The big gold strikes at Bannack in 1862; Alder Gulch in 1863, which late became Virginia City; Last Chance Gulch in 1864, which became Helena and...
The Wayward Lawman Something pushed Burt Alvord to the wrong side of the law.
Burt Alvord seemed headed down the righteous path in Tombstone and Cochise County. In 1886, at age 19, he was hired as a deputy sheriff by John...
A Two-Fisted Lawman Jeff Mynatt used his guns and more in the line of duty (and beyond).
Jeff Mynatt spent much of his adult life in law enforcement. He was a deputy U.S. marshal in Indian Territory, a lawman in various Texas locales,...
Outlaw Turned Lawman Turned Outlaw The strange tale of Ben Sippy.
Ben Sippy is best known as the man who beat Virgil Earp in the election for Tombstone marshal in 1880—and then suddenly (and somewhat mysteriously)...
A Clean Slate Frank Canton wanted a pardon for his crimes—or else.
Former lawman Frank Canton was seeking a pardon for crimes—murder, rustling, robbery—that he’d committed in Texas in the 1870s under the name Joe...
No Craven Coward Frank Canton showed guts in facing down Ben Cravens.
Lawman Frank Canton was a lot of things—but he certainly had guts. It was May 1894, and Deputy U.S. Marshal Canton was tracking career criminal Ben...
Wyatt Earp: Good Guy Or Bad? “Wyatt Earp murdered at least three people when he wasn’t a lawman. In fact Arizona had a warrant out for him and Doc Holliday. Why is he considered a great man today?”
A True West reader asked me the other day, “Wyatt Earp murdered at least three people when he wasn’t a lawman. In fact Arizona had a warrant out for...
An Old Lawdog On The Hunt Wyatt Earp picked up a gun again at age 62.
In October 1910, Old West lawman Wyatt Earp—at age 62—almost got into one more gunfight. Earp was asked to head up a special posse to protect...
Virgil Returns
The former lawman’s eight years in Yavapai County may have been the best of his life.
Birth Of A Lawman
Civil War veteran Virgil Earp was just settling down in Prescott when he joined a posse. his life was never the same.
Vengeance For Flat Nose Kid Curry got revenge for his outlaw mentor.
Outlaw George Curry was better known as “Flat Nose” because of a facial deformity. In the 1880s, he was a criminal mentor to Harvey Logan, who...
Didn’t Have A Prayer George Wilson called out to God, and then…
A Prescott, Arizona Territory posse was after George Wilson and his pal. They’d murdered a man in October 1877. Virgil Earp was deputized—his...