In the shade of 

 weeping willows in front of 

 his Core Banks cottage, 

 David Yeomans often 

 entertains tourists by 

 crooning "The Booze 

 Yacht" — a ballard about 

 a whiskey boat gone 

 aground. 



"I learned this from 

 my father who was a 

 storyteller," says Yeomans. 

 "He wrote some things and 

 told stories sometimes. He 

 would tell stories at fish 

 houses." 



Coastal Legends 



Along the coast, 

 storytellers also entertain 

 audiences with ghost, 

 pirate, hunting and Indian 

 stories. 



One popular tale is 

 "Maco Light," set in 1 867 

 in Maco — about 15 miles 

 outside of Wilmington in 

 Brunswick County. After a 



caboose dislodged, conductor Joe Baldwin waved a light at an 

 approaching freight train, according to North Carolina Legends, edited 

 by Richard Walser. As the train plowed into the dislodged caboose, it 

 decapitated the conductor's head. 



"Thereafter on misty nights, Joe's headless ghost appeared at 

 Maco," the legend goes. During an 1 899 campaign trip, President 

 Grover Cleveland reported seeing the light — and so have hundreds of 

 people through the years. But in 1977, the railroad tracks were 

 removed and the swamp reclaimed the haunting grounds. "Joe seems 

 to have lost interest in Maco. At least he has not been there lately," the 

 legend ends. 



On Ocracoke Island, stories of Edward Teach — also known as 

 Blackbeard the Pirate — abound. They include "The Pirate Lights of 

 Pamlico Sound" in Charles Harry Whedbee's Legends of the Outer 

 Banks and Tar Heel Tidewater. 



While on his ship the Queen Anne's Revenge, Blackbeard shot and 

 crippled his mate, Israel Hands, at Teach's Hole. 



Later, he battled the British while aboard another ship. Toward the 

 end of the fight, a British sailor killed Blackbeard and cut off his head, 

 according to the legend. 



'To this day at Ocracoke, some will tell you that the 'Teach lights' 



ABOVE: Newport Mayor Derryl Garner spins a historical tale about the days when Quakers first settled in 

 Newport. 



are still seen on occasion both over and in the waters of Pamlico 

 Sound." writes Whedbee. Blackbeard's ghostly ship is sometimes seen 

 in the light of the waning moon. Some say the headless figure of 

 Blackbeard can been seen in the dark of the moon as the body swims 

 around and around Teach's Hole, searching for its severed head." 



Storytelling History 



Throughout coastal North Carolina, storytelling has become an art 

 form. 



Years ago, people gathered at country stores, fish houses and front 

 porches to exchange tales. One popular spot on Harkers Island was 

 Cleveland Davis' store called "the beehive." 



One storyteller, Grayden Paul of Beaufort, earned a reputation for 

 his innate ability to relate tall tales. 



"Grayden Paul was the best storyteller I ever heard," says Kemp. 

 "He performed in the 1940s, '50s, '60s and '70s. He had a regular 

 routine and amazing stories." 



Today, people tell stories at festivals and family reunions. 



"I love storytelling," says musician and storyteller Connie Mason. 

 "People are hungry for it with e-mail and electronic devices. 



Continue d 



COASTWATCH 9 



