J. W. Atkins
Card-Carrying True West Maniac No. 81 I’m a Cowboy Action Shooter, and I love those old 1950s and 60s Westerns. I am the owner and operator of Hastings Firearms (yes, I sweep out the place). Oh, and I married a school m’arm..
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Prescott is home to three of Arizona’s most prized museums: Sharlot Hall Museum, The Phippen Museum of Western Art, and the Smoki Museum. Each one explores western culture and heritage in a unique way that both entertains and educates. Visit Prescott and discover the rich culture, marvel at the past, and plan an adventure for the future.
Ope n i ngShOt We Take You There
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Making the Preacher Dance In Arizona Territory, Charleston was smaller and more chaotic than its neighbor Tombstone, and Charles O. Farciot’s 1882 photograph reveals how substantial the town looked when “Curly Bill” Brocius visited the previous year. The outlaw and his crew interrupted a church service four miles from Charleston and made the preacher dance. They then headed into town, where they invaded a Mexican fandango and ordered the partygoers, at the point of a pistol, to strip and dance naked for an hour. – Courtesy ArizonA HistoriCAl soCiety, PC 043, Box 1, #91814 –
True West captures the spirit of the West with authenticity, personality and humor by providing a necessary link from our history to our present.
EDITORIAL EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Bob Boze Bell EDITOR: Meghan Saar SENIOR EDITOR: Stuart Rosebrook FEATURES EDITOR: Mark Boardman EDITORIAL TEAM Copy Editor: Beth Deveny Firearms Editor: Phil Spangenberger Westerns Film Editor: Henry C. Parke Military History Editor: Col. Alan C. Huffines, U.S. Army Preservation Editor: Jana Bommersbach Social Media Editor: Rhiannon Deremo PRODUCTION MANAGER: Robert Ray ART DIRECTOR: Daniel Harshberger GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Rebecca Edwards MAPINATOR EMERITUS: Gus Walker HISTORICAL CONSULTANT: Paul Hutton CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Tom Augherton, Allen Barra, Leo W. Banks, John Boessenecker, Johnny D. Boggs, Drew Gomber, Kevin Kibsey, Dr. Jim Kornberg, Sherry Monahan, Candy Moulton, Frederick Nolan, Gary Roberts, Marshall Trimble, Ken Western, Larry Winget, Linda Wommack ARCHIVIST/PROOFREADER: Ron Frieling PUBLISHER EMERITUS: Robert G. McCubbin TRUE WEST FOUNDER: Joe Austell Small (1914-1994)
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ADVERTISING/BUSINESS PRESIDENT & CEO: Bob Boze Bell PUBLISHER & CRO: Ken Amorosano GENERAL MANAGER: Carole Compton Glenn ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Dave Daiss SALES & MARKETING DIRECTOR: Ken Amorosano REGIONAL SALES MANAGERS Greg Carroll ([emailprotected]) Arizona, California, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Nevada & Washington Cynthia Burke ([emailprotected]) Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah & Wyoming Sheri Riley ([emailprotected]) Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Oregon, Tennessee & Texas ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT: Christine Lake September 2017, Vol. 64, #9, Whole #572. True West (ISSN 0041-3615) is published twelve times a year (January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December) by True West Publishing, Inc., 6702 E. Cave Creek Rd, Suite #5 Cave Creek, AZ 85331. 480-575-1881. Periodical postage paid at Cave Creek, AZ 85327, and at additional mailing offices. Canadian GST Registration Number R132182866.
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Join the Conversation “The last words of Bat Masterson [pictured here] sing true today: ‘There are those who argue that everything breaks even in this old dump of a world of ours. I suppose these ginks who argue that way hold that because the rich man gets ice in the summer and the poor man gets it in the winter things are breaking even for both. Maybe so, but I’ll swear I can’t see it that way.’” —Gui Lafitte of Las Vegas, Nevada
Single copies: $5.99. U.S. subscription rate is $29.95 per year (12 issues); $49.95 for two years (24 issues). POSTMASTER: Please send address change to: True West, P.O. Box 8008, Cave Creek, AZ 85327. Printed in the United States of America. Copyright 2017 by True West Publishing, Inc. Information provided is for educational or entertainment purposes only. True West Publishing, Inc. assumes no liability or responsibility for any inaccurate, delayed or incomplete information, nor for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Any unsolicited manuscripts, proposals, query letters, research, images or other documents that we receive will not be returned, and True West Publishing is not responsible for any materials submitted.
