The Montana Vigilantes, led by James Williams (pictured on the left) lynched Red Yeager in December 1863. Supposedly, he had warned an outlaw that...
Did John Wesley Hardin get the drop on Wild Bill Hickok?
That’s a legend spread by Hardin in his 1896 autobiography. The event supposedly happened in Abilene, KS in 1871. Hardin biographers Chuck Parsons...
Libbie Custer on the Big Screen
If you happen to see a 1926 silent movie called The Pottery Maker—a how-to-throw-a-pot flick—check out the elderly woman in black. She’s no actress,...
The Murder of Andrew Trew Blachly
Banker Andrew Trew Blachly was murdered during a holdup in Delta, CO in 1893. Such deaths often destroyed families—but not his. His widow Dellie...
McLaurys Get the Short End of the Stick
Tom and Frank McLaury are part of one of the biggest Old West stories—the so-called Gunfight at the OK Corral. Big is a term that doesn’t exactly...
Orders of the Arizona Rangers
For decades, folks thought there were six general orders of the Arizona Rangers. They covered stuff like don’t hang out in bars or brothels, enforce...
Dark Starr
One hundred years ago this month, Henry Starr set out to make history. The career outlaw wanted to rob two banks at once, succeeding where the...
Cole Younger. Confederate Guerrilla. Outlaw. Christian.
He was 69 when he attended a tent revival near his home at Lee’s Summit, MO on August 21, 1913. The pastor was an old family friend, and when the...
Bonanza Comes to Ponderosa Ranch
In 1961, producers of Bonanza decided some land around Lake Tahoe, CA was great for outdoor shots. Fans of the TV show stopped by to see the place,...
A Shootout Over Eggs?
In the Old West, all things were possible. Shakespeare, NM, 1879. Ross Woods got the last breakfast eggs at the Stratford Hotel restaurant. Bean...
The Unsinkable Molly Brown
Labor negotiator? Yep. Both sides asked the Denver socialite (and Titanic survivor) to help out with the Ludlow, CO mine strike in 1914. More than...
An Iron Gas Pipe Stands Over the Grave of the Dalton Gang at Coffeyville, KS.
Legend says they tied their horses to it when they tried to rob two banks at once in 1892. That was in Death Alley, where a couple of them were...