“Where does the West begin or end?” Dr. Albert L. Hurtado asked rhetorically in my graduate seminar on the West at Arizona State University. Is...

The First Westerns Star
Arkansas native Max Aronson was in New Jersey in 1903, trying to angle his way into movie stardom. Director Edwin S. Porter asked the 23 year old...

A New-Old Straight Shooter
In the firearms world, the name “Shiloh” has come to mean the maker of the finest quality modern reproductions of the famed single-shot Sharps...

History Unmasked
The history of North American horse culture is epitomized by the full-face horse mask in red trade cloth, with black velvet trim and seed blue star...

A Dangerous and Bloody Citizen
March 10, 1864 Jack Slade, once the heroic peacekeeper of the Central Overland stagecoach line, is drunk and in an ugly mood on the main street of...

Masters of Western Art
Western historical art has two great masters to whom all later artists are compared: Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell. The peers have their...

The Hat Rules
The right hat can make all the difference in a Western. Just think back to Robert Duvall’s pheasant-taking-over-his-head job he wore in 1972’s Joe...

A Skirmish with the Bottle Instead of the Braves
The life of a frontier soldier in the American West involved more combat with boredom than forays against hostile tribesmen. Troopers adopted a...

Historical Photos of Charlie Russell
A young affluent St. Louis boy, born 150 years ago, who grew up in a wealthy suburb of Missouri, Charlie Russell made his dream finally come true in...

Rowdy River Town
There were rules in Victor Trevitt’s saloon—no gambling, for one thing. No fighting, or even any rough talk. Drinking was allowed, of course, but...

Keeping the Faith
Father Albert Braun didn’t have much outside his Purple Heart medal when the 30 year old returned from WWI in 1919—$100 in U.S. Army pay, three...

How does Bat Masterson’s story compare with Wyatt Earp’s?
How does Bat Masterson’s story compare with Wyatt Earp’s? Jim Gaines Orangevale, California Bat Masterson’s history was every bit as illustrious as...