I just finished Honey in the Horn by H.L. Davis, the 1936 Pulitzer Prize winner. What a great book. It's the story of Oregon in the homesteading period: 1906-1908. Told mainly through the eyes of Clay Calvert, its a little bit analogous to Arrowsmith (Sinclair Lewis) the winner from 10 years previous in that instead of outlining pretty much everything a doctor might experience (Arrowsmith), Honey in the Horn covers everything a homesteader in turn of the 20th century Oregon might experience.
From the jacket cover, The Christian Science Monitor thought it smacked of Bret Harte, Mark Twain -- and Paul Bunyan. I don't get the Paul Bunyan refernce as it isn't a tall tale, nor do I get the Bret Harte allusion as I've not ready him. However, I think the Twain comparison is apt. Let me share a brief passage:
"The proprietor was generally a man who was not able to make a living without that extra revenue, and in most cases he was afflicted by some handicap like a missing limb or twelve children or political ambitions or weakmindedness. The handicap of Clay's employer was piety."
Anyway, strong recommendation on this one.