On the San Carlos Apache Reservation in the 1870s the U.S. Army was charged with writing down the names of each tribal member who was eligible to...
An Apache Named Fun
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True West Blog
The Far Western Frontier in the Late 1700s-1860s
During the 1770s Spain believed her colony of Florida was under threat from American frontier settlers and was determined to stop American...
History and the Myth
In 1849 Kit Carson rode as scout for a company of Dragoons in pursuit of Apache raiders along the Santa Fe Trail. They had taken a white woman,...
The Man Called Teddy Blue
Edward Charles Abbott was born in England—but he became the prototypical American cowboy. His family moved to Texas when he was a boy; he later...
Any Bullet Will Do
It's brother against brother in the action packed western Any Bullet Will Do. Taking place during 1876 in Montana, a ruthless headhunter tracks his...
Fire in the Hole!
It was the worst mining disaster in Colorado’s history. April 22, 1917, at the town of Hastings, where the Victor American Fuel Company had been...
Adventures in the Apache Country
John Ross Browne was one of the most prominent writers to visit the West during the pioneer years. His colorful and entertaining narratives inspired...
Americas First “Astronauts”
In February, 1848 the United States secured its “Manifest Destiny” with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ending the Mexican War....
Don’t Look Back
It’s part of Wild Bill Hickok’s legend. The acting Ellis County (KS) sheriff was trying to corral Bill Mulvey, who was shooting up Hays City....
Bodie, California
Gold was discovered in what became Bodie by a party of prospectors in 1859. The discovery coincided with another at nearby Aurora, Nevada and the...
Don’t Take a Beer Mug to a Gunfight
Sam Strawhun and his pals had been wreaking havoc on John Bitter’s Saloon in Hays City, KS, early in the morning of September 27, 1869. Ellis...
A Not So Heroic End
John Kile was a hero who came to a bad end. As a corporal in the 5th Cavalry, Kile won the Congressional Medal of Honor. In July 1869, he and two...