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OPENING SHOT SHOOTING BACK TO THE POINT TRUTH BE KNOWN INVESTIGATING HISTORY OLD WEST SAVIORS COLLECTING THE WEST SHOOTING FROM THE HIP UNSUNG
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RENEGADE ROADS FRONTIER FARE WESTERN BOOKS WESTERN MOVIES TRUE WESTERN TOWNS WESTERN ROUNDUP ASK THE MARSHALL WHAT HISTORY HAS TAUGHT ME
INSIDE THIS ISSUE SEPTEMBER 2017 • VOLUME 64 • ISSUE 9
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THE RISE OF THE COW-BOYS Newly uncovered evidence shares the genesis of Tombstone’s cow-boys before the badmen’s famous O.K. Corral gunfight. —By John Boessenecker
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IN SEARCH OF THE REAL CURLY BILL Whatever his origin and true identity, the real “Curly Bill” Brocius is revealed in a special Classic Gunfights feature. —By Bob Boze Bell
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THE GREAT WESTERN The true adventures of a frontier Wonder Woman, Sarah “Great Western” Bowman, the roughest fighter along the Rio Grande. —By Paul Andrew Hutton
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INVALIDS NEED NOT APPLY! The story of the early U.S. Forest Service’s cowboy rangers offers a little-told chapter in the history of the American West. —By Joel McNamara
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TOP 10 MUSEUMS OF THE WEST 2017 Western history and art at these top museums showcase stories of Western heritage to engage visitors. —The Editors/Written by Candy Moulton
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Courtesy Buena Vista Pictures; cover design by Dan Harshberger
S H O O T I NG B AC K
STILL BELOVED Your tribute to Slim Pickens [June 2017] was a revelation, as so many actors get the spotlight that are hardly deserving of it. Slim shines in your issue. Cy Gaffney Chicago, Illinois True West heard through the grapevine that Slim’s daughter, Daryle Ann Giardino, was equally impressed with this issue. Here she is, holding her copy. – COURTESY PAGE WILLIAMS OF LONE PINE, CALIFORNIA –
FLY’S MONEY SHOTS The July 2017 edition of True West magazine has some of the best articles I have ever read. The pictures by C.S. Fly made me feel like I was at the actual event, sitting across from Geronimo, listening to discussions about a surrender. The nobility of Adelnietze was obvious. The expressions on the faces and the accompanying narratives in all the pictures give an insight that could be captured no other way. Your publication is one of the finest in the nation. Al Harper Owner of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad I was impressed with True West’s piece on C.S. Fly’s “money shots” of Geronimo’s surrender. Can you imagine if C.S. Fly was able to record the gunfight at the O.K. Corral with his camera? Boy, talk about “money shots.” Paul Hoylen Deming, New Mexico I have been reading True West since my childhood in the 1960s; it just continues to get better. As a professional photographer, I was captivated by C.S. Fly’s technique (glass plates), his composition (using an eight-by-10 view camera) and his skillful posing of subjects who likely didn’t want to be photographed and didn’t speak the same language. Just when I thought I’d seen all the great photos in this issue, along came “Tombstone is Shaking!” I recalled that day in 1971, in an east Los Angeles high school, when the earth shook during the Sylmar Quake. I spent the day shooting throughout the San Gabriel Valley; I even managed to get a couple shots like the ones in the article. Rick Higbee Bandera, Texas
Oops!
The May 2017 Ask the Marshall reported that Tom Horn was a hired assassin in the Johnson County War. Although this topic has been debated among historians, researcher Larry D. Ball states the claim is false. “Horn’s presence in Johnson County from May to October 1892 was on the up and up,” he says, adding that Horn had gone to Wyoming as a Pinkerton operative and became part of the posse under U.S. Marshal Joseph Rankin.
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“Cowboys is a generic term designation, originally applied to cow drivers and herders of Western Texas, but the name has been corrupted….” –E.B. Pomroy, U.S. Attorney, 1881
WHAT’S IN A NAME? Bygone Westerners tacked on to the English language a passel of colloquial phrases that to the uninitiated are wholly unintelligible, but to old timers expressed ideas in a manner that is both clear and succinct. Some of these colorful labels prompted a reporter for the June 22, 1890, edition of the Phoenix Arizona Republican to define bits and pieces of colorful palaver that circulated in frontier Arizona such as: “Cow Puncher—Partly human; rest mostly hat and spurs. Carries big gun. Never uses it. Kills $50 horse catching $5 calf. Is a good citizen, but does not mean it.” This self-styled linguistics experiment went on to regale readers with other pithy pronouncements such as: • Tenderfoot—A new arrival from the East. Can’t get over his appetite for peanuts. … Carries a .22-caliber and hopes for a chance to do daring deeds. Soon recovers. • Rustler—Found on the cattle ranges. Has a monomania for putting his own brand on his neighbor’s calves. • Mule-skinner—Comes from Missouri; sits on starboard rudder mule and steers with a single line. Mostly noise; color changes according to character of soil traversed. • Bull-whacker—Extinct, but historical. • Tucson Blanket—The blue ethereal vault of heaven. • Arizona Nightingale—Otherwise “burro;” sometimes termed “mocking bird.” Sings “oft in the stilly night.” Has a countenance of wisdom, ears of expression and a voice of sonorous melody.
Frederic Remington captured the allure of the “knights of cattle country” in one of his splendid watercolors, Arizona Cow-boy. – COURTESY LIBRARY OF CONGRESS –
TO THE POINT BY B O B B OZ E B E L L
A Frontier Wonder Woman
Sarah Bowman, the “Great Western,” finally gets her due.
