May is a great month for birthdays to celebrate icons of the west—both human and major events--so let's bake a cake. This year, we'd have put 180...
This Month in History: May
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Articles
Rock Creek Killfest
David McCanles, his 12-year-old son William and two employees ride up to Rock Creek Station, Nebraska Territory. Leaving his two hired hands at the...
The 1886 Martin Family Massacre
Arizona had a lot of loathsome cold-blooded killers but none worse than Charles Stanton. He arrived in Arizona in 1871 where he got his start by...
When the Hills Bled Blue in the Boom of ’92
Douglas Magnus, the iconic silversmith in Santa Fe, New Mexico, shows me around the historic turquoise mines he owns in the nearby Cerrillos Hills....
The True Blue Story Behind the West’s Toughest Trousers
Everyone knows his name, and everyone thinks they know his story. He’s Levi Strauss, the man who made the first blue jeans possible. But he’s also a...
The Bisbee Deportation of 1917
What happens when a corporation, the sheriff and citizens are all in collusion to do something “wholly illegal?” The giant Bisbee Deportation of...
The Code of Honor
Some outlaws had their lives glorified on the silver screen. Others are mere footnotes in history. A few years ago I wrote a story about an outlaw...
Did Stagecoach Travel Have Different Classes of Ticket?
Did stagecoach travel have different classes of ticket? Roger M. Dillingham Hackney, London, United Kingdom Some stagecoach companies had three...
Rustled for Hollywood
In the 1950s, Universal Pictures hit on an absurd premise that would delight millions and make millions: the Francis the Talking Mule military...
Tulsa Jack
William Blake was better known by the handle “Tulsa Jack.” The cowboy went to the dark side in 1892 when he joined Bill Doolin’s gang. Over the...
Hero on the Run
In Matthew Mayo’s The Outfit: To Hell and Back (Five Star, $25.95) Rafe Barr, Civil War hero, wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife and son, is...
Don’t Go Wakin’ Snakes
Old West slang was colorful and inventive and often brings a laugh. But they sure got their points across. Consider these: Someone would tell you...