Nelson Story was already a wealthy man in 1866. He’d moved to Montana a few years earlier and found gold. He used some of the riches to start...
Christmas in the Pines
The first recorded Christmas in Northern Arizona north of the Gila River took place in 1853 at the foot of the snowy San Francisco Peaks where the...
Swindlers & Bamboozlers
The wild, untamed mountains and barren deserts turned out to contain a bonanza in gold and silver. Wherever there was a rumor and a hole in the...
Training for a Killer
John Heath is best known as the mastermind of the 1883 Bisbee Massacre, an attempted robbery gone bad that resulted in four deaths. He was lynched...
Judge Roy Bean
My father spent part of his youth living in Langtry, Texas. His first wife, Leta, was the daughter of the town constable, Bart Gobble. My grandpa,...
A Peace Treaty Minus One
For two long years, the northern Plains Indians fought the U.S. army over a series of forts along the Bozeman Trail. The conflict was called Red...
Lieutenant Amiel Whipple
Lt. Amiel Weeks Whipple was referred to as the wheel horse among the Army’s Corps of Topographical Engineers surveying Arizona during the 1850’s....
Brothers to the End
Tom Jeffords is best known as an Indian agent in Arizona Territory—and for his close relationship with Apache Chief Cochise. In fact, Jeffords was...
Alfred Y. Allee Wasn’t Afraid to Use His Gun
Alfred Y. Allee wasn’t afraid to use his gun. The Karnes Co., Texas deputy shot and killed a robbery suspect in 1882. He was arrested because the...
A Long Feud Between the Brooks and McFarlands
On April 24, 1896 Thomas Brooks attempted to rob an old Texas Ranger, who reportedly had stashed a huge amount of cash near Dogtown in the Indian...
Aimee Semple McPherson Part II
On May 18th, 1926, Sister Aimee mysteriously disappeared off the coast of Santa Monica. According to her private secretary, Emma Schaeffer, she just...
Jail Time Saved Hobbs Kerry
For Hobbs Kerry, being in jail was actually good fortune. The 23-year-old joined Jesse James (photo) and his gang in mid-1876. On the night of...