What’s the difference between a marshal and a sheriff? Mavis Starner Hanover, Pennsylvania Traditionally in the Old West, the sheriff was an elected...
What’s the difference between a marshal and a sheriff?
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Inside History
Did early Westerns actually film at night or just close down the lens?
For night scenes in early Western films, did they actually film at night or just close down the lens? George Young Miami, Florida Our boss Bob Boze...
The Blevins Boys are in the House
Sheriff Commodore Perry Owens steps onto the porch of the Blevins home in Holbrook, Arizona, and knocks on the west-facing door. The Apache County...
How did John Clum’s first wife die?
How did John Clum’s first wife die? In the movie Tombstone, Morgan Earp tells his brother Wyatt, “They hit Clum’s house too. They shot up his wife.”...
Was the large-loop lever rifle featured in John Wayne Westerns ever used in real life?
John Wayne used the large-loop lever on his rifles in several movies, and TV’s Rifleman used one as early as 1958. Was it ever used in real...
What is the origin of “pistol?”
What is the origin of “pistol?” Shayla Trickey Mesa, Arizona The word comes from the French pistole or pistolet. Some say the French got it from...
Were Gatling guns ever used during the Indian Wars?
I know that Gatling guns were used during the Civil War and Spanish-American War, but were they ever used during the Indian Wars? Mundo Osterberg...
What kind of gun did Pat Garrett use to kill Billy the Kid?
What kind of gun did Pat Garrett use to kill Billy the Kid? Billy Patscher Jr. Clifton, New Jersey Garrett used a 7.5-inch barreled, blued steel...
Wasn’t there a TV program about Elfego Baca?
The October 2010 True West shares an article about Elfego Baca. Wasn’t there a TV program about him? Ray Rodriguez Waxahachie, Texas Yep, in 1958,...
Where did the term “shoot from the hip” come from?
Where did the term “shoot from the hip” come from? Alexander F. Durvin Jr. Fort Washington, Maryland “Shoot from the hip” refers to gunmen who...
How Did Davy Really Die?
March 6, 1836 Just after midnight, Gen. Santa Anna orders his 2,064 troops to move toward their assault positions. Select soldados (soldiers)...
Where the Bodies Are Buried
In the hills outside the northeastern Oregon town of Baker City is a cemetery not unlike many that dot the old mining towns of the West. Except this...