Colorado Charlie Utter (right in above photo) is best known as Wild Bill Hickok’s friend, the man who made sure he was buried proper in Deadwood, Dakota Territory. But Utter was something of a character himself. He was fastidious about his appearance, carrying mirrors, combs, and razors wherever he went. He wore custom buckskins, linen shirts and beaded moccasins. He bathed every day, a rarity on the frontier. And he allowed no-one—not even Hickok—to enter his tent. He threatened to shoot anybody who tried to visit with his special pistols, featuring silver, gold and pearl ornaments.
The Northern Paiute medicine man Wovoka healed people and brought rain to parched lands. People…
Bob Dozier was a successful farmer before—for whatever reason—he turned to crime in the Indian…
The story goes that Wyatt Earp single-handedly protected Michael O’Rourke—aka Johnny-Behind-the-Deuce—from a Tombstone lynch mob…
Mark Boardman is the features editor for True West Magazine as well as the editor of The Tombstone Epitaph. He also serves as pastor for Poplar Grove United Methodist Church in Indiana.