Or—never threaten a man if you’re unarmed. Rowdy Joe Lowe was one of the best-known saloon owners in the West during the 1870s thru ‘90s. When...
Shooting off his Mouth
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True West Blog
Can you Legally Hang a Horse Thief?
That is a very good question because it brings up an important point. Contrary to popular myth, stealing a horse has never been a capital offense...
Love Overcomes All
Rowdy Joe Lowe ended up with a woman hurt in his gunfight. Competing saloon owners Red Beard and Rowdy Joe Lowe (photo) took their enmity to a new...
Whats in a Name?
Having a catchy “gunfighter” name was almost a sure way to immortality. Henry McCarty might never have become famous as “Henry the Kid.” Nor would...
Ewing Young
When the free trappers banded together for self-preservation, they usually elected a partisan or captain to act as leader. He was usually a man with...
The Dead Robber Reward
A legendary lawman took issue with a controversial bounty system. In the 1920s, Texas was beset by bank robberies. So in 1927, the Texas Bankers...
Ketchum and Hamer
Two legendary Old West names came together in 1900. In 1900, sixteen-year-old Frank Hamer—later a Texas Ranger legend--was severely wounded by Dan...
The Myth of Frank Hamer
The legendary lawman’s first killing never happened. The story goes that legendary Texas Ranger Frank Hamer killed his first man when he was just...
Cowboys on the Long Trail
How many 'Cowboys' came though a town like Abilene or Dodge City each season? As you know numbers can be deceiving. For example the number of...
Little-Known Effects of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854
When Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854 its purpose was to repeal the Missouri Compromise and create two new territories and allow for...
The Aftermath of the Gunfight Behind the OK Corral
Most of the older movies about the “Gunfight Near the OK Corral” would have you believe the feud, like the film, was over. The 1993 film Tombstone...
Running the Con in Denver
The Blonger brothers even outdid Soapy Smith. Lou Blonger and his brother Sam had a lot of experience in running Old West saloons, dancehalls and...