One successful train holdup deserved another. On April 27, 1887, Doc Smart and his band robbed a train near Pantano, AZ. The bandits uncoupled the...
They Didn’t Call Him Smart for Nothing
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True West Blog
An Explosive Robbery
Two outlaws discovered how not to stick up a train. On January 30, 1895, Joe George and Grant Wheeler, a couple of unemployed cowboys, held up the...
Cayuse Face the Noose
Indians are executed in Oregon for perpetrating a massacre. June 3, 1850. Five Cayuse, including leaders Tiloukaikt and Tomahas, are hanged in...
A Deal Gone Bad
How a failed arrangement helped lead to Tombstone’s street fight. June 2, 1881. Wyatt Earp approaches Cowboy Ike Clanton with a proposal. If Clanton...
Hardin Hits Abilene
New adventures for the Texas gunfighter. June 1, 1871. An 18-year-old John Wesley Hardin arrives in Abilene at the end of a cattle drive. He's...
Cassidy’s First Crime
Butch hits a Colorado bank. On June 24th, 1889, Butch Cassidy—still known as Bob Parker—pulled off his first major criminal act. He and Matt Warner...
The Many Sides of Burt Alvord
Lawman, outlaw, gambler and more. Burt Alvord wasn’t exactly a household name among Arizona’s notorious outlaws. They also said he wasn’t the...
A Deadly Affair
Buckskin Frank’s passion was a bit too hot… Buckskin Frank Leslie was having an affair with the married Mae Killeen in 1880. Her husband Mike was...
Birth and Death in the Texas Spring
For John Wesley Hardin, May 26 had great importance. May 26, 1853. John Wesley Hardin is born near Bonham, Texas. Over the next two decades, he...
The Famous Female Stage Robber
Pearl Hart’s entrance into Old West legend. May 30, 1899. Pearl Hart and Joe Boot rob a stage running between Globe and Florence, AZ. They get away...
A Change of Career
The editor of The Epitaph made a surprising switch. William H. Kelly was editor/publisher of The Tombstone Epitaph from 1928 through 1930. During...
The Making of a Legend
Why did Jesse James become so famous? Why was Jesse James one of the most famous outlaws of the Old West? Well, for starters, he had a great name,...