Highways to History

Highways to History

From the earliest days of conquistadors, explorers, fur trappers and pioneer settlers, the vast grandeur of the American West—and its equally bountiful and unforgiving geography—has inspired travelers to write about it. Like oceangoing adventurers, the earliest...
Found: Trumpeter Martin’s Carbine?

Found: Trumpeter Martin’s Carbine?

“Benteen…Come on. Big Village, Be quick, Bring Packs. P.S. Bring Pack. W. W. Cook.” This eerie last message, written by Lt. William W. Cooke on June 25, 1876, under orders from Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and delivered by Custer’s orderly, Trumpeter...

Curly Bill Brocius

The outlaws of Cochise County during the 1880s were a hard breed and the fact that Curly Bill was one of their leaders says something of his toughness.  Billy Breakenridge described him as “fully six feet tall, with black curly hair, freckled face, and well built.”...
Steamboats on the Missouri

Steamboats on the Missouri

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark took their Corps of Discovery expedition up the Missouri River using keelboats and pirogues that they poled and propelled by dragging the vessels using heavy ropes. Following them, the fur traders also used those labor-intensive...