On May 17, 1853, the legislature passed an act creating the California Rangers, with Harry Love as their captain, and Governor John Bigler signed it...
Don’t Shoot Anymore. I Am Dead.
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Articles
Johnny Mack Brown
The Alabama “artful dodger” was an All-American halfback at Alabama who scored two of Bama’s three touchdowns in the 1926 Rose Bowl. He was named...
Cowan’s Auction
Regular viewers of PBS readily recognize Wes Cowan from Antiques Road Show and History Detectives. Back in the late 1970s, Wes toiled away on his...
A Deadly Card Game
Josiah Gordon “Doc” Scurlock is best known as a compatriot of Billy the Kid during the troubles in New Mexico. But Doc was no stranger to violence...
The Education of a Killer
Harry Orchard is best known as an assassin for the Western Federation of Miners; his bombs killed more than two dozen people in the early 1900s,...
How Accurate was the Language in the 2010 Version of True Grit?
How accurate was the language in the 2010 version of True Grit? Scott Bachtold Hudson, Illinois You’re probably referring to the fact that many of...
Born Again!
Allan Affeldt knows what it takes to restore a historical hotel or saloon. We’re inside the Legal Tender Saloon, Bistro and Music Hall, a historic...
Different Accomodations
John Reno’s love for luxury put him in a prison cell. Reno and associates burglarized the Daviess County, MO treasury in November 1867—and came away...
The Cross Draw
A True West reader asks if Old West gunmen and cavalrymen using the cross draw were as fast as using a normal draw. I went to two fast-draw experts,...
Shaken, Stirred and Strong
Mixologists, or bartenders, of the time were often skilled and jokingly referred to as pharmacists or chemists with a “medicine” chest. Prior to...
Eva Dugan: The Only Woman Hanged in Arizona
Twenty-year-old Eva Dugan took the alias Claw-Finger Kitty while she was working as a prostitute during the Alaska Gold Rush and some thirty years...
Crook Fails Custer at the Rosebud
On a blisteringly hot Saturday in mid-June 1876, Brig. Gen. George Crook fought to the draw Sioux and Northern Cheyenne warriors led spiritually by...