Nick Ray stepped outside the cabin into the morning light, looking for Ben Jones and Billy Walker. Seeing no sign of his cabin mates, Ray turned to...
Requiem of the Rustlers
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Bill Markley
Leader of Destiny: Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull strived to retain Lakota lifestyle and lands. He belonged to the Hunkpapa tribe of the Lakota people, also known as the Sioux. His...
Black Hills Betrayal
The government guaranteed Paha Sapa, the Black Hills, to the Lakota people through the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty. Six years later, the government...
The Original War Wagon
After Johnny Slaughter, murdered on March 25, 1877, became the first stage driver killed along the Deadwood to Cheyenne Trail, the Cheyenne and...
Sitting Bull’s Nemesis
“Lakotas will kill you,” came to Tatanka Iyotake not by human voice, but by the song of his beloved meadowlark. Standing Rock Agent James McLaughlin...
The Real and Imagined Life of Calamity Jane
Most people have heard of Calamity Jane, once promoted as The Famous Woman Scout of the Wild West. But do we really know who she was? After losing...
Guarding Custer’s Guidon
They were all dead; most were stripped of clothing, weapons and gear—including flags. Lieutenant Col. George Armstrong Custer, along with five...
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
North Dakota is nicknamed the Roughrider State after Theodore Roosevelt’s 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry. TR (folks didn’t call him Teddy to his face)...
The Stickler
“Did you sketch this picture of my daughter?” Cindy Costner, Kevin’s wife at the time, asked a Union soldier during a lull in the Dances With Wolves...
Wall Drug of South Dakota
“Free Ice Water. Wall Drug.” Millions of motorists have seen this sign or its hundreds of variations. You can spot Wall Drug signs worldwide, even...
Wall Drug of South Dakota
“Free Ice Water. Wall Drug.” Millions of motorists have seen this sign or its hundreds of variations. You can spot Wall Drug signs worldwide, even...
Theodore Roosevelt in the Badlands
Roger L. Di Silvestro gives an accurate, lively account of Teddy Roosevelt’s formative years in the Dakota Badlands—warts and all. The Badlands...