James R. Dow is a professor emeritus of foreign languages and literatures at Iowa State University and is the author of German Folklore: A Handbook. Roger L. Welsch is a well-known folklorist and essayist and the author or coauthor of more than thirty books, including A Treasury of Nebraska Pioneer Folklore and Cather's Kitchens: Foodways in Literature and Life, both available in Bison Books editions. Susan D. Dow's photographs have appeared in several of James Dow's books.

"Roger Welsch is probably the only man from CBS Sunday Morning who has milked a cow. This lends him credibility in the eyes of many of us and qualifies him to sort the wheat from the chaff of Wyoming folklore."—Baxter Black, cowboy, poet, former large-animal veterinarian, and radio commentator "This gathering of folklore, legends, and history is brought to readers thanks to the 1930s archives of the Federal Writers' Project (FWP). . . . Readers and scholars of the American West and the FWP will find this book worthwhile."—S.B. DeMasi, Choice "The book is fun, and it might just serve as a reminder that there are files tucked away in every state across the West that just might hide some information relevant to the studies of those who find their way here."—Gary L. Roberts, Wild West History Association Journal "I recommend the book for the general reader who is interested in folklore from Wyoming, or of the wider West—folklore actually from people living there as opposed to significantly rewritten or bowlderized forms—for scholars interested in the contours of the WPA folklore projects, and for scholars looking for additional texts in the categories listed above for comparative purposes."—Lisa Gabbert, Western American Literature

• Introduction    Part 1. Pioneer Memories   1. Cowboy Days with the Old Union Cattle Company   2. Tale of the Southern Trail 3. Life in a Line Camp  4. A Christmas in the Mountains     5. An Old-Time Christmas in Jackson Hole  6. Stories of a Round-up      7. The Last Great Buffalo Hunt of Washakie and His Band in the Big Horn Basin Country     8. A Stampede     9. Civil Strife   10. The Fleur-de-Lis Cocktail 11. Putting on the Style      12. American Class      13. Packer, the Man-Eater     Part 2. The White Man's Tales Lost Mine Tales14. The Lost Treasure of the Haystacks    15. Lost Gold of the Big Horn Basin 16. The Lost Soldier Mine     17. The Lost DeSmet Treasure  18. Indian Joe's Gold   19. The Lost Sweetwater Mine  20. The Lost 600 Pounds Tall Tales and Humor21. The Coney     22. Bearing Down  23. Slovakian Rabbits   24. The Prolific Herds  25. Hunting on the Railroad   26. All Aboard!   27. The Fossil Bug      28. The Big Snake on Muddy Creek    29. Wyoming Fauna 30. The Capture of a Sea Serpent  31. Vanishing Elk 32. The Hard-Water Spring    33. "Dutch" Seipt's River     34. The Great Discovery 35. Love on the Yellowstone   36. The Dying Cowboy    37. Getting the Tenderfoot   38. Jerky Bill's Funeral     Characters, Big and Little39. The Wake of the White Swede    40. Disappearing Johnny 41. The Lynching of Walters and Gorman    42. Jim Baker's Revenge 43. The Piano Tuner and His Hallet Canyon Hunch 44. The Man with the Celluloid Nose 45. Portugee's Ride     46. The White Rider     47. The Chicago Kid     48. A Woman's Wiles     49. The Legend of the Indian Princess Ah-ho-ap-pa     Ghost Tales50. Ghost Lights on Old Morrisey Road    51. The Hoback River Ghost    52. The Phantom Scout   53. The Specter of Cheyenne Pass    54. The Laramie Ghost  55. The Ghost of Cross Anchor Ranch 56. The Ghost of Nightcap Bay 57. The Oakley Ghost    58. Mel Quick's Story   Folk Etymologies59. The Hartville Rag   60. The Story of Whiskey Gap  61. The Legend of Crazy Woman Country     62. The Story of Rawhide Butte      63. The Legend of Fanny's Peak      Part 3. Indian Folktales      Creation Myths64. Arapaho (1) and Arapaho (2)     65. Shoshone      Tales and Legends66. Axe Brown's Stories 67. Lone Bear's Story   68. The Ninam-bea, or "Little People" 69. The Mouthless People      70. A Shoshone Legend   71. The Fort Washakie Hot Spring    72. The Story of the Cottontail and the Sun     Indian Legends of Jackson Hole73. The Sheep-eaters    74. The Happy Hunting Grounds 75. The Legend of Sheep Mountain    76. The Legend of "One-Eye"   Indian Place Name Legends77. The Legend of Big Springs 78. Shoshone Version of the Legend of the Big Spring  79. The Legend of Wind River Canyon 80. The Legend of Chugwater Creek   81. Legends of Lake DeSmet    82. Lovers' Leap  83. The Legend of Bull Lake   84. The Great Medicine Wheel  Medicine Wheel Legends85. The Legends of the Devil's Tower      86. A Kiowa Legend of the Devil's Tower   Part 4. Folk Belief, Custom, and Speech   Folk Belief87. Weather 88. Love    89. Good Luck     90. Bad Luck      91. Wishes  92. Medicines     Cures from Other Wyoming Sources93. Physiognomy, Reading Character and Omens by Physical Features 94. Dream Interpretations     95. Miscellaneous Beliefs and Omens 96. Indian Beliefs      Folk Speech97. Glossary of Terms, Nicknames, and Folk Speech     98. Cheap Thunder! An Example of Folk Speech in Action