AKWA - Journal des Arbeitskreises Western & Abenteuer

The Great Plains

Beim Stöbern auf den Buchregalen fiel mir kürzlich wieder die längst zum Klassiker gewordene Studie des amerikanischen Historikers Walter Prescott Webb (1888 - 1963) über die Great Plains in die Hände. Die Erstausgabe des 1931 veröffentlichten Buches zeigt amerikanische Bisons in der Prärie vor einem hohen Nachthimmel mit zunehmendem Mond - vielleicht ein wenig symbolisch: die Büffel verschwinden, es ist Nacht aber der Mond nimmt zu, es bahnt sich eine neue Zeit für die Lebensumstände in den Great Plains an. Im Zuspruch zu Beginn ist zu lesen:

With the high hopes of youth they left the woodland; with courage and fortitude they met the problems of the plains. This volume is largely theirs.

Seit Erscheinen ist Webbs Studie immer wieder aufgelegt worden und auch heutzutage problemlos als neues Buch oder in einer antiquarischen Ausgabe leicht erhältlich. Ich besitze zwar nicht die Erstausgabe aber einen schönen späteren unveränderten Druck des Werks, welches ursprünglich einmal in der American Library in Würzburg gestanden hat.

In einer Rezension von Wayne Collier bei Amazon ist zu lesen:

In the mid-1930s, this book won the Loubat Prize as the best work published over a five year period. In 1950, a national panel of historians selected The Great Plains as the most significant historical work by a living author. This book continues to receive attention as reflected in the bibliographies of current books dealing with aspects of the American West.
In 1893, historian Frederick Jackson Turner's essay "The Significance of the Frontier in American History," outlined his Frontier Theory. Turner asserted that the frontier was the decisive factor in creating an American nation distinct from other nations; that the frontier created dominant traits of individualism, freedom, materialism, originality, et. al. Turner called the frontier a "safety valve" of abundant resources which shopuld be exploited for the benefit of the national good. Turner's theory foresaw progress from the simple to the complex.
Webb's "The Great Plains" modifies Turner's theory by pointing out the steady progression of settlement westward from the timbered and well watered Atlantic Coast to the edge of the Great Plains; the 98th Meridian, an "institutional fault line." Webb contended the great plains were neglected until all lands that were timbered and well watered were taken; that pioneers "jumped" across to the Pacific Slope where they could also employ long-standing techniques that had been successful in the East.
Not until the post Civil War era were pioneers able to settle the great plains (characteristics: a level surface, an absence of timber, and a deficiency of rainfall), and then only by drastically altering or changing their previous frontier techniques. According to Webb, westerners on the great plains became progressive because they relied upon change in order to overcome their harsh environment. The pioneer used what was given him and the results astonished the world.
Great plains pioneers had to build houses without timber, burn fires without wood, carve furrows in soil so matted and tough an ordinary wood or iron plow would snag in the sod or skitter across its surface like a stick over ice, draw water from an arid or semi-arid land, and grow crops that could exist with little water. Webb contends adaptation and innovation in the development and use of new or existing products and techniques allowed the hardy pioneers to conquer their environment. In essence, often reverting from the complex to the simple - "geographic reality."
This book is interesting and easily read. Webb's research ranges from the Indians, Spaniards, Americans, cattle, and water - encompassing the esoteric and the simple. For example, he delves into the Land Law of the West, in all its complexity and the parallel and distinct differences in sign language used by deaf mutes and the plains Indians.
Webb's scholarly research is reflected in the extensive bibliography that follows each chapter. The index is useful and annotated to identify areas of relationship when warranted.
The accolades given this book over the years is well deserved. Webb's innovative study is fascinating and expands the reader's knowledge of the great plains as it contains a wealth of information on the history of the region. ...

Dem bleibt bloss hinzufügen, dass das Buch - auch wenn es vom Inhalt her inzwischen etwas Patina angesetzt hat - nach meiner Ansicht unbedingt in die Handbibliothek jedes Westernliebhabers gehört, zumal Webb auf rund 30 Druckseiten auch The Literature of the Great Plains vorstellt.