Every town in the West had their "boothill" where people go for the “Long Sleep.” It's supposed to signify that the permanent residents of the...
Boot Hill
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Marshall Trimble
Babocomari Land Grant
From 1821 until the Gadsden Purchase in 1854 the Mexican government sold and awarded granted land under Mexico’s 1824 Law of Colonization, it called...
Buckskin Frank Leslie
To many, Buckskin Frank’s death is very much a mystery. Was it suicide or murder? The mystery of Buckskin Franks demise has been solved by authors...
Border Security
The history of border security predates Poncho Villa’s raid on Columbus, New Mexico and General Pershing Punitive Expedition by several years....
Time-Honored Books on the Cowboys of the Long Trail
A True West reader recently requested a list of my favorite authors and books on the old-time cowboys on the Long Trail from southwest Texas...
Garbage, Bowie Knives and Captain Jack
What did American Indians do with captives? John O’Connor (Phoenix, Arizona) The taking of captives varied with the various tribes, but generally,...
The Buntline
I never bought into the extra-long barrel O'Brian carried on TV. I really don't buy into the 10-inch barrel. That was an eyewitnesses account. We...
Hollywood vs. Reality
I just watched High Noon again the day other for…I’ve forgotten how many times. It's still a classic. Gary Cooper has always been one of my...
Wyatt Earp’s Guns and Badges
True West readers often ask what make and model of handguns Wyatt Earp owned and used during the gunfight near the OK Corral. Second, exactly the...
Pocket Guns, Ned Kelly and The Kid
I’ve read the transcript of Wyatt Earp’s testimony at the inquest following the gunfight at (near) the O.K. Corral, and it seems he drew his...
Virgil Earp, Tombstone and a Shot of Whiskey
Cowboys, Shotguns and Hackamores
Where did Cowboys like John Ringo and Curly Bill Brocius live? Walt Serefin Shawnee, Kansas They spent much of their time in Galeyville, Arizona...