October 03, 1900 It’s cold, just after dawn in Colorado’s Brown’s Park area when Isom Dart comes out of his cabin, dressed heavy with long...
A Bullet for Your Troubles
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Inside History
Food Poisoning in the Old West
While watching our favorite Western movie or TV characters eat a sumptuous meal at the local boarding house, café or sitting around the old...
The Great Race of Mercy
The place was Nome, Alaska. Dr. Curtis Welch waited anxiously for his prayers to be answered in the early morning hours of February 2, 1925....
Hang ’em High and Fast
Thanks to an inquiry from my electrician friend Rob Brown of Montrose, Colorado, I am treating you to a medical discussion of Old West hangings....
Diabetes in the Old West
To the frontier doctor in the 1800s, the term “diabetes” referred to the patient who produced excessive amounts of urine. The term “diabetes” is...
Wild Bill’s Disease of Passion?
In his 1986 book Deadwood, Pete Dexter depicted Wild Bill Hickok as suffering from some form of venereal disease (VD) and more so from the remedies...
Not Just a Sea Plague
"Before the railroad, in the days of stage-coaching, the Western traveler subsisted principally on fried bacon and canned tomatoes," wrote Lt. John...
Gutshot!
“You feel your belly fill up with blood. You’re bloated. You can’t move. You can’t breathe. You can’t die!” cried Clay Lomax, played by Gregory...
Sweetwater Shoot-out
October 1, 1917 Frank Hamer wants to go home. The Texas Ranger has just testified at the Callahan County Courthouse in Baird, Texas, in a murder...
What can you tell me about cowboy actor Tim McCoy?
What can you tell me about cowboy actor Tim McCoy? Ross Taylor Nashville, Tennessee Tim McCoy was the 20th-century version of Buffalo Bill,...
Did citizens lynch criminals in the West?
Did citizens lynch criminals in the West? Pat Pirillo Mansfield, Texas Yes, “lynch law” was prevalent in sparsely-settled districts, where the...
What is cowboy artist Jo Mora’s backstory?
What is cowboy artist Jo Mora's backstory? Jan Ruysschaert Brugge, Belgium Joseph Jacinto “Jo” Mora was born in Uruguay in 1876 and immigrated to...