Auguste Lucien was a bad choice as translator when U.S. troops confronted Sioux leaders in August 1854. He was drunk, didn’t speak Sioux languages...
Cross Talk A bad translator may have led to a massacre.
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True West Blog
Reaping What He Sowed A green army officer got the fight he wanted—and more.
Lt. John Lawrence Grattan was spoiling for a fight when he and 29 men approached a camp of Brule and Oglala near Fort Laramie on August 19, 1854. A...
Western Saddles The western style saddle goes back to the Crusades and earlier...
The biggest difference between the western saddle and eastern is the horn. The saddle horn was essential for roping open range cattle during roundup...
A Leader Of His People Spotted Tail led the Sioux by example.
Spotted Tail was a Brule chief in Wyoming Territory. He was involved in the Grattan Massacre, in which 29 soldiers were killed. Spotted Tail then...
Tornadoes In The Old West Before days of weather forecasting, there are accounts of tornadoes destroying settlements, wagon trains and Indian villages in the Old West same as today...
Before days of weather forecasting, there are accounts of tornadoes destroying settlements, wagon trains and Indian villages in the Old West same as...
Frontier Army Rifles Despite the popularity of the breech-loading Sharps rifles, there was a great need for a repeating rifle...
Despite the popularity of the breech-loading Sharps rifles, there was a great need for a repeating rifle. During the Civil War, teenager,...
Prairie Fever
Prairie Fever was also known as “Prairie Madness.” It affected settlers emigrating to the Great Plains following the Homestead Act of 1862. It...
Native American Burial Customs
American Indian burials were as diverse as the Native Americans culture and languages. Keep in mind these customs could vary within a tribe. Some...
The Extra Mile A Potawatomie farmer gave his life for law and order.
Pete Anderson was a farmer on the Potawatomie Reservation in what is now Oklahoma. On Christmas Day 1890, two local lawmen deputized Anderson as...
The Law Goes Beyond The Law A Montana lawman worked closely with the vigilantes.
Neil Howey made his mark in Montana during the gold rush days of the 1860s. He started off seeking the precious metal—but he found a calling in law...
That Cow Business? Did Merritt Horrell rustle cattle or a woman?
Rancher Pink Higgins walked into the Lampasas, Texas’ Gem Saloon on January 22, 1877. He approached Merritt Horrell, reportedly said something about...
Steam Engines The steam engine was invented in England in 1825 and a year later it arrived in America...
The steam engine was invented in England in 1825 and a year later it arrived in America. By the 1850s trains were chuffing along at 25 mph. Since...