Following the Trail of Quanah Parker

Following the Trail of Quanah Parker

This is surreal-and, no, I’m not stoned on peyote. I’m at a Cache, Oklahoma, trading post, a 1970s-era cinderblock building full of … well, not quite the selection of Indian crafts you’d find at a Navajo reservation trading post. A rusty sign points the way to...
What the Cowboy Life Taught Raoul Walsh

What the Cowboy Life Taught Raoul Walsh

Note to aspiring filmmakers: If you’re looking for a film school, give Raoul Walsh’s curriculum a try. It’s called Life. Before he was old enough to vote, Walsh had already seen more adventure than most filmmakers do in a lifetime. He was born in New...
On the Cheyenne Heritage Trail

On the Cheyenne Heritage Trail

Hmmm. Several years back, the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department created the Cheyenne Heritage Trail, a 400-plus-mile route featuring 10 stops and two “drive-by” sites in western Oklahoma that played key roles in the history of the Southern Cheyenne Indians....
Dust, Death and Disability

Dust, Death and Disability

Dust storms undoubtedly inspired heroic resolve in some pioneers committed to the land, while causing madness, disease and disability in those less able to cope with this chaotic distuption of their lives. The dust from such storms will vary in composition and...
Uno, Dos, Tres!

Uno, Dos, Tres!

October 28, 1884 While visiting Upper Frisco Plaza in western Socorro County, New Mexico, 19-year-old Elfego Baca is asked to arrest a drunken cowboy, 22-year-old Charles McCarty, for firing his pistol in Milligan’s saloon. The cowboy shoots the unarmed Baca’s hat...