Butch Cassidy’s folk hero image actually exceeded his outlawry. In 1898, a Chicago newspaper referred to him as the “King of the Bandits,” and the...
Rough Drafts
Western art and artists are major topics for publishers each year, and 2018 is a stellar year, as reflected in a selection of my favorites and...
Brother Vs. Brother
Old Schonchin was head chief of the Modoc, and he was responsible for moving the tribe to a reservation in southern Oregon in the mid-1860s. He...
Were U.S. Army Troops Allowed to Carry their own Weapons?
Were U.S. Army troops allowed to carry their own weapons? Tim Bumb Mandan, North Dakota “American soldiers have had a long tradition of possessing...
An Act of Dignity and Strength
American Horse fought at the Little Bighorn, but he didn’t live long after. On September 9, 1876, troops led by General George Crook attacked...
Comstock Inferno
A gray dawn crept into leaden skies over Virginia City, Nevada, on the morning of October 26, 1875. The uniform layer of cloud rushing over the...
Virginia City, Montana
Virginia City roared to life after a gold strike in Alder Gulch in 1863, and by the time Montana Territory was formed the following year, the...
Boot Camp or Basic Training
Recently, I received a question from a TW reader who wanted to know if during the 1800s the military had some kind of a boot camp for new recruits...
Fencing the West
The open range in this country was doomed in 1873 when three men from DeKalb, Illinois—Jacob Haish, Joseph Glidden and Isaac Ellwood—each filed...
A Real Western Colt in the Reel West
It’s a firearms collector’s dream to find a gun that is well documented to have been owned or used by someone famous, or was involved in a...
Peaches or Tso-ay
Prior to his stint as an Army scout Peaches rode with Chatto, Bonito and Chihuahua on a raid in March 1883, that killed twenty-six settlers that...
How were Cattle Cared for when they were Shipped to Slaughterhouses?
How were cattle cared for when they were shipped to slaughterhouses? Jim Millis Cottonwood, Arizona The first rail car dedicated to livestock...