Sometimes an outlaw had to die before he or she gained fame. Myra Belle Shirley is a good example. She grew up in an affluent Southern family, was well-educated, gracious-mannered and an accomplished piano player. Life changed when the Civil War came to Missouri. After federal troops killed her brother and razed the family hotel in 1863, the Shirley family packed up their belongings and move

True West May/June 2025
In This Issue:
Features
- Historic Hotels of the American West
- A Journey Through Wyoming’s Outlaw History
- A Journey Through Washington’s Wild Frontier
- Blazing The Oregon Trail
- Journey Through Time
- Did Brigham Young Order a Massacre?
- Mountain Meadows Scapegoat John D. Lee VS. A Firing Squad
- Mormons in the Movies
- An Indigenous Consultant Ensures Accuracy
- The Battle Axe And A Raw Deal
- Showdown: Bridger VS. Brigham
- The Mountain Man and the Mormon Moses
- The Ghosts of Mountain Meadows
- The War Before the War
- Mountain Meadows