Remembering a Western Literary Icon

Remembering a Western Literary Icon

Elmer Kelton leaves behind some big boots to fill. Well, he would have, had he worn boots. “I’ve got two glass ankles and flat feet,” he told me when we first met in June 1997, “and they don’t respond to high heels too well.” Kelton, who won a record seven Spur Awards...
Top 10 True Western Towns of 2010

Top 10 True Western Towns of 2010

Given to towns that have made an important contribution to preserving their pasts. We hope this award will not only encourage federal, state and local governments to continue funding such efforts, but also inspire Western towns to reward its citizens and visitors...
The Last Link to the Little Bighorn

The Last Link to the Little Bighorn

He is the one living connection to the Battle of the Little Bighorn, or Custer’s Last Stand if you prefer. He’s an old man now, 96 on October 27. His hearing is bad, his eyes are weak and he’s been sick a fair amount in the past year. But Joe Medicine Crow’s mind is...
A Hair-Raising Tale

A Hair-Raising Tale

The origins of scalping during warfare seem to originate hundreds, if not thousands of years ago in Europe and may have been practiced on this continent in pre-Columbian times, as well. The act of scalping usually involved the partial removal of hair and scalp from...
Vaquero Firepower

Vaquero Firepower

During Mexico’s Revolution of 1910, the rebel forces fought for their freedom with a vast variety of firearms that ran the gamut from blackpowder muzzleloaders and single-shot cartridge rifles to then modern lever-action and bolt-action repeaters-even machine guns....