The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 60, July 1956 - April, 1957 Page: 573

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Book Reviews

Trailing the Cowboy. Compiled and edited by Clifford P. Wester-
meier. Caldwell, Idaho (Caxton Printers), 1955. Pp. 414.
Notes, bibliography, and index. $5.oo.
Dr. Westermeier of the University of Arkansas, who spoke
before the Texas State Historical Association several years ago,
has done a valuable service for students of cowboy lore. He has
compiled from a vast number of contemporary sources descrip-
tions of the frontier cowboy and the life he led. The items come
from early newspapers, magazine articles, and books or reminis-
cences, almost all of them published between the close of the Civil
War and 1910.
The quotations are carefully assembled and edited and are
woven together with appropriate comments by the compiler.
They cover the appearance of the cowboy, his trappings, his
lingo, his character, and the ways he handled his lariat and his
six-shooter. Attention is given to the roundup, bronc breaking,
excursions into town, frontier balls, contests of skill, and the
cowboy's attitude toward the sheepmen. Even a few tall tales are
included.
The outstanding value of this book stems from the fact that
its contents were written either by cowboys or, in most instances,
by those who had close associations with the punchers. It gives
a first-hand, realistic view of cowboy life on the frontier before
this life was distorted in a haze of pulp and Hollywood romance.
The book represents an enormous amount of work and will be
useful for reference. A few omissions are hard to understand.
Trail driving has only a few brief mentions; and, although there
is a chapter on buckaroo rhymes, there is none on the more impor-
tant subject of cowboy songs. But the book is of great help in
preserving a picture of range life in the era before cow hands
turned to jeeps and helicopters. WAYNE GARD
Public Administration and Policy Formation. Edited by Emmette
S. Redford. Austin (The University of Texas Press), 1956.
Pp. xiv+3 9. Illustrations. $5.75.
In his introduction to this book, Emmette S. Redford, professor
of government at the University of Texas, presents the thesis that

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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 60, July 1956 - April, 1957, periodical, 1957; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101163/m1/623/ocr/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.

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