Asa Mercer left quite the legacy. As a young man, he was one of the early settlers of Seattle—where he helped found and became the first president...
Asa Mercer
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Articles
A picture hanging in a restaurant in Prescott, Arizona, is labeled, “Wyatt Earp.” Is this a photo of him?
Tom Isler Madera, California I have never seen this photo published in any of the Wyatt Earp biographies; somebody would have published it if the...
The Myth of Whiskey
Not all American West pioneers walked up to bars, like Hollywood Westerns often portray, and ordered shots of whiskey. In fact, most would have...
Wyatt the Farmer?
In June 1880, Philip M. Thurmond walked around the newly formed mining camp of Tombstone and asked for the vital statistics of every person he could...
The Henry Rifle
The legendary Model 1873 Winchester, has been called the favorite "Fighting rifle of the Old Civilian West." The granddaddy of Model 1873 and all...
Tales of a Legendary Western Life
J.P.S. Brown writes books about the true life of the cowboy, not the saloon and bodice tales that so enthrall other practitioners of the genre. His...
Happy’s Not-So-Happy Blunder
Somebody with a sense of humor, with more than a touch of irony, must have nicknamed John Morco “Happy Jack.” Happy? Accounts record him as an...
The Johnson County Invaders
The Johnson County, Wyoming invaders were saved by political maneuvers that reached to the highest levels. The cattleman’s army had killed two...
A Tall Bucking, 1881 Style
San Simon cowboy Dick Lloyd was well known in southern Arizona for his “tall bucking” (cowboy slang for riding a bronc in high style)....
Poet, Professor, Historian—his West Begins in the East
In March, Mount St. Mary’s University Emeritus Professor William Heath received a great surprise from the Western Writers of America: his 2015...
The Bisbee Massacre
On the evening of December 8th, 1883 five heavily-armed men rode boldly into Bisbee, tied their horses near Main Street and walked up the street to...
Did Bat Masterson carry a cane?
Bob Nellis Rochester, Minnesota No known photos of Bat Masterson show him with a cane, although he did receive a gold-headed cane in 1885 when he...