One of our readers, Raymond Hill, asked me how railroaders got water up the water towers for trains traveling in the Old West, especially in the...
Jerkwater Towns
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Articles
Remembering Mountain Meadows
“It was very famous in its day. The whole United States rang with its horrors.” But by 1872, when the classic Roughing It was first published, Mark...
True West calls the Tombstone battle the “Gunfight Behind the O.K. Corral,” while Earp historian Allen Barra calls it the “Street Fight in Tombstone.” How did people in the 19th century refer to it?
True West calls the Tombstone battle the “Gunfight Behind the O.K. Corral,” while Earp historian Allen Barra calls it the “Street Fight in...
Most Hollywood movies end with the good guys winning and the bad guys in jail or dead. How true is that to the Old West?
Most Hollywood movies end with the good guys winning and the bad guys in jail or dead. How true is that to the Old West? Willie Slappy Jonesboro,...
My SASS friends and I disagree. I say chinks were not worn by working cowboys in the 1890s. I believe they were show wear for riders during the late 1940s. Can you settle this?
My SASS friends and I disagree. I say chinks were not worn by working cowboys in the 1890s. I believe they were show wear for riders during the late...
I can’t locate a copy of Richard O’Connor’s Bat Masterson book, listed in the credits of the TV series starring Gene Barry. Is there another biography I can buy?
I can’t locate a copy of Richard O’Connor’s Bat Masterson book, listed in the credits of the TV series starring Gene Barry. Is there another...
Virginia City, Montana
Virginia City became the capital of Montana Territory in 1865 after the gold strike at nearby Alder Gulch. The boomtown almost died out, until...
Raven Springs
When a Mexican compadre sets out for a Wyoming sheep camp yet never arrives, Jimmy Clevis agrees to find his friend. During his travels, he meets...
Passion and Principle
Authors have written excellent books on John C. Fremont (Allan Nevins, Ferol Egan) and even one (Pamela Herr) on his wife. Because of their devotion...
Alex Swan and the Swan Companies
Oh, where to start? I found this book boring and tedious, probably akin to reading the stock market report. In the 1870s, Alexander Swan ultimately...
The Rise of the Centennial State: Colorado Territory, 1861-76
This volume on early Colorado history is concise, yet it offers nothing new, and the writing is very dry. I did enjoy the thumbnail sketches of the...
Fort Stanton’s Angel
The “Savior of Fort Stanton” is too modest to claim that title for herself, but anyone who has watched the reversal of fortune at one of the West’s...