Folks often ask, "Were townsfolk generally as cowardly and cowered as portrayed in movies like High Noon?" Was it that difficult to get men of the...
Violence in Old West Towns
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Articles
What About Old West Waste Disposal?
What did Old West towns do about disposal of animal and human waste? Frank Fantozzi San Jose, California They would haul it to the outskirts of town...
Women at the Yuma Territorial Prison
When the Yuma Territorial Prison opened for business on July 1st, 1876 the planners overlooked an important detail. The builders never envisioned...
Custer, Crows, and Curtis
No American battle (except perhaps Gettysburg) has been the subject of so many books and movies as the 1876 Battle of the Little Big Horn in Montana...
Father Joseph Machebeaf Shakes Up Tubac
The revolutions in Mexico and the California Gold Rush had depleted much of the male population in northern Sonora. In some villages the ratio of...
Shouldn’t right-handers hold reins in their left hands?
In the January 2019 issue of True West, Pancho Villa is riding with the reins in his right hand and his reata tied on the left. The man behind him...
The Bawdy House Brawl
Tom Logan was a respected lawman in Tonopah, NV (photo, seated left). But on April 7, 1906 he was a customer at a bawdy house in Manhattan, NV....
Get Western!
I remember seeing my Wyoming-raised father quietly touching his hand to the brim of his cowboy hat, or tipping it in a polite gesture when meeting a...
A Little Help From His Friend?
The end of Texas robber Brack Cornett is shrouded in mystery. In September 1888, after his gang was broken up, Cornett headed to the town of Frio....
The Deadly Escape
Godfrey Gauss and Sam Wortley live behind the Lincoln Courthouse. Gauss lights his pipe and leaves his room, crossing the yard toward the main...
A Violent 18 Months
Texas outlaw Brack Cornett had a short but violent run on the outlaw trail. Starting in May 1887, Cornett and gang leader Bill Whitley nabbed tens...
Crimes on Emigrant Wagon Trains
Emigrants heading west in covered wagons usually had a wagon master who knew the trails and had experience getting through the trials and travails...