Bill Downing was one of the most disliked fellows in Old Arizona. He was moody, morose, bad-tempered, sullen and surly. And that was when he was...
When one imagines pristine Arizona’s dry, desolate, sun-baked deserts in the 1850s it’s difficult to picture any of it as being a utopian Shangri La...
Andy Devine was a big man not just in size but also in heart and soul. Probably the last time anyone called him “Little Andy” was when he was about...
Wild Bill is probably the most famous Deadwood resident, even though he was only in town a few short weeks. James Butler Hickok arrived in Deadwood,...
The story begins after he was shot in the head… David Lunt’s shooting is one of the more interesting ones in the West. In January 1877, he was...
Jack Langrishe’s establishment was used for more than entertainment. Jack Langrishe was “just” an actor and producer—yet he played a vital role in...
The legendary lawman also left a mark as a lawmaker. Seth Bullock is best known for his time as a lawman in Deadwood, in the days when the gold rush...
Fires were always a menacing threat to frontier towns. The boomtowns of Prescott, Bisbee, Jerome, and Tombstone all burned to the ground several...
The three R’s, readin’, writin’, and ’rithmetic, like many other cultural conveniences, were late arriving on the Arizona frontier. The first...
Oftentimes I hear folks say that they wish they'd lived "in the good old days. Usually, I reply, “The good old days really weren’t all that good.”...
John Wesley Hardin makes a big splash in Kansas. June 1, 1871. An 18-year-old John Wesley Hardin arrives in Abilene, KS at the end of a cattle...
The Earp-Clanton dispute deepens. June 2, 1881. Wyatt Earp approaches Cowboy Ike Clanton with a proposal. If Clanton will betray the men who tried...