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aul Andrew Hutton has written up the true adventures of a frontier Wonder Woman who somehow— for the life of me, I don’t know why—has escaped big screen treatment. Sarah Bowman was a pistol-packin’ mamacita. She had no children of her own, but she adopted numerous American Indian and Mexican orphans who stayed with her for life. She definitely towered over her brood. One eyewitness claimed Bowman stood seven foot tall. That seems like an exaggeration to me, so I’ll go with the next tallest observation: “she was six foot six.” She was adored by all the soldiers in the Southwest for “her bravery in the field and for her unceasing kindness in nursing the sick and wounded.” Wounded by a saber slash across her cheek during the Mexican-American War, she allegedly shot and killed the Mexican soldier who had cut her. The 4th Infantry awarded her “rations for life.” She founded two towns—El Paso, Texas, and Yuma, Arizona Territory. The latter town will be honoring her this October 13-14. The Great Western Festival will be held at the Colorado River State Historic Park museum. My artwork and her life story will be on display at the museum. Please come join in the celebration. As every soldier who ever ate a bean at her roadside cantina or partook of her tenderness would probably say, “it’s about damn time” the American West honors the Great Western!
For a behind-the-scenes look at running this magazine, check out BBB’s daily blog at TWMag.com
Sarah “Great Western” Bowman has been described as a giantess woman, standing more than six feet tall, with flaming red hair and a saber scar on her cheek. Since mid-2016, I have been trying to capture her visage in a series of portraits. To see more, visit TWMag.com. This October, you can view some of the originals at the Yuma Quartermaster Depot, soon to be the Colorado River State Historic Park, in Yuma, Arizona. – ALL ILLUSTRATIONS BY BOB BOZE BELL –
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T RU T H B E K NOW N C O M P I L E D BY R O B E RT R AY
Bizarro
Quotes
BY DA N P I R A R O
“The best moments in reading are when you come across something —a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things—which you had thought special and particular to you. Now here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out and taken yours.” – Alan Bennett, The History Boys playwright
“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature.... Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” – Helen Keller, deaf-blind activist
“Wealth is the slave of a wise man. The master of a fool.” – Seneca, Roman philosopher
“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” – George Orwell, English novelist
“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not do it; nothing is more common in unsuccessful men than talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated failures. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” —Calvin Coolidge, 30th U.S. President
“I did pretty good for a guy who never finished high school and used to yodel at square dances.” T R U E
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– Roy Rogers, singing cowboy actor W E ST
Old Vaquero Saying
“The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it.”
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IDNEV PA E ST RTIM GAT ENT I NG H EH AIDST O RY BY M A R K B O A R D M A N
Crazy Horse Never Died A symbol of Indian resistance may be gone, but his legacy provides a pride that goes beyond the Sioux. Physical death may have awaited Lakota leader Crazy Horse after he and his band surrendered to Gen. George Crook’s troops at the Red Cloud Agency in 1877 (illustrated here), but his legacy continues to inspire acts of American Indian resistance. – COURTESY FRANK LESLIE’S ILLUSTRATED NEWSPAPER, JUNE 9, 1877 –
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he legend, the myth, the legacy of Crazy Horse didn’t end with his death. American Indians of several tribes—including some who opposed him in the last year of his life—hailed him as a hero and an exemplar of nobility and courage. Crazy Horse’s legacy began shaping up when the Lakota leader played an important part in the Indian force that killed Lt. Col. George Custer and his men at Little Big Horn on June 25-26, 1876. Crazy Horse battled the U.S. Army for another six months. But the soldiers numbered too many, and they were determined to avenge the Custer loss. Other Indian leaders, especially his Lakota compatriots Red Cloud and Spotted Tail, had surrendered years before. Each had his own reserved land. As the winter of 1876-77 got nasty, more of Crazy Horse’s followers gave up and pressed their leader to do the same.
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On May 6, 1877, Crazy Horse surrendered at the Red Cloud Agency near Fort Robinson in northwest Nebraska. The Army promised him his own agency. This news didn’t thrill Red Cloud or Spotted Tail, who felt Crazy Horse was getting preferential treatment. They and their followers spread rumors that Crazy Horse was planning to escape. That August, the Army asked Crazy Horse to lead his men in stopping Chief Joseph from escaping with the Nez Perce to Canada. Crazy Horse reportedly told officers that he would fight till “all the Nez Perce are killed.” But Frank Grouard interpreted Crazy Horse’s statement as he would fight “until not a white man is left alive.” This set off Gen. George Crook, who ordered troops to arrest Crazy Horse and send him to Florida. Crazy Horse, unaware that Grouard had misinterpreted his statement, surrendered at Fort Robinson on September 5. Once the
Lakota leader realized that the Army was going to put him in jail, he resisted. A friend, Little Big Man, grabbed his arms from behind, but Crazy Horse pulled a knife and slashed his captor’s arm. One soldier, historically identified as William Gentles, bayonetted Crazy Horse twice in the back. The war leader died just before midnight. Ever since, folks began invoking his name. When about 200 Lakotas and American Indian Movement activists took over Wounded Knee in present-day South Dakota in early 1973, they claimed to be carrying out Crazy Horse’s work. In the Spirit of Crazy Horse became the name of a book focused on the activist Leonard Peltier, who was convicted of killing two FBI agents during a June 1975 incident at Pine Ridge. More recently, last year, Dakota Access Pipeline protestors claimed to be acting in the tradition of Crazy Horse. A nearly 600-foot-tall sculpture memorial in the Black Hills named for Crazy Horse has been under construction for nearly 70 years. At least some Lakotas—including descendants of Crazy Horse’s family— object to the project. As the history books approach the 150year date of his death in the next decade, Crazy Horse will likely remain a controversial figure of influence.
