The Truth about Wild Bill

The Truth about Wild Bill

Like most Old West icons, gunfighter “Wild Bill” Hickok is shrouded in myths. He likely started many of them. A teller of tall windies, he was quoted as saying, “I would be willing to take my oath on the Bible that I have killed over a hundred, a long ways off.” After...
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.”...