The Humor of the American Cowboy

University of Nebraska Press, 1970. Trade paperback. Very Good. 8x5x0. The Book is in Very Good+ condition. o the cowboy the world was a circus of creation and nothing was beyond the scope of his laughter. His fertile imagination could produce trail drives of dry-land terrapins, cowboy firing squads for fighting game roosters, and a breed of "honk-honk birds" that could outrun a horse. He used humor to express his fondness for the West, to exchange sarcasms with railroaders, to teach lessons to tenderfeet, and even - sometimes - to laugh at death. In "The Humor of the American Cowboy", Stan Hoig presents an authentic collection of tall tales, anecdotes, yarns, jokes, and humorous incidents of the Old West which not only will entertain but will focus attention on a relatively neglected phase of cowboy life. The author, whose work has appeared in many magazines and newspapers, is director of publications and professor at Central State College, Edmond, Oklahoma. "A duke's mixture of mirth, irony and downright horseplay, made vivid by the brushpopper's salty imagery and remarkable aptitude for precisely the wrong word in the right place.