The Great Plains, Second Edition

Walter Prescott Webb identifies the revolver, barbed wire, and the windmill as technological adaptations that facilitated Anglo conquest of the arid, treeless region of the Great Plains.

Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Introduction -- Preface -- I. Introduction -- II. The Physical Basis of the Great Plains Environment -- 1. How the Great Plains Were Built -- 2. The Climate of the Great Plains -- 3. The Plant Life of the Great Plains -- 4. Animal Life on the Great Plains -- III. The Plains Indians -- 1. Characteristics of the Plains Indians -- 2. The Spread and Use of the Horse among the Plains Indians -- 3. Horsemanship and Weapons -- 4. The Sign Language of the Plains Indians -- IV. The Spanish Approach to the Great Plains -- 1. The Spanish Colonial System Unsuited to the Great Plains -- 2. The Spanish Explorers on the Plains: A Period of Success -- 3. The Spanish Colonial Period: The Beginning of Failure -- V. The American Approach to the Great Plains -- 1. Exploring the Great Plains: Marking the Trails -- 2. Creating the Tradition of the "Great American Desert" -- 3. The Texas Approach to the Great Plains: The Texans Touch the Plains -- 4. The Great Plains Block the Expansion of the South -- VI. The Cattle Kingdom -- 1. The Origin of the Kingdom -- 2. The Spread of the Kingdom -- 3. The Evolution of the Range and Ranch Cattle Industry, 1866…