The Free Trapper was a uniquely American innovation in the fur trade and were known as the “Aristocrats” of the trade. They could go where they...
The Free Trappers
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Are You for Beer?
A Westerns staple is the saloon, where men went to meet, gamble, and drink. For the most part, the movie booze was fake—tea or colored water stood...
The Reckless Breed
Long before the “ordinary” white men braved the arduous task of crossing into the “Great American Desert” and beyond. Long before latter day...
Sibley Supplies the Wrong Side
Henry Hopkins Sibley gained fame as a Confederate cavalry officer during the Civil War. But one of his inventions was widely used by the other side....
Wanted, Dead or Alive
It may have been the name of a TV Western, but few officials actually used “wanted, dead or alive” rewards to track down criminals. Money was...
Lawman Bill Cruger
Bill Cruger was a tough lawman in Shackleford County, Texas (which included Fort Griffin) in the 1870s. He was originally hired as a deputy by...
Colorado Charlie Utter
Colorado Charlie Utter is best known as Wild Bill Hickok’s best friend, the man who led the wagon train that brought the gunfighter (and Calamity...
Juan Cortina
Juan Cortina was a rancher and politician in the Lower Rio Grande in 1859. He was displeased as Anglos took over land next to his. And he became...
Bass Reeves: U.S. Marshall
When those old gunfighters are sittin’ around Valhalla discussin’,”Who was the greatest of em all,” the name Bass Reeves is sure to be mentioned....
Lady Desperados
Stagecoach robber Pearl Hart is the most famous of the twenty-nine women who spent time at the Yuma Territorial Prison during the years, 1876-1909,...
A Deadly Feud Between Two Jims
Jim Harkey and Jim Barbey were both riders at the Cottonwood Mott Line Camp in west Texas in 1880. Nobody knew of any trouble between the two...
Poker Alice
The "Queen of the Western Gamblers" was Alice Ivers. She was both gambler and madam. She also had a religious side, closing her brothel on Sundays...