Despite his lack of qualifications Custer won a coveted appointment to West Point in 1857. He wasn’t a good student, receiving a record number of...
George Custer the Early Years
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True West Blog
The Cherokee Light Horse
In 1797, the Cherokees created organizations called "regulating companies" to deal with horse theft and other property crimes. The regulating...
History of the Real Deadwood, South Dakota Sponsored by Deadwood, South Dakota
The discovery of gold in the southern Black Hills in 1874 set off one of the great gold rushes in America. In 1876, miners moved into the northern...
Belle Starr
Myra Maybelle Belle Shirley, AKA Belle Starr was reinvented by the media, as were many others. She was from an affluent Southern family, raised in...
Switching Sides
Dave Rudabaugh—outlaw turned informant. Dave Rudabaugh's gang attempted their first train robbery, on January 22, 1878 near Kinsley, Kansas. The...
Trailing Dave Rudabaugh
Wyatt Earp hits the trail to track the outlaw. In October 1876, Dave Rudabaugh robbed a Santa Fe Railroad construction camp and fled south. Wyatt...
Get the Heck Into Dodge
Wyatt Earp puts on a badge in the cow-town. May 19, 1876 (or thereabouts). Wyatt Earp is appointed deputy marshal of Dodge City, Kansas. Over the...
Hardin and Hickok
As far as gunslingers go John Wesley Hardin and Wild Bill are reputed to have been equals at the top of the heap. So, what is the extent of the...
Those Harvey Girls
Humorist Will Rogers once remarked, “Fred Harvey supplied the West in food and wives.” It wasn’t just the excellent food that attracted people to...
Mail Order Brides
Are they still around today? You may be surprised to learn that international marriages facilitated by brokers and dating tourism sites are more...
The Corroded Badge
A crooked lawman in New Mexico. Eugenio Alarid was a lawman in Las Vegas, New Mexico in the 1890s. But hidden behind the badge was an outlaw; Alarid...
The Tragedy of Mussel Slough
Railroads versus settlers was a deadly combination. On May 11, 1880, a dispute between settlers and the railroads in central California turns...