John Wesley Powell’s first expedition down the Green and Colorado rivers through the Grand Canyon in 1869, made him a national hero. John K....
Powell and the People of the Plateau
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Articles
Roughing It
The other day a friend asked, “In Mark Twain’s book Roughing It he refers to the gunfighters as long-tailed heroes. What does that mean?" Mark Twain...
What History Has Taught Me: Mary Doria Russell
As a kid I saved up six hours of babysitting money every week to pay for one hour of horseback riding at a local stable. The hardest part of writing...
Who Repaired the Telegraph Lines if They Were Down and How Long Did it Take to Fix Them?
Who repaired the telegraph lines if they were down and how long did it take to fix them? Vance Rowe Gloversville, New York Western Union had crews...
More Than a Sidekick
Charlie Utter (right in photo) is best known as a sidekick to Wild Bill Hickok, but he had quite the life beyond that. Born in Niagara Falls, NY in...
The Lone Star Line
Prior to the Civil War, it was realized that an efficient way to deliver the mail and passengers across the country was needed. In 1857, the U.S....
A Life of Lies
Charley Parkhurst moved from New Hampshire to California during the 1849 Gold Rush. Once there, Charley became a stage driver—one of the best in the...
Tombstone’s Allen Street
Tombstone’s Allen Street is one of the most notorious in the Old West. On the north side of the street saloons were open 24 hours a day. In 1880,...
Lewis and Clark’s Big Sky Country
Most every Sunday afternoon as I was growing up, my father would load us into the car and off we’d go on a family day-adventure to “discover new...
The First Rider
Johnny Fry (upper right in photo) was just 19 when he won a horse race in Missouri in 1860—and got a job. For Alexander Majors watched that race and...
Pullin’ Legs Attached to Tenderfeet
Exaggeratin' and prevaricatin’ has long been a cherished right in the West and correctin' a liar is considered impolite. For example, anyone who's...
Kansas’s Highways of History
America’s West, in the early 1800s, ended at the Missouri River. Men knew there was another West—farther west—but venturing there proved...