You know you’re in Texas when a pair of ski-masked men rob a crowded bank and nearly every customer pulls a gun and opens fire. The impromptu posse...
A Defiant Outlaw-Hero Ballad
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Articles
The Great Western and the Biggest Leg in Mexico
At six feet two and 200 pounds, red-headed camp follower Sarah Bowman was nicknamed the “Great Western,” after the largest steamship afloat in the...
A Legendary Life
The mythic history of the American West is veiled in the mysterious mists of time like the fog-shrouded British legends of King Arthur, Beowulf and...
Blurred Lines
The Lincoln County War in New Mexico was never as cut and dried as it might seem. Numerous men switched sides at various times. Billy the Kid was...
Mickey Free
We have brooded and argued and mulled over this fictional tale of Mickey Free for years now—sort of a personal Heart of Darkness. Our goal was a...
T.J. Stiles
Rural Minnesota native and Carleton College alumnus T.J. Stiles moved to New York City to attend graduate school at Columbia University in 1986. New...
Buckskin Frank Leslie – A Good Man with a Gun
Nashville “Buckskin” Frank Leslie joined the pariahs of Tombstone’s raucous society around 1880. Although he was only 5’ 7” and weighed 135 pounds...
Zanuck’s Disputed Ending
“My Darling Clementine” is considered by many as a classic Western. It’s also not what director John Ford planned. Producer/studio head Darryl F....
When Languages Collide: The Ten Gallon Hat
Many people incorrectly assume the term “ten gallon hat” refers to the amount of water that will fit in the crown of a big hat, but the term more...
The Trickster with the Sidewinder Gaze
Prologue PROVING GROUND The boy is emaciated. His mop of red hair hangs across his scarred face, obscuring a lost eye. He staggers and stumbles up...
Deforest Kelley
Actor DeForest Kelley is best known as Dr. “Bones” McCoy on Star Trek. But he also had a number of connections to Tombstone—at least on film. He...
Puffing, Chewing and Dippin’
American’s love for smoking began early in our history. Among the various types of tobacco were rope cable twist, Bull Durham in a sack, and plug...