Linda Broday

I recently had to do some research on this subject for the book I’m working on and was amazed at the strange superstitions and traditions that people had back since the beginning of time and still do in some instances. 

We’re all familiar with the bad luck that will come when a black cat crosses one’s path. We’ve heard never to walk under a ladder or step on any cracks or we’ll break our mother’s backs. But I wanted some unusual, colorful superstitions. I want my story to be the best it can so I went looking for things that will add depth and a level of emotion. What I found was truly amazing. 

Did you know that to give away a book with a red cover will break a friendship? I doubt it. Red is the color of anger and misunderstanding it seems. I don’t know about that, but I’ve lost some friendships because a person I loaned a book to never returned it. This is a pet peeve of mine and it taught me a valuable lesson that I adhere to no matter the circumstance. 

In the old days, ashes retaining their heat for a great length of time foretold a marriage in the family. But beware of taking ashes out of the house after nightfall or you’ll bring death in. Also, when baking bread cracks across the top it is a sign of death. And in Armenia, a baby had to be covered with a quilt when bread was put in the oven or the baby would pine away and die. 

Nature was believed to be a good predictor of weather and some is still believed today. When ducks migrate early in the fall, a difficult winter can be expected. Rain is coming when wasps, flies, or spiders come into the house. Cattle running about with their tails up in the air mean a storm is coming. But an ax stuck in the ground can “split the cloud” to keep an unwanted storm from forming. Or so they say. 

The moon has always been a mysterious force. To Native Americans it held special meaning. The phases of the moon are still important to farmers when it comes to birthing, weaning, breeding, planting, and harvesting. Among paramedics and medical personnel today, the nights of a full moon are known to bring increased trouble and number of patients. Some people used to believe that looking at the new moon over the left shoulder was a harbinger of ill fortune. I doubt that! 

Animals and birds sometimes signal ill omen. Take for instance….when a redheaded woodpecker pecks on the roof, a member of the family will die. Don’t let a buzzard cross your path or it’ll bring bad luck. Killing a wren or disturbing its nest will also cause bad luck. And some used to swear on their mama’s grave that if a centipede walks across any part of you, that part will rot to the bone and fall off. Yuck! I think I’ll stay away from those. 

Some people think a dropped dishrag, an itchy nose, or a rooster crowing through a door or window means company is coming. My parents used to say that an itchy palm meant you were going to get some money. We never did that I know anything about. 

And who hasn’t heard the one that if your ears ring it’s a sure bet someone is talking about you? That one is very common. Or if you spill salt, you throw some over your shoulder to ward off bad luck. Or breaking a mirror means you’ll have seven years of bad luck. Or the bad luck associated with the number 13. I’m not overly superstitious but I hate anything associated with the number 13. I can’t help it. 

Then, there are some superstitions to bring good luck your way: nail a horseshoe over your door; carrying a rabbit’s foot, or wishing on a falling star before it disappears.

I think I have more than enough material for my story. Now, I’d like to hear from you. Are you superstitious? Do you know of any superstitions that you’d like to share?

I remember when I was young my mother used to give us kids all kinds of home remedies because in those days we didn’t go to a doctor unless we were dying. One medicine that she kept on hand was called paragoric. Sold without a prescription, paragoric was given to colicky babies but was also administered for diarrhea. The principal ingredient was morphine. It’s no wonder it put us right to sleep! No one really knew how dangerous paragoric was until much later when it was finally taken off the market.

Another familiar sight around our house in the 60’s was SSS Tonic and Geritol, both of which are still sold today. These tonics were supposed to boost tired blood and give a body energy. Shoot, I didn’t know blood could get tired! But, I guess when an elixir contains a great percent of alcohol, it can sure perk you up. Another common over-the-counter medicine sold today is Nyquil and it’s also alcohol-based.

In the old West, where were lots of traveling medicine shows. A wagon decorated in fancy banners would roll into town and a colorful salesman would begin an entertaining show. He’d tout the virtues of all kinds of patent medicines, tonics and bitters, making all manner of outrageous claims to the gullible public. Then, invariably he’d have someone planted in the crowd to step out and testify of the amazing results the tonic had given him. That always boosted sales because it was relatively cheap and doctors were few and far betweeen. Folks grasped at anything that offered relief.

One particular tonic, Vino Kolofra by Johnson and Johnson, claimed to be a brain stimulant, would eliminate hay fever, cure drunkenness, and was also an aphrodisiac. Just name your problem and it cured it. Some tonics were said to cure venereal disease, epilepsy, and paralysis. In the 18th century, Dr. Ebeneezer Sibley even went so far as to advertise his Solar Tincture would restore life in the event of sudden death. These were nothing more than con men who pushed their quackery onto desperate, unsuspecting people.

The truth was that most patent medicines contained large amounts of opium, cocaine, morphine and alcohol. What they did was create addictive, drug-dependent junkies. One of the more popular, Dr. Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters, contained 44.3 percent alcohol and was more potent than 80 proof whiskey. Husbands could get drunk without ever frequenting a saloon. As you can imagine, they used it widely for whatever ailed. Or even if they were healthy as a mule.

Don’t get me wrong though. Not all patent medicines were bad. Products such as Milk of Magnesia, Pepto Bismal, Fletcher’s Castoria, Vicks Vapo-rub, Castor Oil, and Campo-phenique have been around for ages, are beneficial, and are still used today. Thank goodness the federal government stepped in around 1920 and began making our medicines safe.