Pearl Hart Her secret is not safe with us. EMMY AwARd wINNINg
YOu CAN’T MAkE THIS STuff up!
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A TWO ROADS WEST PRODUCTION PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CHANNEL 8 Featuring TRUE WEST MAGAZINE’s EXECUTIVE EDITOR: BOB BOZE BELL EMMY WINNING JOURNALIST: JANA BOMMBERSBACH and ARIZONA’S OFFICIAL HISTORIAN: MARSHALL TRIMBLE
O L D W E ST S AV I O R S BY J A N A B O M M E R S B A C H
Saving Hamley’s Saddles Parley Pearce rode in to rescue the iconic Oregon saddle shop.
The iconic leather store is married in heritage with Pendleton’s rodeo. Holding a Hamley catalog along with his lasso, Jackson Sundown (inset) rode to victory in the 1916 Pendleton RoundUp as the first American Indian Bronco Buster of the World. – ALL PHOTOS COURTESY PARLEY PEARCE –
Standing at the Pearce family ranch in Idaho with his brothers, Parley Pearce (center, with light-colored shirt) credits his nearly 100-year-old father Ivan (next to Parley, in red shirt) with his love for Hamley & Co.’s saddle shop.
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n five decades, he never forgot the smell of the leather at Hamley & Co.’s saddle shop in Pendleton, Oregon. In his sixth decade, he brought that leather back to life, saving both the iconic Western business that had ceased making saddles and its historic building. Anyone who’s met Parley Pearce won’t be surprised he’s used his time and millions to save Western treasures—it’s in his DNA. Pearce comes from a long line of Western pioneers—his great-grandfather founded Taylor, an Arizona town where a statue honors him, and his grandfather was an Arizona Ranger (see p. 91). Pearce himself was raised on a family ranch in Idaho. “When I was a kid, Dad brought us to Pendleton and going to Hamley’s saddle shop was a big deal, with its hats and boots and spurs,” he says. He never forgot the stories he heard about the famous Westerners who bought their saddles here: “Buffalo Bill” Cody, Tom Mix, Hoot Gibson, Gene Autry.
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A veterinarian by trade, Pearce made his fortune in real estate. When he saw Hamley’s was suffering in the 1990s, he unsuccessfully tried to buy it. But in 2000, he got a call asking if he was still interested. He partnered up with Blair Woodfield to buy the business, saying of the Hamley’s deal, “We agreed on a price and did the old ‘shake hands’ contract.” “It didn’t look very good,” he admits. “The roof was leaking. The inventory was sad. The 100th birthday of the business was coming up, so I thought we ought to bring her back up to snuff.” That meant gutting the building for a complete overhaul. John James Hamley had opened the shop on the Oregon Trail in 1905 after relocating from the Hamley’s saddle shops in South Dakota and Idaho, first established out West in 1883. With that heritage in mind, Pearce reopened Hamley’s to celebrate its centennial in 2005, the week before the town’s prized rodeo, the Pendleton Round-Up. He had perfect timing—Hamley’s had built the first
trophy saddle given away at the rodeo 95 years earlier. Pearce chalks the opening as one of his red-letter days. “I was elated. It was so wonderful to see this great old icon back with people coming in. I loved it.” But his commitment wasn’t just to the building. Hamley’s hadn’t made saddles for several years, and Pearce was determined to bring back the slogan, “The Best Saddle a Cowboy Can Ride.” “It’s difficult to find the kind of craftsmen we need,” he says. He lured veteran saddlemaker Monte Beckman to oversee the saddle shop, which he handled admirably until his death, at the age of 67, on February 27. Today, Jean-Pierre “Pedro” Pedrini not only builds the Hamley saddles, but also teaches saddlemaking to four apprentices. Among Pearce’s next projects for the buildings he owns on the block is a 1900s brothel so pristine, he likens it to a “time capsule.” “If I had the money, I’d buy the whole downtown!” he says. Jana Bommersbach has earned recognition as Arizona’s Journalist of the Year and won an Emmy and two Lifetime Achievement Awards. She cowrote the Emmy-winning Outrageous Arizona and has written two true crime books, a children’s book and the historical novel Cattle Kate.
N in ot S St ol or d es
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C o l l e C t i ng t h e W e st BY M e g h a n S a a r
Beating a Retreat An Alfred Jacob Miller watercolor gets the top bid at Brian Lebel’s Old West Auction.
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lfred Jacob Miller did not leave his viewers guessing at what inspired his 200 watercolors that William Walters commissioned, beginning in 1858. He left behind descriptions of each creation. Miller first struck gold as an artist when Capt. William Drummond Stewart hired him to paint for his Rocky Mountain expedition that set off in 1837. He transcribed these field sketches into grand works for Walters. The virtuoso’s larger artworks (in the 21-by-48-inch range) have approached the $2 million mark at auctions. For a fraction of that, collectors can purchase one of Miller’s smaller pieces, as one did, the eightby-23-inch Beating a Retreat watercolor, at Brian Lebel’s Old West Auction on June 10 in Fort Worth, Texas. The hammer fell at $120,000. “Although this Sioux Indian has an immense range of his own to hunt over, he is not content with it and we find him here on the grounds of the Blackfeet,” Miller’s notes for this art began. “The latter from a bluff have discovered the marauder, are discharging
Olaf Wieghorst’s Cowboy in a Snow Storm was formerly owned by the successful 1960s-70s record producer Thomas “Snuff” Garrett; $10,000.
