The Cowboy Legend

Owen Wister's Virginian and the Canadian-American Ranching Frontier

Table of contents

 

Acknowledgements
Preface
Prologue: A synopsis of The Virginian
Introduction
Beginnings (1860–74)
The Black Hills (1875–76)
Bill Cody (1876–78)
Wyoming (1878–88)
Owen Wister and Wyoming (1885)
Alberta (1888–1904)
The Books (1891–1904)
Afterword (1905–1946)
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Description

In The Cowboy Legend, John Jennings details the evidence that Everett Johnson was the initial and prime inspiration for Wister’s cowboy, and in the process shows that Johnson led a fascinating life in his own right. His memories of both the Wyoming and Alberta cattle frontiers provide insight into ranch life on both sides of the border, and the compelling parallel biographies of Johnson and Wister feature vignettes of legendary period figures such as Buffalo Bill Cody, Wild Bill Hickok, Wyatt Earp, and Butch Cassidy, not to mention the best man at Johnson’s wedding, Henry Longabaugh, a. k.a. the Sundance Kid. Jennings melds this realistic study of the cowboy frontier with an intriguing account of Wister’s subsequent creation of the cowboy mystique.

Reviews

 

The Cowboy Legend [is] a good read for both aficionados of the frontier cowboy story and for those looking for strong academic research and analysis of the early West.

—Michael Dawe, The Literary Review of Canada

 

 

Entertainingly written . . . an excellent starting point for the ‘tenderfoot’ in Western literary studies.

—Linda Knowles, British Journal of Canadian Studies

 

 

Jennings' research is impressive, involving several archival collections and a wide range of other primary and secondary sources . . . The narrative is enlivened by Jennings' very readable prose, his propensity to debunk myths, and his interesting anecdotes, wry observations, and turn of phrase.

—Max Foran, Histoire social/Social History