Tales of Old-time Texas » (Reprint)

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.

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