It may have been the name of a TV Western, but few officials actually used “wanted, dead or alive” rewards to track down criminals. Money was...
Wanted, Dead or Alive
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True West Blog
Lawman Bill Cruger
Bill Cruger was a tough lawman in Shackleford County, Texas (which included Fort Griffin) in the 1870s. He was originally hired as a deputy by...
Colorado Charlie Utter
Colorado Charlie Utter is best known as Wild Bill Hickok’s best friend, the man who led the wagon train that brought the gunfighter (and Calamity...
Juan Cortina
Juan Cortina was a rancher and politician in the Lower Rio Grande in 1859. He was displeased as Anglos took over land next to his. And he became...
Bass Reeves: U.S. Marshall
When those old gunfighters are sittin’ around Valhalla discussin’,”Who was the greatest of em all,” the name Bass Reeves is sure to be mentioned....
Lady Desperados
Stagecoach robber Pearl Hart is the most famous of the twenty-nine women who spent time at the Yuma Territorial Prison during the years, 1876-1909,...
A Deadly Feud Between Two Jims
Jim Harkey and Jim Barbey were both riders at the Cottonwood Mott Line Camp in west Texas in 1880. Nobody knew of any trouble between the two...
Poker Alice
The "Queen of the Western Gamblers" was Alice Ivers. She was both gambler and madam. She also had a religious side, closing her brothel on Sundays...
Lost Sheep
Geographically, Arizona was an ideal place for sheep ranching. The flocks could be wintered in the balmy deserts then driven up sheep trails to...
Jack Swilling’s Arizona Adventures: Part II
For a brief time in early 1862 Confederate troops occupied what would soon become the Territory of Arizona. This was part of a grand Confederate...
Jack Swilling’s Arizona Adventures: Part I
Jack Swilling is a name that goes almost unrecognized by Arizonans today. Much of what is known about him comes from tall tales, lies and...
A Cochise-led Apache Ambush
It was July 15, 1862, and Union Captain Thomas Roberts led a column of volunteers into Apache Pass in southeast Arizona. They were headed to New...