Last October I made my umpteenth trip to New Mexico from Arizona where I live. Like the preeminent Billy the Kid scholar Fred Nolan and master...
Trailing Billy
read more
Bob Boze Bell
Kid Curry’s Last Gunfight
June 9, 1904 Two days earlier, the westbound San Francisco Express—train no. 5—was robbed near a shipping station in Colorado known as Parachute....
Number One With a Bullet
Date Unknown, 1876 While en route from Arizona back to Texas, cattleman John Slaughter is holding his herd of cattle at John Chisum’s South Spring...
Armed & Courageous
We feel fortunate to have photographs of Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson and Dallas Stoudenmire, but, as far as we know, none of the aforementioned were...
“I Don’t Hold for Anybody!”
March 15, 1881 Two California boys are riding the box on this chilly night along the San Pedro River bottom in Arizona. Eli “Bud” Philpot, a...
Shoot-out at Hanska Slough
September 21, 1876 Four fleeing outlaws, believed to be the robbers of the First National Bank in Northfield, Minnesota, slip into a slough on foot...
Splitting Hairs
A few years ago, I attended the Dalton Days event in Meade, Kansas (held this July 13-14), and met two re-enactors from Arkansas. They told me the...
Railfest
Almost a year-and-a-half ago I headed into the True West World Headquarters on my day off, a Sunday. It was a pretty, spring day, and since I...
Sieber Goes Down
June 1, 1887 Absent from duty for five days, the Apache Kid, along with four other Apache scouts under his command, rides single file into the...
Wyatt Earp Wannabes
More than 40 actors have portrayed Wyatt Earp, but few have even slightly resembled him. Which of the following actors do you believe best captures...
Wyatt Earp Mystery Car
One photo has always intrigued me. It shows the legendary Wyatt Earp standing next to a fancy car in the 1920s. Although several websites claim the...
Black Bart’s Bad Day
November 3, 1883 The Sonora-Milton stage rattles along, empty, save for the driver. Reason E. McConnell has been on the road for three hours since...