When one imagines pristine Arizona’s dry, desolate, sunbaked deserts in the 1850s it’s difficult to picture any of it as being a utopian Shangri La...
Charles Poston’s Arizona Utopia
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True West Blog
The Mourning of Billy the Kid
The death of his mother set him on the wrong trail. September 16, 1874. Catherine Antrim dies of tuberculosis in her home in Silver City, New Mexico...
An Escape Into a New Life
Outlaw Joe Horner becomes lawman Frank Canton. September 13, 1875. Four men escape from a jail in Jacksboro, TX. One of them, Joe Horner, has been...
Stumbling into Riches
The Joel Collins Gang accidentally found gold. September 18, 1877. The Joel Collins Gang holds up a Union Pacific train at Big Springs, Nebraska....
The Frontier Soldier
There were stretches of country picturesque to look upon and capable of cultivation, especially with irrigation; and other expanses not a bit more...
The Classic Chase
Chasing a stagecoach was mostly the stuff of Hollywood because it added more drama to the event. A well-conditioned horse could run, at most two to...
The Birth of the Colt Revolver
In the years before the 1840's the favorite side arm was a knife, and the big guy with long arms had a distinct advantage. Before the coming of the...
The End of the Line
The Waterloo of the James-Younger Gang September 7, 1876. The James-Younger Gang tries to rob the First National Bank in Northfield, MN. The...
The Mountain Meadows Massacre
The Mountain Meadows Massacre strikes horror across the U.S. September 11, 1857. Mountain Meadows in southern Utah. Mormon militia and a few Paiute...
No Publicity is Bad Publicity
A spectacular train crash turns attention to a railroad. September 15, 1896. The "Crash at Crush." Two Katy trains were deliberately rammed...
The Corps of Discovery
On May 14, 1804, the Corps of Discovery set off on a journey where no white man had ever been, forging into a land that was little more than blank...
The Saga of Pancho Villa
A bright orange glow spread across the eastern New Mexico horizon on the morning of March 9, 1916. The sleepy border town of Columbus was slowly...