{"product_id":"true-tales-of-the-prairies-and-plains-paperback-softback-9780700643820","title":"True Tales of the Prairies and Plains (Paperback \/ softback) 9780700643820","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eTrue Tales of the Prairies and Plains\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eDavid Dary (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780700643820\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 26 June 2026\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e264 pages, 38 Halftones, unspecified\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 1.4 cm, 0.396 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"An entertaining collection readers will enjoy.\"—\u003ci\u003eAnnals of Iowa\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDary’s writings have richly deserved his many awards and are as interesting as they are informative. These tales are as wide-ranging as the land they cover, rescuing settlers’ lore from obscurity and promising hours of reading enjoyment.\"—\u003ci\u003eThe Oklahoman\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Should be required reading for students of the Great Plains, but can also be enjoyed by anyone interested in the region. Storytellers will also benefit from these rich, diverse stories presented in this fairly concise and easily read volume.\"—\u003ci\u003eKansas History\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Digging through local histories, old newspapers and other documents, Dary finds excitement and romance in the region’s abandoned army posts, old stage routes and rowdy cow towns. . . . At their best, Dary’s tales inspire a passion for the glory days of Western adventure, including a strong desire to get out of the city and onto the grasslands, retracing the steps of warriors, settlers and soldiers who once walked the vast and dusty plains.\"—\u003ci\u003eTulsa World\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Dary has gathered an entertaining and disparate collection of stories under the geographical theme of the Plains. . . . Readers will enjoy the brief lessons about the region, such as ‘How the Staked Plains Got Their Name’ and the colorful adventures of plainsman and scout. . . . ‘Buffalo, Horses, and Other Creatures’ adds a welcome dimension to this collection and reminds us that all manner of living things have had unique experiences on the Plains. Drawn from contemporary sources and recent scholarship, this volume will please anyone who likes a good story.\"—\u003ci\u003eTrue West\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Colorful tales of treasures, murders, Native raids, wild buffalo and cowboys and cows make up 39 short vignettes of history and speculation of life on the Great Plains. Day covers a large range of tales, giving quick history lessons on the strange and the spectacular. This book can be read in short spans, as each story stands alone.\"—\u003ci\u003eLincoln Journal Star\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePraise for David Dary, award-winning chronicler of life on the frontier plains:\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Dary understands the double legacy of the real West—hard fact and rich myth—and he savors it.\"—\u003ci\u003eTime\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Dary is one of our best chroniclers of the Old West.\"—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Dary’s works are bound to become staples in collections about the Old West.\"—\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"A wide-ranging, highly accessible, and valuable contribution to the store of knowledge about the Great Plains by one of the leading authorities on the American West.\"—Jim Hoy, author of \u003ci\u003eFlint Hills Cowboys: Tales from the Tallgrass Prairie\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eEver wonder why cowboys sing? Or where Henry Starr’s treasure is buried? Or what legend lies behind the origin of the word “rawhide”? The prairies and plains are bursting with stories, a region whose flat openness belies a colorful history that’s now captured in this cornucopia of colorful tales.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDavid Dary is a master storyteller and award-winning historian who was born in the region and still calls it home. In this book, he shares forty forgotten tales that capture the history, romance, and lore of early life on the plains and prairie—rollicking adventures set between the Rio Grande and the Canadian border that reflect the reality of life in the region during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThese stories have been gleaned from old newspaper accounts and little-known published sources, reflecting Dary’s intimate knowledge of his stomping ground. A veritable treasury of lost legends, the book blends history and folklore to offer a fond look back at settlers and Indians, desperados and cowboys—including just how it is that the latter became known for singing.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn these enchanting vignettes, Dary takes readers along trails and rails to tell how the Staked Plains got their name and to recall times when women were scarce. He unearths legends of buried treasure spanning the region and spins tales of buffalo and bears. He tells of famous lawmen like Seth Bullock of Deadwood fame and outlaws like Belle Starr, and sheds light on other famous and obscure personalities, from Chief Old Wolf to Fort Mann’s woman soldier, Caroline Newcomb, to Teddy Roosevelt, the badlands rancher who became president.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor anyone who thinks of America’s middle as dull, \u003ci\u003eTrue Tales of the Prairies and Plains\u003c\/i\u003e offers a corrective that entertains as it informs. It is a book as wide-ranging as the land it covers, preserving nuggets of lore from perpetual obscurity and promising readers hours of enjoyment, whether on or off the trail.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIntroduction\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePart I: Over the Trails and Rails\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1. Jim Fugate’s Adventures on the Santa Fe Trail\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2. How the Staked Plains Got Their Name\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3. The Ride of “Portugee” John Phillips\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4. The Texan Who Invaded New Mexico\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5. How Cowboys Came to Sing\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6. A Trail Drive Honeymoon\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e7. When Billy Carried the News\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e8. When Women Were Scarce\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePart II: Buried Treasure Legends\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSome Words About Treasure Legends\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e9. The Tres Piedras Treasure\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e10. Treasure Tales from the Dakotas\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e11. The Virginia Dale Legend\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e12. Did Henry Starr Leave a Buried Treasure?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e13. The Stage Station Treasure\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e14. The Sheepherder’s Treasure\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e15. Legend of “The Cave”\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e16. The Lost Treasure of the Missouri Traders\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePart III: The Lawless, Lawmen, and Justice\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e17. Civilizing No-Man’s-Land\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e18. The Prizefight Texas Didn’t Want\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e19. Who Murdered Bell Starr?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e20. Who Was Seth Bullock?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e21. The Law and Cattle Town Gamblers\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e22. When Cowboys Went on Strike\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePart IV: Buffalo, Horses, and Other Creatures\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e23. The Cat that Crossed the Plains\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e24. Marsh Johnson’s First Buffalo Hunt\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e25. The White Stallion of the Plains\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e26. Wild Buffalo and Other Critters\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e27. Tales of Legless Critters\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e28. The Missing White Buffalo\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e29. Grizzly and Black Bear Tales\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePart V: The Famous and the Obsure\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e30. The Day Chief Old Wolf Nearly Lost His Scalp\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e31. Two Letters from Abilene\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e32. Spotted Tail’s Daughter\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e33. The Nebraska Hoax King\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e34. Fort Mann’s Woman Soldier\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e35. The Legend of Rawhide\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e36. Black Mary\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e37. Ogallala, a Nebraska Cattle Town\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e38. “California Joe,” Plainsman and Scout\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e39. The Badlands Rancher Who Became President\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNotes\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndex\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"University Press of Kansas","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52531017318680,"sku":"9780700643820","price":20.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/true-tales-of-the-prairies-and-plains-paperback-softback-9780700643820","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}