Bill Longley meets his maker. October 11, 1878. Outlaw Bill Longley meets his maker after being hanged in Giddings, Texas. Longley boasted that he'd...
A Hanging Gone Wrong
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True West Blog
A Bold Breakout
Harry Tracy escapes a Utah prison. October 8, 1897. Harry Tracy (photo) and Dave Lant escape from the Utah penitentiary, where they are doing time...
Death of a Legend
Virgil Earp passes at age 62. October 19, 1905. Virgil Earp dies in Goldfield, Nevada at the age of 62. He had pneumonia and had been in poor health...
A Devotion to Service
A teacher/town marshal gave his all for Coffeyville. Charlie Connelly was a teacher in Coffeyville, Kansas in the early 1890s. Reports say he was...
Put Down the Guns
Wild Bill’s last gunfight was tragic. October 5, 1871. Wild Bill Hickok's last gunfight. The shootist is marshal of Abilene, Kansas. He hears a shot...
The First Train Robbery
…took place in Seymour, Indiana just after the Civil War. The evening of October 6, 1866. Three men--Simeon Reno, John Reno and Frank Sparks (latter...
A Bawdy House Battle
A lawman loses out—in the fight and the courtroom. Tom Logan was a respected lawman in Tonopah, NV (photo, seated left). But on April 7, 1906 he was...
The Wright Stuff
Starting a church in Dodge City. September 24, 1850. Ormond W. Wright is born in New Hampshire. When he moves west in his early 20s, he decides to...
The Sweetwater Affair
The Hamer family’s ongoing fight with ex-in-laws. October 1, 1917. Frank Hamer (photo), his pregnant wife Gladys, and three others are driving...
Frontier Army
Recently a True West reader asked what a frontier army soldier could take home with him when his enlistment was up. Author and military historian...
Tombstone Rangers
On April 3rd, 1883, the citizens of Tombstone declared they had no faith in the Army’s ability to contain the Apache. Putting their faith in a...
Travelers of the West
Traveling drummers, salesmen or peddlers provided a variety of necessary goods and services for folks in frontier areas that didn’t have easy access...