Straight Texas Page: 43
348 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.View a full description of this book.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
STORIES IN TEXAS PLACE NAMES
sprang up close to the line between Jack and Wise coun-
ties. A doctor named Shelton and a cowman named
Earhart each wished to have it called after himself. The
population took sides. After a bitter contest, the Shelton
faction won. But the cow people were in the saddle, and,
the grapes having turned sour, they dubbed the place
Hog Eye. It has never outgrown the name. There's
another Hog Eye in Gregg County.
One day before the Civil War a strolling fiddler
stopped at the Lytton home, near Lytton Springs, in
Caldwell County. He met with a reception as hearty as
that found by Sam Galloway in O. Henry's "The Last
of the Troubadours." Word went over the grapevine
telegraph that music was in the air, and by nightfall of
the second day people from miles around were coming
in to dance. It was soon discovered that, despite his
lengthy tuning up, his sweeping flourishes and his way
of emphasizing time with bobbing head and patting foot,
the fiddler could really play but one tune. That one,
though, he could certainly make ramble. He called it
"Hog Eye," and he played it with so many variations
and so much persistence that the dance did not break up
until morning. The fiddler went on his way, but for a
long time afterwards "Hog Eye" was a kind of byword
in the neighborhood. It was fastened on the Lytton
home, and the old place is still known as Hog Eye.
Away back in the days when Mr. Fishback of the
Sulphurs raced so hard and so close against a blue norther
that his nag came into the barn with her hindquarters
frozen and her forequarters foamy with sweat, a fiddler
was making a different tune famous all over Hopkins
County. Yet he was not a fiddler of just that one tune.
He could play "Hog Eye" too. He could play anything
he had ever heard, and he had heard everything. "Hell
among the Yearlings," "Sally Goodin," "Nigger in the
Woodpile," "Cotton-eyed Joe," "Leather Breeches,"
"Natchez under the Hill," "Turkey in the Straw,"
"Soapsuds under the Fence," "Hogs in the Corn," "Mon-
ey in Both Pockets," "Kitty O'Neal," "Dinah Had a43
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Related Items
Other items on this site that are directly related to the current book.
Straight Texas (Book)
Volume of popular folklore of Texas, including tales about the origins of various cities and towns, personal anecdotes, songs, superstitions and other miscellaneous legends. The index begins on page 341.
Relationship to this item: (Has Format)
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Dobie, J. Frank. Straight Texas, book, 1966; Hatboro, Pennsylvania. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc67658/m1/55/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Press.