True West Blog Archives

Shootist with a Smile

by | May 21, 2024

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

by | May 20, 2024

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

by Mark Boardman | May 17, 2024

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

by Mark Boardman | May 16, 2024

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

by Mark Boardman | May 15, 2024

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

by | May 15, 2024

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

by | May 14, 2024

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

by | May 13, 2024

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

by Mark Boardman | May 10, 2024

Hickok becomes an Abilene lawman. April 15, 1871. Wild Bill Hickok becomes marshal of Abilene, Kansas. His tenure is tumultuous. He befriends young...