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...
Have you ever heard of an outlaw called “Three-Shooter Bill?”
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Inside History
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...
Has an original copy of the official inquest into the O.K. Corral shooting survived? A book by Al Turner purports to include the complete testimonies of the participants, but I also read that the original findings were lost in one of Tombstone’s fires.
Glenn Hebert Albuquerque, New Mexico I checked with Casey Tefertiller, one of the best experts on the Spicer hearing, and he says the original...
I’ve read that Billy the Kid had a brother. What happened to him?
I've read that Billy the Kid had a brother. What happened to him? Dennis Bagwell Anaheim, California Billy had a brother, or perhaps a half brother,...
Tumbling Dice Wins Hardin a One-way Ticket to Hell…John Wesley Hardin vs Constable John Selman
August 19, 1895 Wes Hardin is drunk and furious. “I’ll go and get a gun,” he bellows at John Selman, Sr., “and when I meet you I’ll meet you...
What were Rawhiders?
What were Rawhiders? J.D. Dillon Via the Internet Rawhiders were a rough-hewn class of frontier itinerants who gathered cow or buffalo hides for...
Is it true that the dime novel hero, Deadwood Dick, was really a black cowboy named Nat Love?
Is it true that the dime novel hero, Deadwood Dick, was really a black cowboy named Nat Love? Marina Bender Mesa, Arizona When aspiring writer Ed...