Patrick Dearen’s novel The Big Drift is set during the deadly blizzard and subsequent die-off of cattle in West Texas in 1884-’85. In addition to...

I don’t study war too much, but Joe Johnston’s book, Necessary Evil: Settling Missouri with a Rope and a Gun struck a chord with me. He writes his...

“No man in the wrong,” legendary Texas Ranger Capt. W.D. (Bill) McDonald famously declared early in the 20th century, “can stand up against a man in...

The 1857 Bonneville expedition against the Apache reportedly carried 700 gallons of vinegar.  Why? Sid Miller Dripping Springs, Texas During the age...

In The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Lee Van Cleef (the Bad) is missing part of a finger. What happened to it? Also, did Eli Wallach play the Ugly? I...

What was the cost of the westward wagon trains? Don Anderson Phoenix, Arizona The overland journey from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon or...

The book True Grit states Rooster Cogburn died from “night hoss.” What does that mean? Duff Hale Midlothian, Texas Night hoss usually referred to a...

“Comanche Jack” Stilwell is a name little remembered today, but an 1868 battle made him well known in his lifetime. The Beecher Island affair was so...

  Riding a bull requires practice, practice, practice! Hard to hit a 90 mph fast ball ’til you have swung a million times. What most don’t know...

Who was the first white woman to scale Pikes Peak? Frank Polzin Colorado Springs, Colorado Julia Holmes is given the credit for that 1858 feat. Born...

Did Wild Bill Hickok really have the Dead Man’s Hand of aces and eights when he was killed? John Wendland Parsippany, New Jersey Nobody knows what...