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The main event at Brian Lebel’s Old West Auction was Beating a Retreat, from the collection of Bill and Marilyn Lenox, owners of Bob’s Steak & Chop House based in Dallas, Texas; $120,000.
their arrows at him and in a rage because they are not nearer in order to secure his scalp.” We know from his other notes how the artist felt about the Blackfeet (“Of all others the Blackfeet have the worst reputation for warlike propensities and keep their neighbors generally in active and lively movements to repulse them”) and the Sioux (“Among this tribe we found some as fine specimens of Indians as any that we met. They reminded us strongly of antique figures in Bronze.... Nothing in Greek art can surpass the reality here”). Of the Sioux in his watercolor, he continued: “The retreating Indian is defending himself as he runs, as best he can. The shield which he uses is covered with bull-hide and becomes so tough in time that no arrow can penetrate its surface. His great care is to protect the head and body, letting his extremities take their chance. In case an arrow penetrates his leg or arm he still continues his flight to a place of safety, his capability to bear pain and patience under its infliction is wonderful.”
Miller’s Sioux must press on because he knows, as the artist writes elsewhere, that the Blackfeet terrors will be “determined in their vengeance.” Viewers are not often privy to the aftermath of an artwork. Yet Miller offered that gift for this watercolor, writing, “When he is no longer pursued, if wounded he sits down and cuts out the arrow compressing the wound with a bandage drawn tightly around it and enclosing medicinal plants if they are to be found.” Five other color versions of this work can be found in museum collections, along with one nobody has found. Along with this top lot at the Old West auction, collectors earned nearly $1 million for Western Americana lots, notably firearms owned by both real and reel icons of the frontier West.
Upcoming AUction September 23, 2017
American Indian & Western Art Cowan’s Auctions (Cincinnati, OH) Cowans.com • 513-871-1670
Notable Western Americana Lots Included (All images courtesy Brian Lebel’s Old West Auction unless otherwise noted)
A Remington Model 1861 Navy percussion revolver, serial no. 15395, with possible ties to Bob Younger (shown) hammered down for $5,500, a bargain price for an outlaw collectible, given that the provenance rests only on the left grip being scratched with “B Younger / 1867 / L.S. Mo,” standing for Lee’s Summit, Missouri.
In his role as “Doc” Holliday, most famous for his 1881 showdown with the Earp brothers at Tombstone’s O.K. Corral, Douglas Fowley used this .36 caliber percussion Remington New Model pocket revolver, in ABC’s The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp; $1,000.
The Colt .38 Special revolver used by Gail Davis as Annie Oakley, a sharpshooter most known for her tours with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, sold with the 1955 Whitman story book Annie Oakley in Danger at Diablo, showing Davis holding the gun and autographed “Best Wishes Gail Davis TV’s Annie Oakley;” $8,500.
A New Remington Record
In this centennial year marking the death of William “Buffalo Bill” Cody, one of the top lots tied to the famous showman that sold at Brian Lebel’s auction included this circa 1887-88 photograph of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West cast at Auburn Prison in New York, featuring Iron Tail, Buffalo Bill and wife Louisa Cody, front and center; $4,000.
Four charging gunslingers on horseback galloped off with a new worldwide auction record for artist Frederic Remington. A collector purchased this prize cherished by U.S. Presidents, bidding $9.8 million on May 23 at Christie’s New York for the Coming Through the Rye bronze, one of eight cast before Remington destroyed his model. One of these bronzes is at the White House. – COURTESY CHRISTIE’S NEW YORK, MAY 23, 2017 –
Best Photos of the old West ColleCtor’s set
Over 500 Old West historical photos from our True West collections.
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S H O O T I NG F RO M T H E H I P BY P H I L S PA N G E N B E R G E R
Colt vs. Schofield During much of the Indian Wars era, the U.S. Cavalry relied primarily on these two revolvers— each with its own peculiarities. Which one would you prefer?