What home remedies did your mother give you when you were a child? And are you still using some of them now?

When have you picked up a western romance book to read that didn’t have some kind of law enforcement hero? I’ve noticed that an overwhelming number of stories feature marshals, sheriffs, Texas or Arizona Rangers, bounty hunters, and Pinkerton agents. And little wonder, because those occupations tend to breed larger than life heroes. Not that I’m saying the ordinary man can’t be a memorable hero. Heroes spring to life wherever there are people—the man who struggles to provide for his family, the rancher who’s trying to hold onto a piece of land by his fingernails—any man or woman who faces long odds and certain loss, yet overcomes. A hero is someone who gives his all for a belief in justice and right, knowing full well he might lose, and plunges ahead anyway.  He has unwavering conviction that he can make a difference. And he’s someone people respect above all else. 

In the settlement of the West, sometimes law-enforcers were few and far between. Circumstances bred lawless men who ran roughshod over the weak. Oftentimes, the ordinary citizen took it upon himself to protect and defend. Ordinary people with grit and determination filled the gaps and helped carve out a land free of outlaws and greedy land barons. I’ve put together a list of the most written about heroes. I wish I’d known some of these facts when I wrote my first three books which featured a bounty hunter hero, a Texas Ranger, and an ex-Confederate spy. Almost all my books have a sheriff or marshal in them and at times I used the two professions interchangeably. <groan> I didn’t exactly know the distinction between them. Until now. 

U.S. Marshals — the first federal organization to come into being.  George Washington and the Continental Congress created the service in 1789. Marshals are federally appointed, not elected, and they served a certain territory and still do today. Their authority extends to everything within that territory. Where states had not yet formed, the U.S. Marshal provided the only law. Their primary function was to support and defend the federal courts. They had wide authority in enforcing every aspect of the law, handling disputes, and carrying out death sentences. They also disbursed and accounted for monies used in running the courts. While I’m not exactly sure, I assume U.S. Marshals paid the bounty money for outlaws. The marshals were not put on an annual salary until 1896. Before that, they worked on a fee system, collecting set amounts for performing particular tasks. Strangely, from 1790 to 1870 they were ordered to take the census every ten years, a fact I didn’t know. U.S. Marshals reported directly to the Secretary of State until 1861 when Congress created the Department of Justice. U.S. Marshals hired as many dupties as needed to perform their duties. Another odd piece of information: U.S. Marshals had no official headquarters until around 1972. Kinda interesting. 

Sheriffs –- Elected by the citizens of a town and paid by the city officials to perform their duties. Their jurisdiction was limited to the county in which they served. Their primary duty was to keep the peace, uphold the law, and maintain the jail. They acted in conjunction with the U.S. Marshals, but had limited authority. Sheriffs hired deputies and formed posses when needed. The sheriff also served as the tax collector for the county. 

Texas and Arizona Rangers –- I can’t think of any tougher law enforcement groups more honored and more deserving than the Texas and Arizona Rangers. Rangers to this day offer untold service to their respective states. Some of their duties include: protect life and property, handle special criminal investigations, quell disturbances, serve as officers of the court at a judge’s request, and suppress criminal activity in any area where local officials are unable or unwilling to maintain law and order. A Ranger’s authority extends throughout the entire state, not curtailed by city or county boundaries. Directly under the governor, they act as an army at times while at others they’re like a police force. The Texas Rangers organized in 1823 when Stephen F. Austin got together a group of men to protect the frontier. Each ranger had to furnish his own horse and firearm. He received $1.25 a day. They were called upon to handle the toughest assignments, usually in conflicts where they were severely outnumbered – “one ranger for one riot” kind of thing. The Arizona Rangers were formed in 1882 under the territorial governor. They were the exact counterpart of the Texas Rangers. The Arizona State Congress abolished them in 1909 but they were reformed years later. 

Bounty Hunters – People aren’t quite sure where bounty hunters sit when it comes to being a good guy or a bad one. Some writers make them more the villains than the hero, but bounty hunters began as law enforcers. A lot of them served in the capacity of deputy U.S. marshals. Others worked directly with sheriffs in apprehending criminals. Bounty hunters freed up the marshal’s or the sheriff’s time so they could focus on their normal duties and they performed a valued service. Of course, I’m sure there were rogue bounty hunters and that’s probably what led to their tarnished reputations. Today bounty hunters track down bail jumpers. 

Pinkerton Agents –- A detective agency founded in 1850 by Allen Pinkerton. They operated nationwide, working for railroad and stage companies. Their logo was the image of an eye and their motto was “We Never Sleep.” Hence, the term private eye.  They performed some of the same work now assigned to the FBI, CIA, and Secret Service. In 1861 while investigating a railroad case, the agency uncovered and foiled a plot to kill Abraham Lincoln on his way to the inauguration. They sometimes used heavy-handed tactics and it sullied their reputation. However, it continued as a family-owned operation until 1967. 

Matt Dillon at 6’7” is probably the best known TV marshal. And Steve McQueen made an excellent, fair-minded bounty hunter in Wanted Dead or Alive. But do you have other favorites? Or maybe you learned something you never knew before about law-keepers in the Old West.