George Washington is often mistakenly referred to as the “Father of the American Mule.” He is also credited with being the first to bring a jackass...
Father of the American JACKASS
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Articles
Clay O’Brien Cooper
John Wayne thought Clay O’Brien Cooper was too small to play one of The Cowboys—until the pint-sized nine-year-old lassoed and dumped him on the...
Building Your Western Library
“A Man’s Dreams Must Exceed His Fears” John T. Wayne, the Arkansas author who shares a likeness and the name of the famous Western actor was born...
The History of Mules
“There is no more useful or willing animal than the Mule. And perhaps there is no other animal so much abused, or so little cared for. Popular...
Finding the Great Canyon On the Gila River
The dramatic Seth Eastman watercolor of a canyon on the Gila River of Arizona, circa 1853, is familiar to many students of Western exploration in...
Mother Maggard Saves the Day
The future city of Denver had its modern beginnings in the summer of 1858 when gold was found on Cherry Creek where the stream neared the South...
Frontier Texas
In Nathan Jennings’ Riding for the Lone Star: Frontier Cavalry and the Texas Way of War, 1822-1865, (University of North Texas Press, $32.95),...
Don’t Bury Me Alive
Victorians had a bizarre fixation with premature burial—a fear that wasn't just hysterical, because poor medical knowledge meant that sometimes...
The Lost Dutchman Mine
Lost gold mines are among our greatest natural resources; they don’t pollute the sky with columns of acrid smoke, befoul streams, or scar delicate...
How Far Did A Telegraph Signal Carry?
How far did a telegraph signal carry? Rich Gorman Littleton, Colorado Wires allowed an electric current to flow as far as the wires stretched....
The Hateful Eight Collateral Damage
In the 2015 Quentin Tarantino Western The Hateful Eight, the character of Daisy (Jennifer Jason Leigh) plays an authentic, 1870s guitar borrowed...
Tom Horn’s Fatal Mistake?
Tom Horn was hanged for the murder of teenage Willie Nickell. The theory: Horn mistook the boy for his father, Kels. Kels Nickell was a hot-headed...