“We was flabbergasted.” The proud slayers of a huge grizzly are memorialized in one of the most famous photographs in all of Western history. ...
Noonan’s Last Stand
read more
Classic True West
Uncle Chick, Me and the Christmas Tree
Looking back at Charles Orme’s ranch school, where students are still taught to this day. The aging Chevrolet Carryall van turned off the Old Black...
Momaday’s Billy the Kid Pistola
The famed Pulitzer Prize-winning writer shares his obsession for Billy the Kid in his tale of a gun he believes the outlaw owned. This is the story...
So-Called Cattle Kate Rises from Rubbish
Evidence points toward Ella Watson’s innocence. Cattle Kate was the only woman ever hanged in Wyoming for cattle rustling, and history long...
The Return of Crazy Horse
Darlings of the Rodeo
Naughty or Nice. Daringly dressed in voluminous bloomers or divided skirts, with boots and big hats, cowgirls first galloped into American arenas...
True West Comes Clean
A look at our mistakes throughout the years. We were snookered. Duped. Fooled. Em-barrassed. Sideswiped by a “discovery” that turns out to be fake....
Shooting Back
Our readers remind us of the variables and vagaries of historic truths, “well-established” facts, headlines and historical photographs. At least two...
Truth Be Known
Old Vaquero Saying “Fear brings more pain than does the pain it fears.” Quotes “To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a...
Black Hills Frontier Spa
Black Hills Frontier Spa In 1889, Hot Springs, Dakota Territory, was a destination for health-seekers and tourists. In 1887, the Dakota Hot...
The Real Rooster Cogburn
Remembering my great-grandfather’s role in the creation of a classic Western fiction and film character. John Franklin Cogburn, nicknamed “Rooster”...
Shooting Back
Canadian vs. Montana Peak I have just been re-reading True West’s November 2021 issue and discovered an error in the caption of the photos of the...