To the cowboy, for whom the world was a circus of creation, nothing was beyond the scope of 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...

"Hoig discusses a significant, and generally unknown, element of Cheyenne culture-the peace chiefs. Traditionally renowned for ferocity, fearlessness, and warlike tendencies, the Cheyenne also possessed a moralistic mentality in the Judeo-Christian vein which encouraged, among other things, strong family relations, a spirit of generosity, and provision for the needy. Peacekeeping was an integral part of this mentality....He provides valuable insights into this facet of Indian culture." Library Journal. "This is an informative and absorbing study of the Cheyenne chiefs as they tried to...

The Chisholm Trail, traveled by Texas longhorn cattle moving northward across present-day Oklahoma to Kansas, was named for mixed-blood Cherokee Jesse Chisholm (1805-1868). Though Chisholm's prominence in western lore rests largely on this connection, he was active on the frontier long before the naming of the trail. Because he left no diaries, letters, or personal documents, however, his life has been shrouded in mystery.

Drawing from many sources, including early state and federal documents, newspaper accounts, and trade and military records, Stan Hoig offers the clearest picture...

The historical remains of nineteenth-century Western frontier military posts and battle sites of the Plains Indian wars are disappearing. Time and weather have taken their tolls, and many would have no traces left were it not for the worthy attention of local groups and city, state, and federal authorities.

"A Travel Guide to the Plains Indians Wars" provides a general overview of the Plains Indian wars; but it is particularly helpful for anyone planning a visit to the military posts and sites of battle. Stan Hoig has divided this writing into two distinct parts: first is a narrative of the...

This newly researched and synthesized history of the Cherokees places special emphasis on the tribe's leaders and their agony in dealing with England, the Colonies, and the United States. Hoig traces the demise of the Cherokees' historic homeland in the American South, their removal over the Trail of Tears to present-day Oklahoma, the great trauma they suffered from the Civil War, the final destruction of their tribal autonomy by the United States, and their phoenix-like rise in political and social stature during the twentieth century.

Hoig also deals with the intense clash of tribal...

When Ben Clark, the prideful scout who knew and loved Fort Reno, ended his own life in 1914, the military post that had once thrived on America's frontier was brought to a poignant end. Hoig's book deals not only with Fort Reno, but also with the Darlington agency, the Chisholm Trail, and trading activities in Indian Territory from 1874 to approximately 1900. Like a scout, he successfully guides the reader through a time of treacherous but fascinating events in the Old West.

A Civil War hero, victorious Indian fighter and eventual madman, General Ranald S. Mackenzie's fascinating life, his brilliant accomplishments, and his descent into madness are brought to life in a complete and thoroughly researched biography that reestablishes his importance in the history of Texas and the United States. Foreword by Stan Hoig.

In Beyond the Frontier, Stan Hoig chronicles early explorations of Oklahoma. Focusing on expeditions during the first part of the nineteenth century, Hoig provides a useful history of the region during the period of its first discovery by the outside world.

After describing what we know of Native life before the arrival of Europeans, Hoig recounts in vivid detail each successive intrusion, drawing on a wide variety of sources - diaries, memoirs, letters, and official documents - to bring these experiences to life. Writing of individuals famous and forgotten who braved an unknown...

Following the Indian uprising known as the Red River War, Fort Reno (in what would become western Oklahoma) was established in 1875 by the United States government. Its original assignment was to serve as an outpost to exercise control over the Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians. But Fort Reno also served as an embryonic frontier settlement around which the first trappings of Anglo-American society developed a regulatory force between the Indian tribes and the white man, and the primary arm of government responsible for restraining land-hungry whites from invading country promised to...