In 1874 a young New Yorker, John P. Clum, 22, accepted a difficult assignment, to be the Indian Agent for the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation...
The Boss With The High Forehead
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Bob Boze Bell
True West Moments: Ben Johnson Knew How to Set A Horse
Some of the old Cowboy stars were accomplished horseback riders, but very few could “set a horse” as if they were one with the animal. Cowboy actor...
True West Moment: Horses Hate Horseradish
Back in the old days the word “horse” was often used to describe something large. So, when the pioneers saw a large white radish, they put the two...
A Sticky Wicket
Ever since the only known photo of Billy the Kid sold for $2.3 million back in 2011, new purported photos of the Kid have been surfacing almost...
Cliff Hanger
In April of 1883, General Crook mounted a massive expedition force to go after Geronimo and his warriors in Mexico. Assigned to cover the story for...
Black Bart’s Bad Day
November 3, 1883 It’s a Saturday as the Sonora-Milton stage rattles along, empty, save for the driver. Reason E. McConnell has been on the road for...
It’s Hamer Time!
Long vilified as a treacherous lawman, Texas Ranger Frank Hamer survived 52 gunfights, was wounded 23 times in the line of duty and, he was declared...
Bravery at Bloody Run
In May of 1889, outlaws attacked the army paymaster, Major Wham (rhymes with bomb) and a Buffalo Soldier escort between Fort Grant and Fort Thomas,...
Forewarned & Forearmed
March 11, 1884 Fresh off the train from Austin, Texas, newly minted drinking pards Ben Thompson and John King Fisher, the acting sheriff for Uvalde...
Old Vaquero Saying
“Para una madre, no hay mal hijo.” (To a mother, a bad son does not exist.) Doesn’t matter if it’s Billy the Kid, John Wesley Hardin, Jesse James or...
In Search of Cowboy Ground Zero
In the spring of 2013, I traveled to Spain to see if I could locate Cowboy Ground Zero. My theory was, if I could find the source of the Spanish...
The Doomed Prince of the Pistoleers
James Butler Hickok, born on a farm in northern Illinois in 1837, leaves home at age 18, gravitating to Kansas Territory, with his brother Lorenzo,...