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 of the day. The historical accuracy of Bill’s condition was probably fictional. Dexter’s depiction of Bill’s misery,...
Was He a Hero?
How did Buffalo Bill Cody survive the ravages of time? He has a prestigious historical center in Cody, Wyoming, named in his honor and is the theme of an entire museum in that center. He’s still the subject of books like Larry McMurtry’s 2005 biography about the...
Bookin’ It
Granville Stuart was a lot of things—merchant, miner, rancher, diplomat, vigilante—and an avid reader. His Montana cabin was filled with books covering just about any topic you can think of, and he would travel far and wide to get them, as shown in his journal excerpt...
Low Slung Guns
A popular misconception among some Old West re-enactors and wardrobe experts is that everyone wore their gun-belts high on their waists and that the low slung gun is an invention of Hollywood. It is true that most frontier fighters did not walk around wearing...
True West January/February 2025
In This Issue:
Features
Western Books & Movies
To The Point
