681

1st Ed. "Kootenai Why Stories", F. Linderman

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:125.00 USD Estimated At:200.00 - 400.00 USD
1st Ed.  Kootenai Why Stories , F. Linderman
Presented in this lot is the First Edition of “Kootenai Why Stories” by Frank B. Linderman, 1926, published by Charles Scribner's Sons, illustrated by Charles Livingston Bull. While trapping in Montana during the 1880s, young Frank B. Linderman befriended the Kootenai Indians. At their campfires he heard about Skinkoots the coyote, Co-pee the owl, Frog Chief, and the other animal people. The telling impressed him, and in 1926 he was able, from long familiarity, to translate the tales for Kootenai Why Stories. Old-Man appears as the flawed undergod known by different names to other tribes, a figure provoking more hilarity than reverence. The frog is another prominent character in this northwestern Indian lore. Also recognizable for their distinctive attributes are the grizzly bear, deer, rabbit, and skunk. Making sense of nature, the stories explain why the coyote has thin legs, why the moose has a moose's nose, why the deer carries a black mark on the underjaw, and how the animals stole the springtime and put an end to winter. Linderman's retelling captures the mystery and spirit of a forested world. Frank Bird Linderman (1869-1938) was a Montana writer, politician, Native American ally and ethnographer. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he went West as a young man and became enamored of life on the Montana frontier. While working as a trapper for several years, he lived with the Salish and Blackfeet tribes, learning their cultures. The blue cloth illustrated hardcover is in nice condition, slight scuffing exhibited to edges. Intact pages have deckled bottom and fore edges, age tanning. Measures 5.75"W x 8.25"L x 1.25"D.