Arizona greeted the 20th Century as a frontier Jekyll and Hyde. On one hand, communities like Phoenix, Prescott and Tucson were becoming modern...
Birth of the Arizona Rangers
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True West Blog
Frank “Pistol Pete” Eaton
In his autobiography, Pistol Pete: Veteran of the Old West, Frank Eaton spins a bigger-than-life tale of his life as a Deputy United States Marshal,...
Introducing Western Artist Charles M. Russell to a New Generation Sponsored by the South Dakota Historical Society Press
By Karen B. McWhorter, Whitney Western Art Museum Charlie Russell and the Gnomes of Bull Head Lodge whisks readers away to a clean-aired place where...
Revenge Begets Revenge
Or, one good bullet deserves another. Mike Meagher (right in photo, next to twin brother John) was a great lawman in Kansas and the Indian...
Baron and the Bullets
Burk Burnett was a cattleman who got his hands dirty. Burk Burnett was a cattle baron of the old school, controlling hundreds of thousands of acres...
Bringing a Bike to a Gunfight?
A hard lesson for a lawman—leave the cyclist alone. Douglas (Arizona Territory) Constable Ed Scarborough must have been in a bad mood. It was March...
Medicine During the California Gold Rush
Doctors were among the flood of 49ers heading for California during the Gold Rush. Many came not to practice medicine but to strike it rich. They...
The Pistoleer
Wild Bill Hickok's reputation as a gunfighter may be blown out of proportion but there's no doubt, he was an excellent shot. He put a bullet in the...
Sam Walker: The Early Years
Sam Walker had migrated to Texas in 1842 and immediately joined in the continuing war along the border with Mexico. That same year Sam Houston...
Avenging the Robbers
Cow-boys had their own vendetta ride… March 15, 1881. Cow-boys Harry Head, Jim Crane and Bill Leonard hold up a stage outside Contention, Arizona...
Their Luck Ran Out
Ike Black and Zip Wyatt tried one robbery too many. Ike Black and Zip Wyatt robbed their way across Oklahoma Territory in the mid 1890s. But their...
If You Can’t Trust Family…
The Espinosa paid the price for letting their guards down. The Espinosa Gang ran roughshod over southern Colorado in the mid 1860s. They claimed...