Plains folklorist Roger L. Welsch has edited a lively collection of stories by some master yarnspinners—those old-time traveling horse traders. Told to Federal Writers' Project fieldworkers in the 1930s, these stories cover the span of horse trading: human and equine trickery, orneriness, debility—and generosity.
Author Bio
Roger L. Welsch has written numerous books. He delivers a "Postcard from Nebraska" on CBS Sunday Morning.
Praise
"Anyone with a love for horses, the judging of horseflesh, and an appreciation for the history of man's long association with the horse will like this book."—William E. Koch, Journal of the West
"These tales are gems of humor and wry understatement, displaying American folk-humor at its best. The jargon of horse-trading and early twentieth-century horse lore is fascinating. . .this book will be equally at home on the shelves of a university library or in an applecrate bookshelf nailed to the wall of a ranch bunkhouse. "—Western American Literature
"The thirty or so tales give a clear picture of the folklife of farmers and country people, as well as horsetraders, on the Great Plains during the end of the last century and the early years of this. . .they are told in a direct and economical style."—George Ewart Evans, Folklore
