Illustration Friday: Tales and Legends

Scritch, Scratch. The ghost of the Hairy Man still hangs from the trees; attempting to scare off drivers along his road. Left as a babe, raised by animals, he has been defending Brushy Creek for almost 200 years.

I was fascinated when I first moved to this area to see there was a Hairy Man road. And then I learned there was a Hairy Man Festival! This of course peaked my curiosity. I had to drive along this Hairy Man road, and it is indeed a spooky drive. The woods are thick and the wide spreading live oaks touch over the road. It has that feeling like you've stepped into storytime. But then Round Rock, TX is rooted in legend. The town takes its name from a relatively small rock in the middle of Brushy Creek that marked a safe passage across the water along the Chisholm trail. * The Hairy Man is said to be a child that was accidentally left behind in the 1800's. He became a hermit and would frighten passing stage coaches by hanging from the trees and letting his legs drag on the tops. He was killed either by being trampled by the horses or run over by one of the coaches. But they say you can still hear what sounds like scratching on the roof of your car.

* The Chisholm trail leading from Texas to Kansas is the most well known but there was also a Chisum Trail that went from Texas through New Mexico and up into Colorado. Growing up in New Mexico I'd heard of this trail. And given how complex it is to drive to my parents house from where I live now I couldn't imagine what the Chisum trail was doing in Round Rock. (Nor why all the streets were spelled Chisholm...)