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On the Trail of Wild Bill Hickok

On the Trail of Wild Bill Hickok

by | Jul 1, 2004 | Travel & Preservation

May 27, 1837: A son, James Butler, the fifth child was born to William Alonzo and Polly Butler Hickok of Homer (later Troy Grove), Illinois. 1856: Nineteen-year-old James Butler Hickok left the family home with brother Lorenzo, heading for Kansas Territory to farm;...
Legendary Rancher

Legendary Rancher

by | Jul 1, 2004 | Features & Gunfights

Nobody was going to sneak up on ol’ Tap Duncan on the Diamond Bar Ranch, tucked away as it was in a remote corner of Arizona’s Mohave County. Anybody wanting to find him had to negotiate the narrow confines of Grapevine Canyon and ride up to his front door. Anybody...
One for the Grave

One for the Grave

by | Jun 1, 2004 | Features & Gunfights

Outlaw John Shaw gulped his last whiskey while surrounded by 15 cowboys as the sun rose over the cemetery in Canyon Diablo, Arizona Territory. One problem: John Shaw was already dead. A dead guy having a pick-me-up should fall squarely into the category of legend, and...
Boot Scootin’ Boogie

Boot Scootin’ Boogie

by | Jun 1, 2004 | Art, Guns and Culture

Cowboy boots are pure romance, even if they’re covered in barn muck or horse manure. Designed to be totally functional, boots are also the one type of footgear that adds flattering height while making an individual statement that can be as wild as you want. Back in...
Long-Guns of the Gunfighters

Long-Guns of the Gunfighters

by | Jun 1, 2004 | Art, Guns and Culture

For anyone who rode the gunpowder trail, a six-shooter wasn’t the only weapon in his arsenal. A gunfighter often had only one pull of the trigger to save his life in the days before Samuel Colt’s revolvers and Civil War-era repeating rifles. The 20 or more seconds it...