The late, great Ed Mell shows up on almost every page of True West magazine because he was my muse and my friend. We shared studio space in the...
Brothers From Another Mother
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Bob Boze Bell
A Deadly Duel at 500 Yards
Bass Reeves vs. Jim Webb The master of the long shot, indeed Based on the research of Art Burton June 15, 1884 Out on the Whiskey...
Thanks to Al Harper Billy the Kid Has His Day at Old Tucson
Last weekend we had a great celebration at Old Tucson when we presented our True Westerner Award to Al Harper in the Grand Hotel Saloon. Not only...
Sieber Goes Down
The Apache Kid vs. Al Sieber, Then Everyone in Arizona June 1, 1887 Absent from duty for five days, the Apache Kid, along with four other Apache...
Secret Agent Man
A legendary screenwriter gets his final byline. In early 2003 my agent called me to tell me the Westerns Channel wanted to start running True West...
The Death Tent
Frank Dalton and James Cole vs Dave Smith, Will Towerly and Mr. and Mrs. Dixon Based on the research of Robert Ernst and George R. Stumpf; with...
Dude Spotting
It’s harder to spot real cowboys than you might think. In my experience, nobody looks at a photograph of a welder and says, “That’s not a...
A Bullet for Your Troubles
Maps & Graphics by Gus Walker Based on the research of John Langellier, Jack McPhee, Larry Ball, Chip Carlson, Grace McClure, Diana Allen Kouris...
Finding Truth in All the Noise
Let’s celebrate seven decades of lively debate about our imperfect past. For the past seven decades we have been having a very lively...
Hays in an Uproar
Wild Bill Hickok vs. The 7th Cavalry Hickok Almost Gets an Earful July 17, 1870 Deputy U.S. Marshal James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok...
A Moving Target
When I was a kid, the Old West was 50 years in the rearview, and today my youth is 50 years in the rearview—and—to be honest, more like 60! Yikes!...
Doc Hits Bottom (but not much else)
Doc Holliday vs Billy Allen “Doc Holliday is ten feet tall and weighs a ton.” —The Arizona Daily Star August 19, 1884 Broke, sick and usually...