A
rms enthusiasts often ask which government-issue .45 revolver was the best during the Indian campaigns of the late 19th century—the 1873 Colt or the “1875” Schofield. While each had its advantages and drawbacks, the Colt saw the most use with 37,063 being issued from 1873 through 1893. About 8,285 Smith & Wesson Schofields—3,000 of the first model and approximately 5,285 of the second model—were contracted for the cavalry. Nevertheless, the Schofield was considered by the 1874 military review board as “well suited to the military service.” Although both of these cavalry six-shooters received mixed reviews from the troops who used them, opinions were generally favorable for both. Let’s look at some of the differences of these martial sidearms. The solid-framed, more simplistic 1873 Colt Single Action Army (SAA), 7½-inch -inch barreled “Cavalry Model” is loaded, one at a time, by bringing the hammer to half co*ck (second click), then opening the loading gate and inserting a cartridge. The cylinder is then rotated to the next chamber and the process repeated. Empty casings are ejected, also While the 1873 Colt SAA (right, top) and the Smith & Wesson Schofield, produced from 1875-’77, had advantages and drawbacks, the Colt saw the most use with 37,063 issued between 1873 and 1893. About 8,285 S&W Schofield revolvers—3,000 of the first model (right, bottom) and approximately 5,285 of the second model were contracted for the cavalry by the U.S. government. – COURTESY ROCK ISLAND AUCTION COMPANY –
The 1873 Colt Single Action Army was designed primarily for use by the cavalry, but other mounted units, including the horse artillery, were also issued these revolvers as sidearms, as shown by this early 1890s mounted artillery trooper of Junction City, Kansas. – COURTESY JOHN KOPEC –
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Although cartridges for the Colt SAA had to be loaded (top, left) and empty casings ejected (middle, left) one at a time, this was not considered a disadvantage by many troopers since only a round or two were usually fired during a mounted pistol charge. The revolver was considered a secondary weapon. Colt’s single loading/ejection system was generally considered much easier to handle on horseback.
Classic Firearms Collector Set
– ALL PHOTOS BY MICHAEL COOPER UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED –
Colt’s 40-grain charge of black powder pushing a 250-grain lead bullet (right) was too long to fit the S&W Schofield’s shorter cylinder, thus in 1875 the Army adopted the shorter Schofield load of a 230-grain lead bullet, powered by just 28 grains of black powder for use in both issue revolvers.
one at a time, via manually pushing the ejector rod, housed under the barrel, through each chamber. Although somewhat slower than the Schofield, some officers reported that the single loading method of the Colt was not considered a detriment since most mounted pistol charges only saw a couple of rounds fired—thus the necessity of exposing the entire cylinder for a complete reload was not as critical. In contrast, the 7-inch barreled, top-break framed Schofield had more intricate parts, due to its rapid reloading design. First the hammer is brought to the first click, allowing one to pull back the hinged latch at the rear of the top strap. Then, by pulling back the latch and simultaneously lowering the barrel and cylinder assembly, the extractor
star in the cylinder’s center is raised enough to insert fresh cartridges, while ejecting only the spent casings. Under ideal conditions this is surely a much faster way to reload, however when attempted from a possibly excited, plunging horse, as often encountered in the heat of battle, loaded cartridges still in the cylinder would sometimes hang up in it, causing a temporary jam that needed to be cleared manually. This writer has experienced both the speed of reloading a Schofield (originals and replicas) and cartridge hang-ups, while taking part in mounted cavalry re-enactments and cowboy mounted shooting competitions. The Schofield’s shorter cylinder was unable to chamber the Army’s longer 40-grain black powder load with its 250-grain lead bullet cartridge. The S&W loading held 28 grains of black powder and a 230-grain lead projectile. Eventually, in 1875, in order to simplify ammunition supply and accommodate the Schofield, the Army began issuing the shorter cartridge known as the “Revolver Ball Cartridge, Caliber .45.” Shooters who have handled originals or replica Schofields know that like a Swiss
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Using Black Hills Ammunition’s .45 Schofield loads, the author illustrates how the breaktop Schofield allowed for easy loading (left) and ejection of empty casings (middle) under ideal conditions. However, things didn’t always go as planned, and hang-ups of live rounds or spent casings (right) had to be cleared manually. This could prove difficult, especially when in combat and mounted on an excited horse.
watch, it’s a tightly fit, precision handgun. After firing a few shots, it tends to experience cylinder drag from carbon buildup of black powder—even from some of the dirtier smokeless powder loadings, faster than with Colts. The extended firing by the SAA is due to having more space between the cylinder and base pin/frame, allowing for more carbon buildup. While these advantages and disadvantages of the .45s were faced by the frontier Army, every soldier had his favorite sidearm. Ultimately both revolvers proved to be fine weapons, and were used extensively by the U.S. Cavalry during one of its most active periods in our history. Despite slight drawbacks to the designs of each arm, both the Colt and the Schofield served our horse soldiers well and each has an enviable record of rugged campaigning. Phil Spangenberger has written for Guns & Ammo, appears on the History Channel and other documentary networks, produces Wild West shows, is a Hollywood gun coach and character actor, and is True West’s Firearms Editor.
Cimarron’s 7th Cavalry model
Taylor’s Schofield model
While most of the replica houses offer 7½-inch barreled 1873 Single Action Peacemaker clones, only a couple offer authentic reproductions of the Indian Wars-era Cavalry Colt or the military S&W Schofield. Besides producing an authentic copy of Custer’s 1870s, 7th Cavalry .45 Colt, complete with “U.S.” frame stamping, government proof marks, proper Ainsworth “OWA” inspector’s markings and stock cartouche, Cimarron Fire Arms (Cimarron-Firearms.com) also offers a Rinaldo A. Carr “RAC” inspected, 5½-inch, 1890s “Artillery” model. Cimarron also imports a martially stamped 2nd Model, 7-inch barreled Schofield. Dixie Gun Works (DixieGunWorks.com) and Taylor’s & Company (TaylorsFirearms.com) both import 2nd Model, “U.S.” stamped, .45 Schofields with periodstyle stock cartouches.
