Product Description
True Tales of the American Southwest by Howard Bryan offers a treasury of stories, anecdotes, and personal histories published here for the first time. Drawn from his personal archives, Bryan’s book is based on the recollections of pioneering “oldtimers” who lived in the Southwest in the 1800s and early decades of this century as the frontier era was drawing to a close. In extended informal interviews during the 1950s, Bryan gathered authentic accounts of the West that reflect the determination, humor, and courage of men and women surviving in dangerous and violent times.
The stories yield a variety of adventures and anecdotes about frontier life. Bryan presents new information on famous characters such as Pancho Villa, Geronimo, Victorio, Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett, and Black Jack Ketchum, many of whom the oldtimers knew personally. A pioneer woman remembers almost being “rescued” by Geronimo- who believed she was an Indian child held captive by whites. A missionary and a trader describe encounters with Geronimo during his last days at Fort Sill. A man who saw Billy the Kid after he was shot at Fort Sumner in 1881 scoffs as the persistent legend that Billy survived Pat Garrett’s ambush. A rancher talks about his adventures in search of the legendary Lost Adams Diggings. Another rancher tells of accompanying U.S. Cavalry troops on the trail of Apache war parties in the turbulent 1880s. Veteran police chief J.R. Galusha passes on dozens of stories of outlaws, adventurers, and lawmen and describes the vagaries of rough and ready frontier justive. Byan’s unique collection documents a panorama of frontier experience and provides firsthand accounts of extraordinary events and circumstances that helped shape the history of the Southwest.
HOWARD BRYAN received the prestigious Western Writers of America Spur Award for Short Nonfiction (1994) for “Incredible Elfego Baca”and the New Mexico Governor’s Award for Excellence in Literature.