The Ancient Memory and Other Stories - Hardcover

Neihardt, John G.

9780803233270: The Ancient Memory and Other Stories

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0803233272 ISBN 13: 9780803233270

Publisher: University of Nebraska Press, 1991

Death-defying and vulnerable fur-traders and Indians, demi-devils and almost-angels, and other complex personalities come fully to life in The Ancient Memory, which completes the collecting of John G. Neihardt's early short fiction begun with The End of the Dream and Other Stories. Originally published in popular magazines between 1905 and 1908, these stories about the American frontier illustrated Neihardt's artistry in the short form and foreshadow the themes, situations, and characterizations of his later, better-known work. Although two of the Indian stories, the ironic "Feather for Feather" and the satirical "A Political Coup at Little Omaha," were collected in The Lonesome Trail in 1907, none has been reprinted since early in the twentieth century.

Other stories included here are "Like a Woman," featuring the plucky Pelagie, and "The Face in the Balcony," which is dedicated to "those who have gone through life misunderstood." "The Epic-Minded Scot," about a stranger who is stubbornly idealistic and scrupulous, is considered one of Neihardt's best tales. "The Brutal Fact" revolves around a William Tell type of contest between trapping partners that anticipates Neihardt's Song of Three Friends. "The Lure of Woman," a study of greed and revenge, was expanded into his novel Life's Lure. The ineffable "Ancient Memory" carries profound philosophical implications while presenting a strange doppelg�nger of sorts. Finally, the memorable Waters—an alcoholic, one-legged, one-eyed frontier printer—is introduced in "The Discarded Fetish," which, with minor changes, became the first half of the novel The Dawn-Builder.

In her foreword Neihardt's daughter Hilda Neihardt recalls intimate details incidental to the writing of these stories.

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About the Author:

These nine stories, including “Feather for Feather,” “A Political Coup at Little Omaha,” “The Brutal Fact,” “The Epic-Minded Scot,” “The Discarded Fetish,” and “The Ancient Memory,” foreshadow much of Neihardt’s later work. Neihardt’s daughter, Hilda, provides details about the writing of the stories in the foreword.

From Publishers Weekly:

Best known for his nonfiction Black Elk Speaks , Neihardt published these nine robust tales of white adventurers and Native Americans in Smart Set and other magazines between 1905 and 1908, before he was 30 years old. His frontier men and women are appealing dreamers who lose everything, start over and often lose everything again; his sympathetically drawn Native Americans are imbued with spiritual qualities. In ``A Political Coup at Little Omaha,'' a congressional candidate cynically manipulates desperately poor reservation Indians to get their votes; although the prejudiced white narrator oozes contempt for Indians, the author's respect for them remains clear. ``The Lure of Woman'' is a crackling yarn of gold-mad miners, broken friendship and love betrayed; ``The Epic-Minded Scot'' follows the tragic tale of a Missouri trapper whose dream of living in harmony with Native Americans is subverted by French expansionist ambitions. As corroborated by Neihardt's daughter in her foreword, the stories exude his firsthand knowledge of the frontier, the last remnants of which he explored during the early years of this century.

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