Muskogee, Oklahoma’s early years as a frontier outpost were violent, dangerous and unpredictable. Welcome to Muskogee, the rip-roaring and most...
The Wildest Town in Indian Territory
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Articles
The West’s Worst Shootout
The tragedy at Goingsnake left 11 men dead—and a lot of questions. Ezekiel Proctor was a Cherokee and proud of it. “Zeke” had walked...
Bat Masterson
The deadly and dangerous life of the man who invented Wyatt Earp. Thanks to a 1960s television show starring Gene Barry, Bat Masterson was called a...
Get Out of Dodge!
Since Dodge City was founded 150 years ago, the Kansas cowtown is still the reigning queen of the West. “Queen of the Cowtowns” was the...
Alaska’s Wild West
Adventure and history await discovery across the Last Frontier State. Several years ago, I was a long-term substitute teacher in the Yup’ik...
Gunpowder and Smoke
The West was immense, and frontier law enforcement sparse. Wise individuals carried firearms and knew how to use them. Some men and women became...
Ditch the Derby
One of the problems Bat Masterson has in terms of his Old West legend is he is typecast as a city slicker, always wearing a derby. But the real Bat...
Truth Be Known
Old Vaquero Saying “If you sit around a campfire long enough, everyone becomes a storyteller.” Quotes “It may be that them whose pleasure...
Deadly Gunplay
Charles M. Russell’s 1908 Smoke of a .45 captures the violent chaos caused by short tempers and whiskey on the Western frontier. Courtesy Google Art...
Historic Hotels, Saloons and Ranches
The West's best hotels, saloons, restaurants and dude ranches are among the most tangible ties to America’s frontier past. Outlaws, lawmen,...
Death Alley: The Dalton Gang’s Deadly Demise
“The five men rode boldly and at a swinging trot, raising a cloud of dust which literally enveloped them as they passed down Eighth Street.” –An...
Slaughter in Seven Rivers
Billy Wilson and Tom Pickett escaped the noose for the senseless murders of four Hispanos in Lincoln County. "Where would we get help if it...