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They won the West 150 years ago. They win matches & turn heads at the range today. Own one or both in your favorite caliber & barrel length–keep the legend alive. Available in .45 LC, 44/40 WCF & .357 Magnum. Uberti-USA.com
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By John Boessenecker
The Rise of The
Cow-Boys Prologue
In Search of the real curly BIll
T
he cow-boys’ genesis lay in the savvy and the sixshooters of John Kinney, one of the most notorious outlaws of the Southwest. Kinney was a New Englander who came to New Mexico Territory about 1870 as a member of the 3rd U.S. Cavalry. On his discharge in 1873, he established a cattle ranch on the Rio Grande, three miles north of Mesilla. Two years later, he took to the saddle with some bad company: Jesse Evans, a 22-yearold Texas cowboy, destined to become one of the Southwest’s most infamous desperados; Jim McDaniels, once a foreman for cattle king John Chisum; and Charles Ray, better known as “Pony” Diehl. Kinney’s bunch, with Jesse Evans as lieutenant, numbered 20 to 30 and formed the basis of the gang that would become the famed cow-boys in Arizona Territory. In 1876, Kinney played a leading role in organizing what was called the “chain gang,” a loose-knit association of horse and cattle thieves who operated between the Texas Panhandle and southern Arizona Territory. Texas rustlers brought stolen animals west into New Mexico Territory to sell or trade. In a frontier version of money laundering, the thieves altered cattle brands and sold cattle to crooked butchers or ranchers who asked no questions. One of the main Arizona Territory links in the chain was Newman H. “Old Man” Clanton’s ranch, situated near Camp Thomas on the Gila River, 60 miles from the New Mexico Territory line. The major link in New Mexico Territory was John Kinney’s ranch near Mesilla. Two ruffians associated with Kinney were Robert Martin and “Curly Bill” Brocius. Where they came from and even their true identities remain a mystery, for their names were probably aliases. Kinney and his men played important roles as hired gunfighters in two of the Southwest’s most significant civil
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disturbances: the El Paso Salt War of 1877-78 and the Lincoln County War of 1878. When those battles were over, the gang sought greener pastures. Martin had been a stage robber in New Mexico Territory, and in 1878, he and Curly Bill brazenly tried to rob a U.S. Army conveyance near El Paso, Texas, and wounded two soldiers. Lawmen captured the robbers, but they broke jail and escaped to Mexico. When Martin returned to the U.S., he became the leader of a loosely organized gang of horse and cattle thieves with headquarters in the San Simon Valley of Arizona Territory. The discovery of silver in Tombstone created a population boom in southern Arizona Territory and thus a ready market for stolen livestock. Desperadoes from New Mexico Territory rushed to join Martin and Curly Bill in Arizona Territory, among them lights such as Diehl, Charley Snow, Dick Lloyd, Johnny Oliver, Jim Wallace, Jerry Barton, Billy Leonard and Jim “Six-Shooter” Smith. Dozens of Texans also drifted in, including John Ringo, Joe Hill, Tom Harper and Pete Spence. These badmen raided, fought, drank, gambled and raised general hell on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Mexicans called them los Tejanos, but to Americans, they were the cowboys. Newspaper editors insisted the cow-boys were a worse menace than the Apaches. Their numbers gradually increased until the governor of Arizona Territory declared that the cowboys were 300 strong. Their actual size was probably half that. Law enforcement in southern Arizona Territory was extraordinarily weak, and authorities did little to stop the cowboys until the 1879 arrival of Wyatt Earp and his brothers in Tombstone. Though Virgil Earp was a man of substance, Wyatt
In the late 1870s, “Curly Bill” Brocius rode with the notorious John Kinney (center) and his outlaw gang, headquartered near Las Cruces and roaming through New Mexico and southeastern Arizona Territories. Kinney later relocated near Prescott, Arizona Territory, and lived out his life in relative peace. – COURTESY MUSEUM OF NEW MEXICO –
and Morgan had checkered careers. Nonetheless, they were no desperadoes, and the Earps became highly capable lawmen in Cochise County. Their collision with the cow-boys—from the Gunfight Behind the O.K. Corral in 1881 to the assassination of Morgan Earp in 1882 and the Vengeance Ride that year that left Curly Bill and other cow-boys dead—is the stuff of legend. Although more cow-boys killed each other in quarrels—Martin himself died at the hands of fellow rustlers—Wyatt Earp and his brothers broke the back of organized outlawry on Arizona’s border with Mexico. John Boessenecker is working on a book about Arizona Territory’s cow-boys, to be published by HarperCollins. His research includes notes by Paul Cool (1950-2016), who wrote Salt Warriors.
25 miles
SIERRA COUNTY
River
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COCHISE COUNTY
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SULPHUR Chiricahuaa SPRINGS Mountains ins ns VALLEY Tombstone
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Slaughter Ranch
JARRILLA MOUNTAINS
Las Cruces
Deming
Shakespeare Steins Pass Ike Clanton and John Pa
Mesilla
SIERRA HUEGO
Ringo file notice for 320 acres in 1880.
