Jack McCall’s execution for killing Wild Bill. March 1, 1877. Jack McCall pays the ultimate price for killing Wild Bill Hickok in Deadwood, Dakota...
A Hanging for Hickok’s Murder
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Elizabeth Hudson Smith “The Black Pearl of Wickenburg”
Contrary to popular myth, not all the women who arrived in the boom towns and mining camps seeking their fortunes were shady ladies and dance hall...
Geronimo: The Shaman’s “Power”
Like most indigenous peoples, the Apaches were fascinated by individuals exercising any form of clairvoyance. Some had the "gift" and Geronimo was...
Railroads
Railroads were the nation’s bloodstream, hauling people, freight, ore, agricultural products, and cattle from supply points to the far reaches of...
John Younger Crosses the Line
He follows his brothers into outlawry. John Younger is often portrayed as an innocent, especially compared to his outlaw brothers Cole, Bob and Jim....
A Killing by Mistake?
Jimmy Dolan may have indirectly caused the death of Huston Chapman. Jimmy Dolan—one of the major players in the Lincoln County War—was accidentally...
Finally, Justice for a Killer
Billy Campbell faced a mob for his crimes. Billy Campbell was a hard-case, often fueled by alcohol and anger. He left dead bodies behind in Texas,...
Hard Rock Miners
Hard rock mining was hard, dangerous work where death was a constant companion. Before caged elevators came into use miners were lowered hundreds of...
Frank Canton
There are many stories of good-bad men in the Old West and one of the more interesting is Frank Canton. He was born, Joe Horner. Horner drifted into...
Big Alice and Etta Clark
Competition between madams was especially keen out in the west Texas town of El Paso where Redheaded Etta “Grasshopper” Clark and “Big Alice” Abbott...
The Original Fighting Earp
Papa Nicholas had his own violent run-ins… On November 27, 1881, the patriarch of the Earp clan, Nicholas, went to a bank in San Bernardino,...
An Uncouth and Foul-Mouthed Person
The Earps’ father had a reputation for bad behavior. In May 1864, Nicholas Earp—the father of Virgil, Wyatt, Morgan, etc.—led a wagon train from...