The Tutts were Whigs and the Everetts were Democrats, and both wanted to control Marion County in northern Arkansas in 1844. It quickly escalated...
Whigs and Democrats Go to Blows for Marion
read more
true west blog
Arkansas Tom
Oklahoma and the Indian Territory provided some of the West’s wildest history including one of its deadliest gunfights. The battle occurred on...
Davis Waite Demolishes a Corrupt Denver in 1893
When Davis Waite took office of Colorado governor in January 1893, the first order of business: drain the swamp that was the corrupt political...
Cowboys? No Turkeyboys
There were a number of ways a young man could become a cattleman. He could hire out as a cowboy, gather and brand mavericks until he had enough to...
Territorial Sheriffs
Arizona was the last of the refuge of the drifting lawmen and desperadoes of the Old West. Its wild country, lack of roads, and proximity to the...
The Dish Washer
In 1878 a young boy named Henry McCarty washed dishes in the kitchen at the Hotel de Luna on the edge of the Camp Grant military reservation near...
Arizona Cattle Company and the A1 Brand
The arrival of Mormon colonists from Utah in 1876 heralded the first permanent Anglo-American settlements in northern Arizona. Even though cattle...
The Many Faces of the Late Sam Shepard
The late playwright Sam Shepard is well known to Western fans for the laconic cowboy figures he played on the big screen. Frank James in The...
Monsoon Madness
This is the time of year when we Zonies get more than a little crazy from the heat. We’ve had it up to here with the 24/7 oven blasts and we’re all...
The Chiricahua Cattle Company
One of the most revered names in the history of the cattle industry in Arizona is the Chiricahua Cattle Company or, as it was known by its brand,...
True West–Inspired
Sam Shepard’s 1980 play True West is one of his best known efforts. It examines the relationship of two brothers—previously estranged—as they come...
Gunfighters Were Products of Their Violent Times
Gunfighters were a product of their violent times and for that reason one should not be too judgmental when it comes to their shortcomings and...