrian Liars, a Uk association that follows in the footsteps of Will Ritson. [4] The folk song Martin said to his man is a well-known traditional example of a song about a boast contest. Modern tales Of Him Guthrie's Motorcycle Song is often accompanied by a high story about the origin of the song. In visual media, postcards from the early 20th century became a vehicle for telling high stories in the United States. [6] The creators of these cards, such as the prolific Alfred Stanley Johnson Jr.,[7] and William H. Dad Martin, usually employed chip photographs, including forced perspective, while others painted their unlikely tableaus,[6] or used a combination of painting and photography in early examples of photographic retouching. [8] The common theme was gigantism: fishing for leviathans, hunting or riding large animals and the insertion of huge sheaths. [6] A tribute to the genre can be found on the cover of the Allman Brothers Band album Eat a Peach (1972). See also Big Fish – Tim Burton related film Story of a Dying Man exaggerating the details of his life to his son Bill Brasky Campfire story Chuck Norris made Fairy such Folklore Mythomania Snipe hunts The Most Interesting Man in the World Unreliable Urban Narrator Legend References - Buckner, Aylett C. Texas Online Manual. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved August 23, 2011. Appalachian Mountain Club, 1964. Monahan, Robert. Jigger Johnson, New Hampshire Profiles magazine, Northeast Publications, Concord, New Hampshire, April 1957. Cumbrian liars. grizedale.org. - Larger than life: high-tale postcards. Historical Society of Wisconsin. a b c d and Storytelling Through the Mail: Tall Tale Postcards in Michigan. Michigan History Online. Archived from the original on 2009-07-08. Wisconsin historical images, keywords: high story, Alfred Stanley Johnson, Jr. Historical Society of Wisconsin. High-story postcard: mammoth strawberries. Historical Society of Wisconsin. Wisconsin historical images, keywords: high story, fishing. Historical Society of Wisconsin. Wisconsin historical images, hunting keyword. Historical Society of Wisconsin. Homeward Bound. Man riding the sheep (1916). Wisconsin historical images, hunting keyword. Historical Society of Wisconsin. Read more Brown, Carolyn. (1989). The high story in American folklore and literature.