It was called The Battle of Wingate Pass—but it was a con job by the famed Walter “Death Valley Scotty” Scott.
In 1906, Scotty was taking an investor’s group to see one of his Death Valley gold mines, which didn’t really exist. His men set up a fake ambush to ensure the expedition wouldn’t get to the site. But in the gunfire, Scotty was gravely wounded in the groin. The con was late

True West March/April 2025
In This Issue:
Western Books & Movies
More In This Issue
- Truth Be Known
- What Has Taught Me: Deb Goodrich
- Earp, Cowboy Songs & Prairie Hygiene
- Trails of the Old West
- The Frontier Characters of South Dakota
- The Bowie Knife
- The Kindled Flame 1835
- King of the Scatterguns
- Selling the Mythic West and the Real West
- A Gut Punch Turns into a Miracle Reprieve
- The Beginnings of the Bird Cage
- Frontier Colossus