Where did the wagon train party fall short? Back when I was in high school, a group of us loved to go winter camping out in the middle of nowhere....
The Donner Business
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Inside History
Remembering Juanita Garrett
A new marker honors the first wife of an Old West legend. Juanita Martinez had an all-too-short life and the briefest of brushes with fame. She’s...
He Missed the Scoop
John Clum was busy when the Tombstone street fight took place. It’s entirely possible to get so engrossed in a task that one misses a big...
Great Danger Rests on the Town! God Save Us!
A doctor and pastor found little healing during the Lincoln County War. It must have seemed like a simple assignment—providing medical care...
Remember…Velasco?
The 1832 battle set the stage for the Texas Revolution. The names are spoken with reverence in Texas: The Alamo. Goliad. San Jacinto. The great...
An Expedition Gone Wrong
Henry Crabb and his troops wanted Mexican land—and got something else. Henry Crabb wanted new opportunities in 1857. The former California...
A Bad Tip A ranch wife had bad advice for Kid Curry.
The story goes that Kid Curry and two pals were on the run after holding up a train near Parachute, Colorado. On June 9, 1904, they came to the...
Forgotten Hero of Denali
Alaska native son Walter Harper was the first to ascend North America’s highest peak, but his fame—and life as a physician—were cut short by...
Lincoln: Prepare Ye the Way for the Horde
The president paved the way for the great Westward Expansion. On March 4, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office for the second...
The Mexican Revolution of 1910: Part II
On the night of March 9th Villa attacked the small American town of Columbus, New Mexico, leaving seventeen dead Americans behind. It was the last...
Pulling a Slick One A cowboy ruckus covered up a murder in Caldwell, KS.
On December 16, 1881, a group of rowdy cowboys hurrahed Caldwell, Kansas. But it really was a ruse. The cowboys repeated the behavior the next...
A Tall Tale of Two Bills
Did lawman Bill Tilghman really arrest outlaw Bill Doolin?