I recently reread Streets of Laredo by Larry McMurtry. He writes about an 8-gauge shotgun. Are there any still around? The 8-gauge dates back to the...
Eight-gauge Shotguns Are there any still around?
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Keeping The Peace—Not. Lawman Billy Bailey started trouble instead of preventing it.
Billy Bailey had the reputation as a dangerous man. Reportedly, he killed two men in Texas gunfights before moving to Kansas in the early 1870s. ...
Taking The Law Into Their Own Hands Citizens ended the criminal career of Nick Worthington
June 18, 1878. A group of men spot outlaw Nick Worthington outside the St. James Hotel in Cimarron, NM. They order him to surrender; Worthington...
Cavalry Horses Did the U.S. Cavalry have remudas like the Old West cattle drives?
I had a question the other day asking if the U.S. Cavalry had remudas like the Old West cattle drives. I’ve never come across anything referring to...
Justice of the Peace Frank Wattron is best-remembered for his colorful days as justice of the peace, holding court in his drugstore...
Frank Wattron wore many hats during his years in Holbrook. Along with running his drugstore, he was the first elected Sheriff of Navajo County in...
Roll The Bones A black cowboy and a key archaeological find.
George McJunkin was a black cowboy who began riding the ranges at the end of the Civil War—when he was 14-years old. He was self-taught in reading...
A Short But Violent Life Fort Griffin burst on the scene…and faded off.
Fort Griffin, Texas became infamous in its brief run. Founded in the Panhandle in 1867, the place was a magnet for folks like Doc Holliday, Wyatt...
Mesquite Championship Rodeo All Summer Long Sponsored by the Mesquite Convention and Visitors Bureau
The Mesquite Championship Rodeo will be held every Saturday at 7:30 p.m., June through August. The Mesquite Championship Rodeo is the largest...
The Rath Of Charlie A pioneer businessman with a tie to baseball.
Charlie Rath was one of those Old West success stories that could only happen in the U.S. Born in Germany, he came to America at the age of 11 in...
Smallpox Among the Plains Indians Did the U.S. Army intentionally infect the Indians to cause the Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1837?
A few years ago an activist wrote a revisionist history about the Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1837 claiming the U.S. Army deliberately infected a...
A Man Of Few Words Ferd Patterson briefly summed up a shooting.
Ferd Patterson was a gambler and shootist who plied his trade on the West Coast in the 1850s and ‘60s. In 1861, he and some friends were on a...
High Grading In mining lingo, high grading was simply pilfering ore from the mine one’s employer...
In mining lingo, high grading was simply pilfering ore from the mine one’s employer. A miner might take a few choice pieces of ore home with him at...