L.R. Millican’s life in Lampasas, Texas, was both lucky and legendary. Lampasas, for a time, was on the edge of a lively frontier in Texas, and much...
Rowdy Cowboys, Outlaws, and Blood Feud
read more
Outlaw
Two Men; Two Dead
A gunfight between an outlaw and a lawman killed both. Ed Short (picture) was marshal of Hennessey, Indian Territory and a deputy U.S. marshal in...
Riding with the James Gang
For 70 years, True West’s editors have been publishing stories about the legendary Missouri outlaws. In the summer of 1953, True West’s founding...
The Dirty Little Coward Gets His Due
“I remember telling Ron once that I considered The Assassination of Jesse James as by far the best Jesse James movie ever made. He replied that he...
The Strange and Mesmerizing Death of the Outlaw Jesse James
For over 140 years, Bob Ford’s cowardly killing of Jesse James has fascinated historians seeking the truth behind the assassination. “That man is...
Demise of the Wild Bunch
By the early 1900s, the law was closing in and Butch Cassidy was beginning to feel the pressure. The cattle industry was big in Argentina and with...
The Betrayals of Tiburcio Vasquez
One might say that love brought down California bandit Tiburcio Vasquez. In 1873, while hiding out at his brother’s home, Vasquez seduced and...
They Went Thataway
One of the Old West’s zaniest train robberies occurred near the Arizona town Willcox on the evening of September 9th, 1899 when constable Burt...
Running into the Law
Outlaw Tom Folliard had an accidental—and fatal—encounter with a posse. Billy the Kid pal Tom Folliard had some bad luck. He and another outlaw were...
Billy the Kid
There are more myths about Billy than you can shake a stick at and the biggest one is he killed twenty-one men. In reality, Billy killed Frank...
Give ’em Enough Rope
Tom Horn died a tough death on the gallows November 20, 1903. Western legend Tom Horn was to be hanged in the Cheyenne, WY jail for the murder of...
A Good Deal for Little Wes
An accused killer, freed to become a lawman. Little Wes Hudson (photo) made an unusual deal. Languishing in an Oklahoma jail in 1905—charged with...