The created
world here is more real than the actual.
Among the early tale-tellers of the Southwest are Jeremiah
Clemens, who wrote _Mustang Gray_, Mollie E. Moore Davis, of
plantation tradition, Mayne Reid, who dared convey real
information in his romances, Charles W. Webber, a naturalist,
and T. B. Thorpe, creator of "The Big Bear of Arkansas."
Fiction that appeared before World War I can hardly be called
modern. No fiction is likely to appear, however, that will do
better by certain types of western character and certain
stages of development in western society than that
produced by Bret Harte, with his gamblers; stage drivers, and
mining camps; O. Henry with his "Heart of the West" types;
Alfred Henry Lewis with his "Wolfville" anecdotes and
characters; Owen Wister, whose _Virginian_ remains the classic
of cowboy novels without cows; and Andy Adams, whose _Log of a
Cowboy_ will be read as long as people want a narrative of
cowboys sweating with herds.
The authors listed below are in alphabetical order. Those who
seem to me to have a chance to survive are not exactly in that
order.
FRANK APPLEGATE (died 1932) wrote only two books, _Native
Tales of New Mexico_ and _Indian Stories from the Pueblos_,
but as a delighted and delightful teller of folk tales his
place is secure.
Pages:
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276