FOLKLORE Walker D. Wyman Acknowledgement Unive rsity of Wisconsin-Extension· is especially indebted to Dr. Loren Robin­ son of the Department of J ournali sm, University of Wisconsin, River Fall s, and lo Leon Zaborowski, Universit y Extension, River Falls, for the initial concept of a series of articles on Wisconsin fo lklore, published through daily and weekly newspa­ pe rs in Wisconsin. It was from those articles by Walker Wyman that this book was developed. The contribution of the va rious newspapers which ca rried the articles is also gratefully acknowledged. A Grass Roots Book Copyright © 1979 by Unive r sity of Wisconsin Boar d of Regents All r ight s r eserved Libra ry of Congress Catalog Ca rd Number 79-65323 Published by University of Wisconsin-Extension Department of Arts Development. Price: $4.95 ii Foreword The preparation of a book on folklore to be published by the University Exten­ sion is a major event. There has been, for many years, strong sentiment that the University of Wisconsi n ought to take a more dynamic interest in folklore, and that eventually, academic work in that subject should be established on many of the cam­ puses. So far only the Universities at Eau C laire, River Falls, and at Stevens Point have formal courses. The University at M adison has never had an y such course though informal interest has been strongly present. The University at R iver Falls has developed, through the activities and interests of Dr. Walker W yman, a publish­ ing program which has produced several books of regional fol klore. I have always tried to encourage interest in W isconsin folklore. In 1947, a Badger Fol klore Society was formed, and for a time a small organization existed and a publi cation, Badger Folklore, ran for a few issues. The time was not right, appar­ ently, for the kind of organization that was fl ourishing in Pennsylvania or New York State. Perhaps one reason was the undoubted strength of the Wisconsin Historical Society and the emphasis on local and state h istory which may well have occupied the energies of persons who might have been concerned with fo lklore. In any case, the Badger Folklore Society expired, and on ly very recently, has that movement been revived with a Wisconsin Folklore and Folklife Society which has excellent promise. In 1962, I published, with L. G. Sorden, Wisconsin /,ore, which was the first attempt to bring to the public a collection of state fo lklore. Partly, Wisconsin Lure was one result of a modest archive of Wisconsin fo lklore which had been donated to the Wisconsin Historical Society in 1956 in honor of a remarkable woman, Fidelia Van Antwerp. Miss Van Antwerp was a leader in the writers' movement in Wiscon­ si n, and was devoted to local subjects and fo lkways. While this collection has not notably grown, it furnished a beginning. The Wisconsin Regional Writers, of which Miss Van Antwerp was a founder, the Yarns of Yesteryear Program operated by University Extension, and the eth nic_ groups of the state have also contributed a great deal to the idea of a new fostering of folklore in Wisconsin. Nobody doubts that Wisconsin possesses the great source materials. They exist in the French, British, American and vastly varied other ethnic infl uences as well as in the lore of our pioneers, or the Red M an, and ou r industries and institutions. W e are a rich folklore state, and now, with this admirable publica­ tion by W alker W yman, Wisconsin may well be off and running. T he folklore door may fin all y be open. Director, Arts Development University of Wisconsin-Extension Madison, Wisconsin lll Preface To the residents of Wisconsin and indeed to those who li ve in oth er states the name Wisconsin has a good ring. It is known as the home of many nationalit y groups who came here for the second chance, for the lumbe1jack era, the LaFollettes, for the dairy cow, the industrial complex along th e lakeshore, and a proud educational sys­ tem. There is an old saying that it was "cheese, peas, and Germans that made th e state progressive. " T here is no dearth of good hi stories about Wisconsin , but there is a dearth of books dealing with the folk bel iefs, sayi ngs, songs, superstitions, and ways of li fe that also explain the people of this state. Whether it be known as Folk Hiswry or Folk­ lore, it serves the same purpose- LO en lighten and to entertain the readers. The University of Wisconsin- Extension has lead the way in collecting the raw material fo r this aspect of Wisconsin's history, and Professor Robert E. Gard has been the principal catalyst in this task. With L. G. Sarden, he published the first book entitled W isconsin Lore Antics and Anecdote.1· of vf!isconsin People and Places in 1962 and has done a number of other studies since that time. At the University of Wisconsin­ Stevens Point and at River Falls there have been courses in Wisconsin lore for many years. In 1978 there was a revival of the old Badger Folklore Society under the title of the Wisconsin Folklore and