Gunman Ben Thompson (right) had his photo taken on March 11, 1884—and promptly signed and gave it to his friend, fellow shootist King Fisher (left)....
Ben Thompson’s Signed and Stained Photograph
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Mark Boardman
Bat Masterson, Foreigner and Lawman
Bat Masterson is one of the most famous lawmen in the Old West. But he was also a serial lawbreaker. Bat was born in Canada in 1853 and never...
A Slap in the Face and a Bullet in the Head
Langford Peel and John Bull (in illustration, in a fake holdup of Mark Twain) ran con games throughout the West. The association ended on July 22,...
Gunfight at Saucelito Valley
Juan Soto was a killer and bandit in California in the 1860s and ‘70s—until he met lawman Harry Morse. Morse tracked Soto and his gang to an adobe...
A Loser and His Park
Galen Clark was, for want of a better term, a loser. Yet all of his trials and tribulations ended up giving this country a great natural treasure:...
A Hardcase Confederate Soldier
Cullen Baker was a hardcase, a Confederate soldier who kept fighting after the Civil War ended. He and his gang pulled a number of robberies in...
The Last Train Holdup in Oklahoma
The so-called Al Spencer Gang pulled off the last train holdup in OK. It was early in the morning of August 21, 1923 when the Katy Limited pulled...
A Dream Turned Ray Simpson Into a Hero
Ray Simpson had a dream—somebody tried to vandalize his hardware store in Delta, CO, and he had to shoot the intruder. That dream caused Simpson to...
Kit Carson Couldn’t Live up to the Legend
November 17, 1849. Kit Carson led an army detachment to a Jicarilla Apache camp, trying to rescue captive Ann White. Most of the Indians got...
A Texas-sized Custody Battle
Gladys Johnson Sims and ex-husband Ed Sims were in the middle of a Texas-sized custody battle over their two daughters. They both came to Snyder,...
Bill Standifer vs Pink Higgins
Bill Standifer and Pink Higgins were both from Lampasas, TX. Both were noted gunmen in their 50s—and they didn’t have much use for one another. That...
The “Hang ’em High” Judge
On September 3, 1875—the day six men were hanged in Fort Smith, Arkansas—Isaac Parker earned his nickname, “Hanging Judge.” Parker had not been on...