Hayes Lyons helped kill a man in Montana Territory in 1863—and for that, the Vigilantes came looking for him. He had a chance to leave the area,...
A Broken Heart, A Broken Neck
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True West Blog
Esteban Ochoa
The Confederate occupation of Arizona began when Captain Sherrod Hunter and his “Arizona Rangers,” numbering some fifty to a hundred men rode into...
A Hard End for a Vigilante Leader
James Williams gained a certain amount of success and notoriety when he led the Montana Vigilantes in 1864. The group hanged 21 men in just one...
Commodore Perry Owens
Commodore Perry Owens drifted down to Texas in the early 1870s then on to Indian Territory where he took a job on the Hilliard Rogers ranch near...
Al Jennings
The Jennings gang has become the model for outlaw incompetence in the Old West. They did, however, manage to provide some comic-relief to lawmen....
A Name to Remember
Bee Ho Gray is pretty much forgotten today, but he had a 50-year entertainment career in Wild West shows, vaudeville, carnivals/circuses, radio and...
James Addison Reavis
When the United States signed the Gadsden Treaty in 1854 it agreed to recognize the validity of Spanish and Mexican land grants provided they had...
Monument to an Angel
Nellie Cashman is known for her work as a businesswoman and philanthropist throughout the West and western Canada. She made a big mark in Tombstone...
The McNelly Ruse
Leander McNelly was one of the great Texas Ranger leaders—but he also made a mark during the Civil War. He was leading a Confederate guerrilla...
Ike Clanton Part II
In April, 1887 Apache County Sheriff Commodore Perry Owens dispatched Apache County deputies Albert Miller and Rawhide Jake Brighton to arrest Ike...
A Big Loss
A bit of New Mexico history was lost recently. The Old Dowlin Mill in Ruidoso was destroyed by a gas explosion and fire. It was the oldest...
Hooch Simpson
Joseph “Hooch” Simpson holds the distinction of being the last person lynched in California. On April 19th, 1908 in Skidoo, California, Hooch...