Buckskin Joe

Book excerpt: "One of the most hilarious autobiographies that has come out in a long time, this story of Buckskin Joe will entertain readers of all ages. . . . [Glenn Shirley] has done an excellent job in arranging and editing Hoyt's war diary, penciled notes, and other materials into a readable book. It makes a bully story."—Wayne Gard, Southwest Review In his lifetime Edward Jonathan Hoyt, better known as Buckskin Joe, staged more excitement than Buffalo Bill, Fairbanks and Flynn, Karl Wallenda, and Batman put together. Born in Canada in 1840, he fought in the Civil War, homesteaded in southern Kansas, chased outlaws as a U.S. marshal in the Cherokee Outlet, prospected for gold from Nova Scotia to Central America, and served as a troubleshooter for "Haw" Tabor, the Silver King of Leadville. But essentially he was an entertainer, specializing in fêtes of music and feats of strength and agility. The master of sixteen musical instruments, he played in frontier bands. An acrobat and aerialist, he toured in circuses, once walking a tightrope two thousand feet above the Royal Gorge. His last hurrah, before pursuing his fortune in the jungles of Honduras, was a tour in Pawnee Bill's Wild West show. Glenn Shirley, who edited Joe's journals, is the author of Law West of Fort Smith (also a Bison Book) and many other works on frontier and outlaw history.