In June 1880, Philip M. Thurmond walked around the newly formed mining camp of Tombstone and asked for the vital statistics of every person he could...
Wyatt the Farmer?
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Bob Boze Bell
A Tall Bucking, 1881 Style
San Simon cowboy Dick Lloyd was well known in southern Arizona for his “tall bucking” (cowboy slang for riding a bronc in high style)....
Pearl Hart, Highwaywoman
In 1898, Pearl Hart was either a cook or a soiled dove (depending on who you believe) in Mammoth Arizona. When the mine closed (or, she got word her...
“Uncle Jim” Roberts Had Sand
Arizona lawman “Uncle Jim” Roberts upheld the law around Jerome well into the 20th century. State historian Marshall Trimble shares one 1890s...
Arizona Rides Tall in the Saddle
From the days of the dime novels to the cowboys of the silver screen, Arizona has been the setting for numerous classic Western stories and films....
Wyatt Earp vs. a Tombstone Mob
According to legend, Wyatt Earp single-handedly held off a mob of Tombstone miners attempting to string up a gambler. The actual facts are these: on...
The Arizona Rangers vs. Criminals
Arizona has had three different Arizona Ranger law enforcement groups. The first Ranger group was created in 1860, the second in 1882 and the third...
The Hairy One Hangs
Sonoran bandito, Augustine Chacon, alias Peluda (“The Hairy One”), robbed and killed in Arizona, and then hid out in the Sierra Madres until his...
Vaquero: Master Horsemen of the Southwest
The American cowboy owes so much to the master horsemen—Mexican vaqueros—who were rounding up cattle on horseback several hundreds of years before...
Named By Their Enemies
The Spanish asked the Zunis who those renegades were who were running off with all their horses and a Zuni said, “Enemies,” which sounded to the...
Wells Fargo Agent Relieved of Cash And His Prize Pistols
At the end of 1881 and early 1882, a flurry of stagecoach robberies in Cochise County brings Wells Fargo Agent James Hume from San Francisco to...
Hi Jolly
Hadji Ali reportedly hailed from Syria and arrived in Texas in 1856 to escort a shipment of camels for use by the U.S. Army. In 1857, leaving from...