The great warrior finally surrenders. May 5, 1877. Lakota war leader Crazy Horse and his band surrender to US troops at the Red Cloud Agency near...
Crazy Horse Gives Up
read more
True West Blog
The First Train Robbery
But it didn’t happen in the West… May 5, 1865. About a dozen men derail and hold up an Ohio and Mississippi train at North Bend, Ohio. They rob the...
The Myth of the Murderous West
Killings were relatively rare. Dodge City, 1878 had five killings during its most homicidal year. Deadwood’s most violent year had four killed....
Shootist with a Smile
Pink Higgins and the “miracle birth.” Those who lived by the gun in the Old West were called “shootists, gunman, badmen or pistoleer.” Gunfighter...
The Birth of the One-Armed Bandit
Slot machines entered the world of gaming. Sittman and Pitt of Brooklyn, New York developed a gambling machine in 1891 that was a precursor to the...
He Lost His Head
Tom Ketchum’s hanging went wrong. April 26, 1901. Outlaw Tom Ketchum is hanged in Clayton, NM for the crime of train robbery. He was Incorrectly...
Annie Got Her Gun
Oakley made a name as a sure shot. April 24, 1885. Annie Oakley (and her husband, Frank Butler) joins Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. Already...
A Daring Escape
The Kid gets out of jail. April 28, 1881. Billy the Kid was being held in the Lincoln County Courthouse; he was sentenced to hang for the murder of...
The Arizona Rangers
A new attempt to fight crime. The dawning of the 20th century brought little improvement to the notorious reputation Arizona had earned during the...
Wanted: Dead
An Arizona policy paid less for captured outlaws. Stagecoach robbers became such a menace on Arizona’s Black Canyon Road (today’s Interstate 17)...
Billy Got His Gun
How did the Kid arm himself for his big escape? Some accounts claim that when Billy the Kid escaped from the Lincoln County Jail in 1881, he used a...
A Last Badge for Wild Bill
Hickok becomes an Abilene lawman. April 15, 1871. Wild Bill Hickok becomes marshal of Abilene, Kansas. His tenure is tumultuous. He befriends young...