William Whitney Brazelton is well known for his stagecoach holdups and unorthodox choice of armaments. What many don’t know, is that “Brazen Bill”...
The Man Who Swallowed a Wagon Wheel
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Cameron Douglas
The First Boom Stick
Despite Nobel’s best efforts, his dynamite was used as a weapon nearly as often (if not more so) as it was for construction. There was little doubt...
The Merchant of Death?
If you’ve been reading my last couple posts, you know that Nitroglycerin was dangerous as hell. Whether it was blowing open a safe or the simple act...
Nobel’s Blasting Oil
On April 16th, 1866 a massive explosion rocked the San Francisco Wells Fargo office and surrounding buildings. According to the Placer Herald based...
360 Degrees of Death
The Colt revolver is one of the best known weapons of the Old West. However, for a short period of time, Samuel Colt had competition from T.P....
The Bandit Who Wouldn’t Give Up
Elmer J. McCurdy was one of the worst safe men the Old West ever saw. In March of 1911, he tried to rob the Iron Mountain-Missouri Pacific train...
Goodnight, Old Shakespeare
“I have met a lot of good men, several fine gentlemen, hordes of cunning climbers, plenty of loud-braying asses and plenty of dumb oxen, but I...
Heavy Artillery Designed By A Dentist
In 1862 John Gilleland, a dentist and sometimes mechanic from Georgia, had a genius idea. If one cannon could wreak havoc upon the enemy, why not...
Jefferson’s Fourth Try
Although Thomas Jefferson was the driving force behind the Lewis and Clark Expedition, it wasn’t the first time he had proposed a “Voyage of...
A Whole Lotta Lola
One of the great joys of writing for a magazine like True West are the passionate and curious readers. At least twice a week, a package of...
King of the Felted Green
When most people think of gambling in the old west Poker comes to mind. However, despite what many modern westerns would have us believe, the king...
The Lie of Villa’s Last Words
“Don’t let it end like this. Tell them I said something important.” Allegedly, Francisco “Pancho” Villa spoke these final words to a group of...