Features & Gunfights Archives

Bass Reeves: The Invincible Lawman

by Art T. Burton | Jan 25, 2021

Born into slavery, the Arkansas native became a lauded, and legendary U.S. deputy marshal. Bass Reeves began his life as a slave in the state of...

Classic Gunfights: A Deadly Duel at 500 Yards

by Bob Boze Bell | Jan 25, 2021

Bass Reeves vs Jim Webb - The master of the long shot, indeed. (Based on the research of Art Burton) Out on the Whiskey Trail in Oklahoma Territory,...

Was Wyatt Earp Really a Deputy U.S. Marshal?

by Gary L. Roberts | Jan 25, 2021

Wyatt Earp, who has become controversial since his fictionalization by television, did serve in both Dodge City and Tombstone as a legally appointed...

Man with a Badge

by Art T. Burton | Jan 25, 2021

Bass Reeves might be the most famous—and mistakenly identified—black lawman in the West. In recent years there has been an influx of images...

Bass Reeves and Hollywood

by Art T. Burton | Jan 25, 2021

The real law-and-order hero’s long and Winding road to cinematic and television fame. Interest was generated in Hollywood on Western lawman Bass...

Top 10 True Western Towns of 2021

by Peter Corbett | Jan 25, 2021

Standing Tall Despite the pandemic, American Western towns remain strong and determined to be better than ever in 2021. It’s reassuring to know...

Bill Said He Did. Did He?

by J. David Holt | Jan 25, 2021

Buffalo Bill Cody rode many a famous mile across the West, but did he actually ride for the legendary Pony Express? Near the Pony Express...

Once And For All, Is The Lone Ranger Based on Bass Reeves?

by Art Burton and Mark Boardman | Jan 25, 2021

By Art Burton When The Lone Ranger debuted on the radio in Detroit in 1933, racism was at a zenith in the United States. That the story could have...

Wheels to Fortune

by Michael Engelhard | Jan 20, 2021

Over a century ago gold-crazed miners traded in their sleds for bikes and pedaled their way to their Alaskan bonanzas. In late February, as the days...