I heard an old cowboy say, “The trick to breaking a horse is to climb on and keep getting bucked off until the horse gets bored.” It’s hard to say...
Bronc Busting
read more
True West Blog
Aces and Eights
The question about what hand Wild Bill Hickok was holding has come up a number of times here's how the late Joe Rosa, Hickok's biographer explains...
The Pima Revolt of 1751
The Pima Revolt of 1751 followed the silver strike at Arissona in October 1736. The strike attracted a large number of frontiersmen and rough-hewn...
Discover History in San Angelo Sponsored by San Angelo
Visit Fort Concho in March and enjoy two special programs, either as a participant or just as an observer. The annual Frontier Ladies Living History...
Ending a Feud
Mather vs. Nixon came to a sudden end. Dodge City stalwarts Tom Nixon (photo) and “Mysterious” Dave Mather had a beef with one another. It started...
Vengeance for a Marshal
Cowboys who killed a New Mexico lawman paid a price. On January 22, 1880, drunk cowboys were causing trouble in a Las Vegas, New Mexico saloon....
Wyatt Earp and The Gold Bricks
A myth made up by a hater. The story goes that Wyatt Earp and “Mysterious” Dave Mather were in Mobeetie, Texas in 1878. Reportedly, the pair ran a...
Posse Comitatus
The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 which limits the power of the federal government in the use of federal military personnel to enforce domestic...
The Mason-Richards Conversion Unit
Ironically, an employee of Colt, Rollin White, came up with the idea of boring through the cylinder to accept the new metallic cartridges but Sam...
Lieutenant J. C. Ives and his Grand Canyon Adventure
Little was known about the navigability of the Colorado River above Fort Yuma until 1858 when Captain George Johnson took his steamboat, a...
Nothing Out of the Ordinary
A lawman assesses an infamous execution. April 26, 1901. Train robber Tom “Black Jack” Ketchum is hanged in Clayton, New Mexico Territory. Officials...
Strange Connections
Frank Hamer’s ties to an outlaw family. Frank Hamer has gone down in history as one of the greatest lawmen of all time. But before he became a Texas...