New adventures for the Texas gunfighter. June 1, 1871. An 18-year-old John Wesley Hardin arrives in Abilene at the end of a cattle drive. He's...
Hardin Hits Abilene
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True West Blog
Cassidy’s First Crime
Butch hits a Colorado bank. On June 24th, 1889, Butch Cassidy—still known as Bob Parker—pulled off his first major criminal act. He and Matt Warner...
The Many Sides of Burt Alvord
Lawman, outlaw, gambler and more. Burt Alvord wasn’t exactly a household name among Arizona’s notorious outlaws. They also said he wasn’t the...
A Deadly Affair
Buckskin Frank’s passion was a bit too hot… Buckskin Frank Leslie was having an affair with the married Mae Killeen in 1880. Her husband Mike was...
Birth and Death in the Texas Spring
For John Wesley Hardin, May 26 had great importance. May 26, 1853. John Wesley Hardin is born near Bonham, Texas. Over the next two decades, he...
The Famous Female Stage Robber
Pearl Hart’s entrance into Old West legend. May 30, 1899. Pearl Hart and Joe Boot rob a stage running between Globe and Florence, AZ. They get away...
A Change of Career
The editor of The Epitaph made a surprising switch. William H. Kelly was editor/publisher of The Tombstone Epitaph from 1928 through 1930. During...
The Making of a Legend
Why did Jesse James become so famous? Why was Jesse James one of the most famous outlaws of the Old West? Well, for starters, he had a great name,...
Wine, Women, and Song
The females who frequented the Old West saloons… Old West saloons were pretty much a man’s world. There were saloon girls and prostitutes....
Classic Westerns Playing all Summer Long
It’s showtime at Western Spirit! True West magazine has joined forces this summer to screen 25 classic Westerns at Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s...
The Cowboys from Hawaii
Paniolos made their mark—even in the Old West. In 1823, the king of Hawaii, King Kamehameha III, imported some vaqueros from Spanish California to...
Earp Comes to Dodge
But he didn’t really build his legend there… May 19, 1876 (or thereabouts). Wyatt Earp is appointed deputy marshal of Dodge City, Kansas. In late...