August 2007

From the Blog

Features

rifepackin

Rifle Packin’ in the Old West

How the early railroaders fueled steam engines in the Old West.

Jerkwater Towns

rookierancher

The Rookie Rancher

cowboymounted

Cowboy Mounted Shooting

Western Books & Movies

Craig Johnson on Walt, Wyoming and the West.

Vote Longmire for Sheriff

movies_notlonesome

Not So Lonesome

riseofcentennial

The Rise of the Centennial State: Colorado Territory, 1861-76

alexswan

Alex Swan and the Swan Companies

passionprinciple

Passion and Principle

ravensprings

Raven Springs

totamealand

To Tame A Land

authorprofile

Writing the Wicked West

deadwoodthird

DEADWOOD: The complete Third Season

whenthewest

When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion

Gary Cooper MGM Movie Legends Collection

waynecentury

WAYNE’S WORLD

vengeancebrand

The Vengeance Brand

westerns

A Fistful of DVDs

greathouses

The Great Houses of Chaco

lookofoldwest

The Look of the Old West

secretwarfortexas

The Secret War For Texas

californiabadmen

California Badmen

yearthestarsfell

The Year the Stars Fell

courtingtrouble

Courting Trouble

Western writers share the books that most influenced their lives and craft.

Best Reads (And They Aren’t All Westerns)

authorprofile

A Ranger War & Billy the Kid

cherokeenation

The Cherokee Nation in the Civil War

peopleatwar

A People at War

seraphimfalls

Seraphim Falls

agirlisagun

A Girl is a Gun

onthewrongtrack

On the Wrong Track

huntdown

Hunt Down

westerns

Rio Bravo Still Sings

storytellingin

Storytelling in Yellowstone

tiocowboy

Tìo Cowboy

wildride

Wild Ride

completerdside

The Complete Roadside Guide to Nebraska

captinjabrooks

Captain J.A. Brooks, Texas Ranger

whipsofthewest

Whips of the West

peopleofnightland

People of the Nightland

northfield

Northfield

More In This Issue

renegaderds

On Oklahoma’s Centennial Trail

classicgunfight

The Battle of Big Dry Wash

preservation

Preservation: Saving the Sheriff

A new book tries to solve one of the greatest Old West mysteries.

Who Killed Col. Fountain?

Will it be forgotten 150 years from now?

Remembering Mountain Meadows

One journalist's creation forever taints a gold mining boomtown.

The Bad Man from Bodie

music_aint_country

Music That Ain’t Country (Let Alone Western)

oldwestsaviors

Fort Stanton’s Angel

whatsitlike

Virginia City, Montana

I can’t locate a copy of Richard O’Connor’s Bat Masterson book, listed in the credits of the TV series starring Gene Barry. Is there another biography I can buy?

My SASS friends and I disagree. I say chinks were not worn by working cowboys in the 1890s. I believe they were show wear for riders during the late 1940s. Can you settle this?

True West calls the Tombstone battle the “Gunfight Behind the O.K. Corral,” while Earp historian Allen Barra calls it the “Street Fight in Tombstone.” How did people in the 19th century refer to it?

Most Hollywood movies end with the good guys winning and the bad guys in jail or dead. How true is that to the Old West?

collectingthewest

Rock Island’s Rare Rig

roadtrip

The Beecher’s Island Boys

In the Old West, did men carrying six-shooters leave one chamber empty as a safety measure?

UPDATES: The Lone Bandit and Shalako

tragicend

A Tragic End to a Classic Cowgirl

renegade_rds

Civil War in the West

preservation

Preservation: Song Of Praise

classicgunfights

Silver City Shoot-Out

American frontiersmen devised the best ways to carry a rifle.

Rifle Packin’ in the Old West

Chasing 'em from Wallace, Kansas, to Wray, Colorado.

The Beecher’s Island Boys

whatsitlike

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Did Bat Masterson actually have to use a cane after being shot by Sgt. Melvin King in 1876, or is this just part of the legend?

Why do so many Westerns show bacon and beans as the campfire meal? And how did the characters cook the beans so fast?

What’s the difference between an Old West marshal and a sheriff?

Where is Wyatt Earp’s second “wife,” Mattie Blaylock, buried?

Did cowboys in the Old West really wear that much clothes, even on sunny days?

In 1969’s Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, are the characters Joe LeFors and Lord Baltimore based on real people?

collectingwest

Casa de Adobe

roadtrip

Mining Vs. Ranching