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...
The Great Western and the Biggest Leg in Mexico
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Bob Boze Bell
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,...
Magic Finds Tombstone
According to George Parsons’ journal the first circus (Ryland’s) landed in Tombstone on September 22, 1880. Parsons also reports going to see Prof...
The Notorious Sadie Marcus
A teenaged runaway, Sadie (real name Josephine) Marcus landed in Tombstone and “shacked up” with Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan. By 1881, that...
“Wyatt Earp Ruined My Life”
If you grew up in the 1950s, you probably thought Wyatt Earp was a bachelor during his violent stay in Tombstone. But, in the early sixties, two...
Tragic Fight on the Devil’s Backbone
January 11, 1886 Captain Emmet Crawford is on the brink of victory. Yesterday, his punitive raiding party of three officers, one medic, one...
Not So Gentle Tamers
Although some have portrayed early Arizona pioneer women as being “gentle tamers” the term does a bit of disservice to the toughness of these women....
Lozen, Woman Warrior
“Lozen is my right hand. . . strong as a man, braver than most, and cunning in strategy,” said the Apache leader Victorio about his sister. She also...
Wyatt the Farmer?
In June 1880, Philip M. Thurmond walked around the newly formed mining camp of Tombstone and asked for the vital statistics of every person he could...