Tales of Old-Time Texas

Description

It is for good reason that J. Frank Dobie is known as the Southwest's master storyteller. With his eye for color and detail, his ear for the rhythm of language and song, and his heart open to the simple truth of folk wisdom and ways, he movingly and unpretentiously spins the tales of our collective heritages. This he does in Tales of Old-Time Texas, a heartwarming array of twenty-eight stories filled with vivid characters, exciting historical episodes, and traditional themes. As Dobie himself says: "Any tale belongs to whoever can best tell it." Here, then, is a collection of the best Texas tales—by the Texan who can best tell them.

Dobie's recollections include such classics in Lone Star State lore as the tale of Jim Bowie's knife, the legend of the Texas bluebonnet, the story of the Wild Woman of the Navidad, and the account of the headless horseman of the mustangs. Other stories in this outstanding collection regale us with odd and interesting characters and events: the stranger of Sabine Pass, the Apache secret of the Guadalupes, the planter who gambled away his bride, and the Robinhooding of Sam Bass. These stories, and many more, make Tales of Old-Time Texas a beloved classic certain to endure for generations.

J. Frank Dobie (1888–1964) was a folklorist and author of many books about Texas life and culture.

Introduction

Part One

Corn Dodgers and San Jacinto Corn

The Wild Woman of the Navidad

The Dream That Saved Wilbarger

Bigfoot Wallace and the Hickory Nuts

Jim Bowie's Knife

The Robinhooding of Sam Bass

Part Two

Northers, Drouths and Sandstorms

Frozen Inside a Buffalo Hide

The Cold-Nosed Hounds

Honey in the Rock

Part Three

The Texas Bluebonnet

The Headless Horseman of the Mustangs

A Ranch on the Nueces Desperate Rides

The Planter Who Gambled Away His Bride

Part Four

The Panther's Scream

Bears Are Intelligent People

Old Bill, Confederate Ally

Part Five

Colonel Abercrombie's Mole

The Green Powder Keg In a Drouth Crack

The Stranger of Sabine Pass

Longworth's Vicey-versey Map

Guarded by Rattlesnakes

The Apache Secret of the Guadalupes

O. Henry's Treasure Hunt

Where Did Sam McFarland Cross the Colorado?

The Mezcla Man

Notes and Credits

Index

Additional information

Dimensions	1 × 6 × 9 in