Craig Brewer Fairdale, New York Zwing Hunt is one of the more interesting characters in the Tombstone saga, but there is no known photo of him. He...
As a girl in Kingman, Arizona, I took music lessons from Mrs. Cole, whose husband Walter told me he had been The Tombstone Epitaph editor and that he coined the phrase “Tombstone: The Town Too Tough to Die.”
Marcella Bloomfield Middleton, New York Bill Kelley, editor of the Epitaph, organized the first Helldorado Days in 1929. The following year, he sold...
Did the Indians really use smoke signals or is that something out of Hollywood?
Larry Smith Austria Sending messages by smoke signals was a simple form of communication used mostly by the Plains Indians and in the Southwest...
I have a print of a photo I received from Winchester Arms, dated November 14, 1962. The caption says they are Texas Rangers. A year or two later, I read that Winchester made a mistake and the lawmen were actually Arizona Rangers. I’ve never heard of Arizo
Eugene O’Brien Union, New Jersey The famous photo of the Arizona Rangers was taken in Morenci, Arizona, during the mining strike in 1903. The tall...
Has there ever been a thorough book written on the commerce of the Old West?
Patrick Wheaton Camby, IN I called James Denniston in Jackson, Wyoming, who specializes in books on the Old West, and he suggests The Plains Across...
Have you ever heard of an outlaw called “Three-Shooter Bill?”
Ed Young Dallas, Texas “Three-Shooter Bill” was a two-bit outlaw and small time con man who earned his nickname because he was only half as bad as...
I thought spurs were worn only for bronc riding. Correct me if I’m wrong.
Toni Via the Internet Horsemen have used spurs at least since the days of knights in shining armor. Spurs were generally used to control the animal,...
Can you tell me how the famous XIT Ranch in Texas got its name? And can you explain how cattle rustlers altered the brand?
Richard Diaz Shreveport, Louisiana In 1879, the Texas legislature appropriated three million acres of land in the Texas Panhandle to finance a new...
What is hanging around Keith Carradine’s neck in the June 2004 issue of True West?
Kent Martin Elkridge, Maryland Some suggest it’s a whiskey flask, while others say it’s a medicine pouch, but it’s a small knife in a scabbard. The...
A friend claims some of the weapons used to assassinate Pancho Villa could have been obtained only from U.S. sources, thus there was a U.S. connection to his assassination. Is this true?
Charles Herrick El Segundo, California The general consensus, conspiracy theorists notwithstanding, is the U.S. wasn’t involved in any plot to get...
In your opinion, when did the Old West come to an end?
Kriya Singh Via the Internet Frederick Jackson Turner, in his 1893 essay, “The Frontier in American History,” claimed the frontier ended in 1890 and...
On a jeep tour in the Sonoran desert recently, our guide lectured on the jojoba plant, saying the beans are high in caffeine, which is why Native Americans chewed them for an energy boost and cowboys used them to make coffee. What do you think?
Roy McKay Phoenix, Arizona Your guide needs to take a refresher course on jojoba beans. They contain no caffeine. He’s right about the cowboys...