Texas gunfighter Ben Thompson’s family were no strangers to violence. In July 1851, his uncle and aunt—who had emigrated to the US in 1834, were...
Trouble for the Thompson Kin
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Articles
John Wesley Hardin: The Deadliest of ‘Em All
The greatest of all the storied Texas gunmen, John Wesley Hardin, has been called the "deadliest killer of ‘em all." It’s claimed he gunned down...
Prone to Violence
Gunfighter Ben Thompson got his start at a relatively young age. He was 14 when—at least according to some accounts—was bullied by another...
The Youngest Prisoner
On July 19, 1904, Claude Hankins snuck up behind George Mosse while he was milking a cow at the Bolles Ranch. Claude put a pistol near George’s...
Did “Big Nose Kate” Carry a Gun?
Did Big Nose Kate carry a gun? Jim Ramsey Portland, Oregon “Kate did not need a gun. Her wit and cunning words were her best weapon (or worst enemy,...
Time to Die
Four years before controversial lawman Ben Thompson and pal John King Fisher were killed at the Vaudeville Theatre in San Antonio, Texas, on March...
The Paris Punk
Did a 16-year-old Buffalo Bill wannabe shoot Vincent van Gogh? Believe it, or not, compelling new evidence has surfaced that points towards René...
Remington’s Last Six-guns
In John Wayne’s last movie, The Shootist (1976), based on the novel by Glendon Swarthout, the Duke’s character, J.B. Books, packed an engraved pair...
Riding for the Hashknife
The Aztec Land & Cattle Company—better known as the Hashknife Outfit (after a brand it acquired)—became a force in Arizona in the mid 1880s....
Bank Robbery at Telluride
Butch Cassidy was born Robert LeRoy Parker on April 13th, 1866, in Beaver, Utah to a good Mormon family. A turning point in his life came when the...
How did Frontier Ladies Curl their Hair?
How did frontier ladies curl their hair? Carson Mell Burbank, California Frontier ladies who curled their hair usually wore Victorian rag curls....
Arab Berbers Ride Hard
Historian Stuart Rosebrook argues the birthplace of the cowboy is in the Atlas Mountains of Algeria in North Africa, where the “...Zeneta Berber...