On the outside, Jack Davis appeared to be an honest businessman in the Virginia City, Nevada area. But in November 1870, he showed his true...
Not-so-honest Jack Davis The businessman turned train robber paid the price.
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True West Blog
The Cell On Wheels Tumbleweed wagons roamed the West, hauling in outlaws.
It’s seen toward the beginning of the Clint Eastwood movie “Hang ‘em High.” A wagon, a jail on wheels, a paddy wagon, that carries Eastwood and...
Train And Stagecoach Ticket Prices What did it cost the passengers in the Old West to ride the rail or the fee for a stagecoach?
On stagecoaches there usually wasn't a "First Class," however some companies did have three classes. First Class got to ride all the way; Second...
The Ordeal Of Olive Oatman Thousands of American soldiers were planning to converge on the Valley and slaughter them all if they didn’t set Olive “free”
During the 1850s no sooner did the Army Corps of Topographical Engineers survey wagon roads to the Pacific than emigrants began painting their...
Off The Road Stage driver Clark Foss courted disaster…and got it.
Clark Foss started a stage line in Napa Valley, CA during the Civil War. It was a route with sharp turns and huge drop-offs, and “Old Foss” gained...
Lost Treasure Story Missing loot in Mexican Pocket...
A few years ago I received this letter from a hunter of lost treasures. “I have a question that I cannot track down an answer. I have an article...
Eight-gauge Shotguns Are there any still around?
I recently reread Streets of Laredo by Larry McMurtry. He writes about an 8-gauge shotgun. Are there any still around? The 8-gauge dates back to the...
Keeping The Peace—Not. Lawman Billy Bailey started trouble instead of preventing it.
Billy Bailey had the reputation as a dangerous man. Reportedly, he killed two men in Texas gunfights before moving to Kansas in the early 1870s. ...
Taking The Law Into Their Own Hands Citizens ended the criminal career of Nick Worthington
June 18, 1878. A group of men spot outlaw Nick Worthington outside the St. James Hotel in Cimarron, NM. They order him to surrender; Worthington...
Cavalry Horses Did the U.S. Cavalry have remudas like the Old West cattle drives?
I had a question the other day asking if the U.S. Cavalry had remudas like the Old West cattle drives. I’ve never come across anything referring to...
Justice of the Peace Frank Wattron is best-remembered for his colorful days as justice of the peace, holding court in his drugstore...
Frank Wattron wore many hats during his years in Holbrook. Along with running his drugstore, he was the first elected Sheriff of Navajo County in...
Roll The Bones A black cowboy and a key archaeological find.
George McJunkin was a black cowboy who began riding the ranges at the end of the Civil War—when he was 14-years old. He was self-taught in reading...