The first holdup by the Sundance Kid didn’t go so well. Harry Longabaugh’s (the Sundance Kid) career as a train robber began less than gloriously....
A Poor Start
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Cowboy
The Bungling Bandit
Al Jennings’ outlaw career was the stuff of legend. During his long and colorful life, Al Jennings was a cowboy, lawyer, gunslinger, train robber,...
The Big Fight
Cowboys vs. small ranchers in Tascosa. March 21, 1886. An ongoing dispute between cowboys at the LS Ranch--many former associates of Pat...
The Cowboy Still Stands Tall
Collectors and auction houses still profit from cowboy art and collectibles. He was an heroic, romantic figure in his day—but his day has gone. The...
The Million Dollar Hangover
A rich discovery and the name of a new town. The story goes that prospector Charlie McMillan was a man strongly addicted to ardent spirits. One...
The Real McCoy
Wyoming cowboy and Army cavalry and horse artillery veteran Tim McCoy brought realism to the silver screen. For a lad of Irish-born parents, his...
Dude or Not a Dude?
Can you spot the real cowboy? Only the photographer knew for sure. Ever since the first camera studio was set up, men and women have posed as their...
Dude Spotting
It’s harder to spot real cowboys than you might think. In my experience, nobody looks at a photograph of a welder and says, “That’s not a...
Stagecoach and Train Robbers
The late Frank McCarthy was a member of the Cowboy Artists of America and a great painter. He’s probably best-known for his action-packed renderings...
Underage Drinking in the West
Was there an age limit for youngsters to drink in the frontier towns? It appears most states and territories didn't have age laws so if a lad was...
At the End of the Long Drive
When a cowboy got to a cattle town after a long drive, making his dollar a day, what would have been his thoughts on spending a part of that money...
Too Old to Wrangle or Ride on the Swing
What did a cowboy do to get by when they got too old to ride herd and work as a cowboy? Utah Phillips wrote a great song on that theme The Goodnight...