Roys Oatman and his family have just finished hauling their belongings up a rocky grade to a bluff on the south side of the Gila River. At the end...
The Oatman Massacre
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Classic Gunfights
The Mysterious Death of John Ringo
July 2, 1882 John Ringo has decided to move to Tombstone, Arizona Territory (he has been living in San Simon and Galeyville). He arrives in town and...
Classic Gunfights: Don’t Look Back
In office for only one day, acting Ellis County Sheriff James “Wild Bill” Hickok is making his rounds in the Kansas cowtown during the height of...
The Encounter that Dooms Wild Bill
September 1865 George Ward Nichols and Gen. Thomas Church Haskell Smith, the inspector general of the District of Southwest Missouri, arrive in...
“¡No Tire en la Casa!”
May 10, 1871 Tracking a party of rough hombres, Alameda County Sheriff Harry Morse and San Jose Deputy Theodore “Sam” Winchell approach a ranch...
Dressed To Kill
A mere two weeks have passed since the 5th Cavalry learned of George Custer’s devastating defeat at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Some 350...
Trapped!
Patricio Valenzuela, the hacendado (ranch owner) of the Agua Fria hacienda eight miles east of Cucurpe in Sonora, Mexico, is alerted by his vaqueros...
The Battle of Turkey Creek Canyon
July 16, 1899 Three suspected train robbers are in camp at their remote hide-out at Turkey Creek Canyon in New Mexico Territory. Tipped off by a...
Rock Creek Killfest
David McCanles, his 12-year-old son William and two employees ride up to Rock Creek Station, Nebraska Territory. Leaving his two hired hands at the...
Classic Gunfights: Doc Hits Bottom (but not much else)
August 19, 1884 Broke, sick and usually drunk, Doc Holliday hits rock bottom in Leadville, Colorado. Today, a fellow gambler, Billy Allen, is...
Classic Gunfights: To the Last Man
July 22, 1884 The fuse to one of the West’s most famous feuds is lit a month prior, when Tonto Basin cattleman James Stinson makes a secret pact...
Black Bart’s Bad Day
November 3, 1883 It’s a Saturday as the Sonora-Milton stage rattles along, empty, save for the driver. Reason E. McConnell has been on the road for...