@augustus
We used to have tons of legends, about cowboys and mountain men and lumberjacks and lakemen and river men etc. It however was right in it's final stage of development when mass media, radio and eventually tv, arrived and one shot the cultural development of Americans. Americas age of legend was only 200 and some odd years ago, the myths were still being writen. It wasn't just chance, there was a very intentional move away from folk stories to cosmopolitan fiction. One of the most tragic events in history, so many rich cultures cut down right as they were about to finalize.