Thomas Bangs Thorpe is best known for his contribution to American humor as the author of "The Big Bear of Arkansas" (1841). This classic tall tale features the comic backwoodsman, language, and situations that characterize many sketches by the humorists of the Old Southwest. Scholars have speculated whether Thorpe's story influenced William Faulkner in writing his masterpiece "The Bear" (1942), and Faulkner complimented "The Big Bear of Arkansas" by saying, "A writer is afraid of a story like that. He's afraid he'll try to rewrite it. A writer has to learn when to run from a story." Thorpe contributed both humorous and sporting sketches to William Trotter Porter's New York Spirit of the Times, the first national weekly devoted to sports. His accounts of wild animals and field sports were highly regarded for their polish and accuracy. Five of them were selected for the first American edition of the popular...