Publisher's Synopsis
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 doppelgänger 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.
