Al Jennings’ outlaw career was the stuff of legend. During his long and colorful life, Al Jennings was a cowboy, lawyer, gunslinger, train robber,...
The Bungling Bandit
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True West Blog
Nogales, Oklahoma?
Hollywood brought the Sooner State to Arizona. When Hollywood decided to make a movie of the Broadway play “Oklahoma” they couldn’t find a location...
The Governor/Doctor of Arizona
Ben Moeur was a colorful character. Arizona’s “Depression Governor” Ben Moeur was raised in San Antonio, Texas and liked to say, “I punched cows...
A Wyoming Tragedy
The murders of two innocent ranchers. July 20, 1889. A group of ranchers lynches Ella Watson and Jim Averell in Wyoming. The cattlemen claim the...
Wild Bill’s Shining Moment
The gunfight with Davis Tutt brings fame. July 21, 1865. Wild Bill Hickok and Davis Tutt face off in the Springfield, Missouri town square. The...
The Missing Mules
The first confrontation between the Earps and McLaurys. July 25, 1880. A contingent including several soldiers, a Wells Fargo agent, and Deputy US...
The Birth of the Dime Novel
The genre helped define the myth of the Old West. In 1860, the publishers Erastus and Irwin Beadle released a new series of cheap...
Leaving the Trash Behind
How some Indian tribes dealt with refuse. Nomadic tribes moved every few days or weeks as the campsites got too odorous and messy (think about the...
Arizona Charlie’s Promise
He said he’d go when the snow flew in Yuma… When Wild West showman and shooter Arizona Charlie's show biz days ended, he retired to Yuma. He...
A Bullet for Ringo
A despondent Cow-boy ends it all. July 12, 1882. The Tombstone Epitaph reports that Cow-boy John Ringo has been drinking heavily in the town of...
The Battle of Lincoln
The final chapter of NM’s infamous mercantile/range war. July 15-19, 1878. The climax of New Mexico Territory's Lincoln County War. The Regulators...
A Wild Affray for Hickok
Wild Bill gets out of a sticky situation. July 17, 1870--A saloon in Hays City, KS. Wild Bill Hickok is attacked by two soldiers of the 7th Cavalry,...