At the age of sixteen, Carson ran away from his job as an apprentice at a saddlery in Missouri and joined a party of traders heading down the Santa...
Kit Carson: Larger-Than-Life American Hero
read more
True West Blog
The Dime Novelists
Dime novelists fed the voracious public appetite for daring exploits and hero-making. Much of the violent image of the West was due to pulp westerns...
TA Ranch Western History Conference (Buffalo, WY) Sponsored by TA Ranch
TA Ranch Western History Conference (Buffalo, WY) September 8-10 The historic TA Ranch, is excited to present the Best of the historic West at the...
Deadwood Recreation
Every season in Deadwood is full of legendary fun. Outdoor recreation lovers will strike it rich in Deadwood, which is surrounded by the natural...
The Social Bandits
By the latter part of the nineteenth century train robberies had become big business among western outlaws. During one period trains were being...
Salting a Gold Mine
Mining Camp author Brete Harte wrote: "The ways of a man with a maid are strange, but tame, when compared to a man with a mine when buying or...
Those Early California Gold Camps
Those early California gold camps with their boardwalks and muddy streets, false-front buildings and tent dwellings were as vivacious at their names...
The Chiricahua Cattle Company
One of the most revered names in the history of the cattle industry in Arizona is the Chiricahua Cattle Company or, as it was known by its brand,...
Truth vs. The Legend
Who was California outlaw Joaquin Murrieta? Bandit Joaquin Murrieta (picture) is a legend, especially in the Central California region where he rode...
The Death of a Legend
Rangers kill bandit Joaquin Murrieta. On July 25, 1853, “California Rangers” led by Captain Harry Love (picture) encountered a group of Mexican men...
A Meal and Meeting of Legends
Did Jesse James and Billy the Kid really break bread together? July 26, 1879. Dr. Henry Hoyt (photo) has dinner at the Adobe Hotel in Las Vegas, NM....
The Hucksters
The lawless Arizona Territory attracted the wide gamut of frontier con men ranging from card sharks to stock swindlers out to prove P.T. Barnum was...