In 1898, Arizona became the first in the nation to sign up for a “cowboy cavalry” for the Spanish-American War. Prescott, which had about 2,000...
Arizona Rough Riders
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Bob Boze Bell
Powhatan Clarke
The brash, young lieutenant won a Medal of Honor in 1886 when he rescued one of his wounded troopers during a fight in the Pinito Mountains of...
When Good Horses Were Ridden Down
One of the longest posse chases in Arizona history came after the attempted robbery of the Benson Stage on March 15, 1881, when a large posse,...
O.K. Fight
“Three Men Hurled into Eternity in the Duration of a Moment” October 26, 1881 The Earp brothers and John Henry “Doc” Holliday confront the Cowboys...
A Short Storm at a Deadly Address
On February 25, 1881, after an earlier altercation inside, faro dealer Luke Short, shot and killed fellow gambler Charley Storms outside the ...
An Outlaw with a “Faultess” Figure
Arizona authorities in 1902 reported 22 train robberies in the territory. Lawmen, including the Arizona Rangers rounded up and shot down more than a...
Baseball at the O.K. Corral
Thanks to Rev. Endicott Peabody, mere months after the so-called Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in October 1881, Tombstone formed a baseball team and...
The Great Western and the Biggest Leg in Mexico
At six feet two and 200 pounds, red-headed camp follower Sarah Bowman was nicknamed the “Great Western,” after the largest steamship afloat in the...
Mickey Free
We have brooded and argued and mulled over this fictional tale of Mickey Free for years now—sort of a personal Heart of Darkness. Our goal was a...
When Languages Collide: The Ten Gallon Hat
Many people incorrectly assume the term “ten gallon hat” refers to the amount of water that will fit in the crown of a big hat, but the term more...
The Trickster with the Sidewinder Gaze
Prologue PROVING GROUND The boy is emaciated. His mop of red hair hangs across his scarred face, obscuring a lost eye. He staggers and stumbles up...
The Country Jake
In 1876, Arizona cowboy Gus Gildea described seeing the young outlaw Henry McCarty near Henry Clay Hooker’s Sierra Bonita Ranch: “He came to town,...