Perhaps war between the U.S. and the Apaches was inevitable. They were once united by a hatred of Mexico, but the alliance began to change in the...
And the War Begins
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Mark Boardman
Angels Camp Gold Rush
One of the stranger gold strike stories comes from Angels Camp, California in 1856. Bennager Rasberry was squirrel hunting when his ramrod got stuck...
The Birth of Tombstone’s Helldorado Celebration
Tombstone’s first Helldorado celebration was in October 1929—and like so many other things tied to the “Town Too Tough To Die,” there was some...
John Clum: Pioneer Footballer
John Clum is best known for his time in Tombstone, as a newspaperman, mayor, and friend of the Earps and Doc Holliday. But when he was a bit young,...
John J. Kloehr Downs a Dalton
John J. Kloehr was a prominent citizen of Coffeyville, Kansas, a man who owned a sizable livery operation. When the Dalton Gang tried to rob both...
Marion Hedgepeth Crosses Tracks with Serial Killer H.H. Holmes
Old West train robber Marion Hedgepeth helped unmask serial killer H.H. Holmes. The two were in a Missouri jail and came up with a con scheme:...
Charlie Connelly Cut Short
Charlie Connelly was a teacher, first in Indiana and then in Kansas when he moved there in the 1880s. In 1892, he was looking for a little extra...
Tulsa Jack
William Blake was better known by the handle “Tulsa Jack.” The cowboy went to the dark side in 1892 when he joined Bill Doolin’s gang. Over the...
Jim Parker’s Last Night
This much is known: Jim Parker was hanged in Prescott, AZ on June 3, 1898, for the murder of Assistant District Attorney Lee Norris during a...
Clay O’Brien Cooper
John Wayne thought Clay O’Brien Cooper was too small to play one of The Cowboys—until the pint-sized nine-year-old lassoed and dumped him on the...
The Hateful Eight Collateral Damage
In the 2015 Quentin Tarantino Western The Hateful Eight, the character of Daisy (Jennifer Jason Leigh) plays an authentic, 1870s guitar borrowed...
Tom Horn’s Fatal Mistake?
Tom Horn was hanged for the murder of teenage Willie Nickell. The theory: Horn mistook the boy for his father, Kels. Kels Nickell was a hot-headed...