Folklife Society. This book has evolved out of my Folklore course at the University of Wiscon­ sin-R iver Fall s. It was in J anuary, 1978 that a col league of mine, Professor Loren Robinson of the Department of Journalism came into my office to inquire about writing up th e course as a Newspaper Folk lore Course to be offered both students and general readers throughout the state. This idea excited me since it was breaking new ground in the services of the University of Wisconsin System. It also offered an opportunity to make further use of my co llection of materials in Wisconsin history and lore. Most of the materi al included in this volum e has appeared in weekly install­ m~nts in 15 dai ly newspapers and 38 weekly papers in the fall of 1978. In revising them for publication in a separate volume, l have included some material on most topics that had been excluded in the newspaper course because of the limitation of each install ment to 1500 words. If credit could be given for all the lore contained in these chapters there woul d be hundreds of students and Wisconsin residents who have shared their information with me ei ther through interviews, com ments over coffee, and papers written in Wis­ consin History and Folklore. As a college teacher and administrator fo r 46 years, I can honestly say that I have learned as much from students and the other citizens of Wisconsin as th ey have ever learned from me. A word of appreciation is also due Helen B. Wyman, artist, illustrator, and wife, for the illustrations. Thanks are also due to Robert E. Gard for his Foreword, v and for th e many volumes on Wisconsin life and lore that he has published over Lhe yea rs. It is Lhis scholar who has done more for Wisconsin lore than any olher, and il is hoped that Lhe SeleCLed Reading List at the end of the volume wi ll lead readers lo a full er apµrerialion of W isconsin lore Lh an can Lhi s modest little volume. t\nnie Rob­ bins, who has Lyped lhe manuscript, also deserves a word of apprecialion. Walker D. Wyman Professor of Hi story, Emeritus University of Wisconsin-River Fall s Vl Contents Foreword by Robert E. Gard ..................................................................... u 1 Preface.............. ........................................................................................... v Chapters I. Nature of Folklore.......... ........... ...... .... ... ....... ........ ........... .............. I II. Lore of the Discovery and Exploration Era................................. 7 III. M ythical Creatures of Wisconsin ................................................. 13 IV. Place Names in Wisconsin... .. ............................ ............................ 19 V. Fol k Medicine... ...................................................... ... ......... ............ 25 VI. Weather Lore. ................... .... ..................................................... ..... 31 VII. Water-witching............................................................................... 37 VIII. Wisconsi n Legendary Heroes - Third Class: Indian J ohn, Dr. Till, Dietz, Blanchard, and the "Lost Dauphin"................... ... 43 IX. Great Legends, Hoaxes, and Other Fun....................................... 53 X. Folklore of Liquor and Prohibition ......... ...................................... 59 XI. Birth, Death, and Tombstone Lore........ ....................... ... ............. 65 XII. Immigrant Lore.............................................................................. 71 XIII. Animal Lore............. ....................................................................... 77 XIV. Campus Lore ...................................... .................................. .. .. ...... 81 Selected Readings. ................................................... .. ...................... ..... ....... 93 Chapter I Nature of Folklore The term "Folklore" is very loosely used in our culture, lacks precise meaning, and is ordina­ rily given th e meaning of be li efs of superstition among the unedu­ cated whi ch a re patently not true. Even Webster's Dicti onary fails to th row much li ght when it defines Fol klore in this way: " I: traditional customs, be- 1ief s , dances, so ngs, tales, or say­ ings preserved orally and un­ reflect ively among a people or group 2: a comparati ve science that investigates th e life a nd spirit of a people or of peopl es as revealed in their traditional cus­ toms or ta les." Howeve r, upon refl ecti on, most any citizen, educated or un­ edu cated, will fi nd that he is lik e the boy who came home from school and excited ly said LO his mother: "We stud ied prose to­ day, and J learned that I have been speaking prose all my life." So it is with fo lk bel iefs, sayings, tales, or tall sto ri es; th ey have been with us through history and are still ve ry much a pan of life. As a chil d growing up on an Ill inois farm, my parents believed th at when th e dog ate grass, or the co rns hurt, or the Oies bit hard, it was going to rain .