Two events follow the legacy of Jaime DeAngulo, the Old Coyote of Big Sur.

Born to Spanish parents in France, Jaíme DeAngulo (1887-1950) ventured to the United States with the idea of becoming a cowboy. DeAngulo was a self-taught linguist and anthropologist, an ethnomusicologist, a doctor and a psychologist. But his greatest gift was his ear for and understanding of Indigenous cultures.

“He is an incredible figure,” says Elliot Ruchowitz-Roberts, a poet and the head of the Robinson Jeffers Tor House Foundation, where one of two upcoming DeAngulo events will take place. “His breadth of knowledge is impressive.”

According to DeAngulo scholar Andrew Schelling, the diversity of languages meant paradise to DeAngulo.That’s why he was so determined to collect information about disappearing native languages and old stories that die with them. DeAngulo spoke many native languages that served him as tools for collecting stories, documenting folklore, even music. He did fieldwork with more than a dozen tribes, sometimes assigned to collect texts, although he was not focused on the written word, preferring oral tradition.

He was a poet, too. But also a doctor who never practiced, and more than anything a great storyteller.

DeAngulo met Robinson and Una Jeffers in 1915. He invited them for dinner and served steaks, also to the dogs. When they were finished, they threw dirty plates off the porch. Mercurial and unpredictable, he imagined himself to be the Old Coyote of Big Sur and part of the Left Coast artistic bohema that included people such as Henry Miller.

Despite his expertise, he never published a book in his life. His first works were published in 1953, including bestselling Italian Tales for children. With time, he had his own radio show too, and there are recordings of Indian Tales live on KPFA radio from 1949.

Schelling will be one of the speakers at both events. He points out that DeAngulo saw linguistics as a tool of spiritual awakening for the world. The other is Mary Kerr, whose exploration of DeAngulo started through a friendship with his daughter.

Exploring the Literary and Cultural Legacy of Jaíme de Angulo with authors Mary Kerr and Andrew Schelling. 7pm Friday, Feb. 23. Tor House, 26304 Ocean View, Carmel. $15. By reservation only and almost sold out. 624-1813, torhouse.org. 3pm Saturday, Feb. 24, Henry Miller Memorial Library, 48603 Highway 1, Big Sur. 667-2574. tinyurl.com/6ndaemjn.