Webblog

In the work The Great Plains, Walter Webb describes how life on the plains of North America has come to be. He goes back in time, telling the stories (along with his point of view) of the environment and numerous factors that shaped the plains people and caused them to adapt into the culture that still remains today. He tells of this level, treeless, and semiarid place in which newcomers had to vastly adapt their ways of life in order to survive. Webb starts by relaying to his readers the composition and physical environment that the Great Plains provide, then moves on to the lives of the Native Americans as well as those who explored, then to the vital aspects of the land; such as the cattle, transportation, and water. The last part of the book then takes a sort of a turn to discuss the literature and writings of the plains, and on to the "mysteries" (or maybe just questions Webb is still pondering) of the plains.

I think that it is amazing that the writing of this book was all inspired by Webb's disagreement to a book that he had read (The Way to the West) on a random winter night in 1922.

My favorite part of the book is when Webb goes into his stories, which some may consider insignificant, containing minute detail and obvious passion; like the telling of how the windmill came to be, and also of barbed wire. Things that are so well known throughout the plains now- and to find out the stories behind these 'staples' of the landscape and how/why they came to be.

I think the best quote of the entire book (you are allowed to disagree) is one from Castaneda on page 88 talking about the Spaniards use of the plains region. "There was nothing there...but cows and sky." This actually made me do sort of a double take while reading this chapter - I didn't think that it really said that! I guess it is true...for the uninterested person there isn't too much here to look at now, let alone almost 200 years ago.

Webb talks about "beasts of burden," the first being the dog, and then the horse - which is still true today of the horse, but not exactly the dog (unless hunting counts?). I think its crazy to think of a land that dogs and horses and buffalo all ran wild. Imagine that today, granted it still is true to some extent (in some areas). Think of all the changes that have taken place since this time and how everything has become so domesticated. Animals as pets, hobby farms, buffalo farms, etc. What amazing change has occurred over these years!

One of the better quotes that Webb leaves us with is on page 510, 'The innovations of the Great Plains are more remarkable than the survivals." He goes on to summarize his whole work in terms of Great Plains innovation. Each chapter is based on a particular new invention o the plains people. I am not sure, though, what is meant by that they are better that the survivals. I think what Webb means by this is that the advancement's the plains people made to adapt to the land are far better history and depiction of the region than the stories of survival and life on this land.

-Casie Hawkinson