ANIMAS VALLEY
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El Paso T E X A S
Gray purchases Ranch n
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DONA ANNA COUNTY
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FRANKLIN MOUNTAINS
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Migration from West Texas
ORGAN MOUNTAINS
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SAN SIMON VALLEY
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Silver City
OUTLAW HAVEN
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Chisum cattle drives
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Fort Grant Bonita
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LINCOLN COUNTY
N E W M E X I C O
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Clantonville Camp Goodwin Ca C p Thomas GRAHAM Maxey City) G ila
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SOCORRO COUNTY
The Clantons arrive early 1873 and attempt to establish a farming community, but they fail.
M E X I C O
Trail of Curly Bill, Dutch Martin and a ragtag gang of Texicans, Commancheros, Mexicans and Anglo riffraff. –TRUE WEST MAP BY GUS WALKE R–
IN SEARCH OF THE REAL CURLY BILL OCTOBER 28, 1880 “CURLY BILL” BROCIUS VS
MARSHAL FRED WHITE
BY BOB BOZE BELL
– ALL ILLUSTRATIONS BY BOB BOZE BELL –
A
mazingly, historians know so little about the most famous cow-boy in Cochise County history—“Curly Bill” Brocius. In a journal entry written in October 1881, George Parsons called the man “Arizona’s most famous outlaw.” We don’t know where he came from, when he was born, his real name. Pretty much nada. One story we do know comes from the celebrated lawman Wyatt Earp. He recommended a lawyer to the cow-boy, who said he could not use James Zabriski because that lawyer had led to his conviction for a robbery in Texas. Further research by Curly Bill biographer Steve Gatto revealed that William “Curly Bill” Bresnaham had been convicted with Robert Martin in 1878 of the robbery; both escaped. Martin became a member of the Jesse Evans gang of outlaws, historian Robert Utley says. And “Curly Bill” may have joined his friend in New Mexico Territory before moving on to Arizona Territory. Whatever his origin and true identity, the real “Curly Bill” Brocius has been featured in four separate Classic Gunfights published over nearly two decades in True West. Here they are, combined for your reading pleasure.
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resh off the trail from San Simon, Arizona Territory, where some believe he and his pards treed the town and attempted to hijack a locomotive, Curly Bill Brocius brings his mayhem to Tombstone. After a “tall bucking” at Brown’s corral, the boisterous cow-boys retire to Allen Street and land in Corrigan’s saloon. The cow-boys are joined by a local, Andrew McCauley, cow-boy Dick Lloyd (the tall bucker), rancher Frank Patterson, Ed Collins, Andrew Ames and a Charleston miner named James Johnson. After several drinks, the party spills out onto Allen Street, with one or more of the men pulling their pistols and firing several shots “at the moon and stars.” Curly Bill tries to stop the shooting, saying—according to an eyewitness—“this won’t do, boys,” but the men continue their promiscuous fusillade. As locals gather on the street to see what all the shooting is about, three in the cow-boy crowd, including Curly Bill, run behind a building on the south side of the road. Town Marshal Fred White suddenly appears from around the corner. Several
men run up, including Wyatt Earp, just as the marshal says, “I am an officer of the law, give me your pistol.” As Curly Bill reaches to pull out his pistol, Wyatt gets behind Curly Bill and wraps his arms around him to see if he is carrying more weapons. Grabbing the barrel of Curly Bill’s pistol, Marshal White barks, “Now, you God damned son of a bitch, give up that pistol!” As he tries to jerk the pistol out of the cowboy’s hand, it goes off. “I am shot!” says White, as he falls. The muzzle blast sets his pants afire, and someone snuffs the flames. Wyatt brandishes a borrowed pistol and clubs Curly Bill on the head, knocking him to the ground. “What have I done?” Curly Bill demands. “I have not done anything to be arrested for.” Wyatt grabs the cow-boy by the collar and marches him over to the small wooden jail, mere feet away from the fracas. Wyatt and his brothers Virgil and Morgan round up the rest of the party, except McCauley, and arrest Collins, Ames, Lloyd, Patterson and Johnson.
The Tombstone Epitaph’s initial reports do not identify the shooter’s name. The next day’s edition reports that the shooter gives “his name as ‘William Rosciotis.’” Two days later, his name becomes “Byoscins” and “Broscins.” “Curly Bill” Brocius may have been trying to keep the press and Texas officials off his trail (he is wanted in Texas).
The Drinking Party
Frank Patterson
Ed Collins
Andrew Ames
James Johnson
Terror from San Simon After shooting Marshal Fred White, Curly Bill (above) tells Tombstone authorities he is from San Simon, Arizona Territory, a small railroad stop on the Southern Pacific line, not far from the New Mexico Territory border. Two weeks prior to the Tombstone shooting, a group of four cow-boys terrorized San Simon “by dint of firing their revolvers” and, in the parlance of the times, “treed the town.” They also forced a train engineer “to take to the brush leaving his engine in their hands; but as the fire was out, they could not use it.” Although Curly Bill and his cronies were not named in the newspaper account, many believe this was their handiwork. Fellow cow-boy ne’er-do well Dick Lloyd (inset) traveled with Curly Bill to Tombstone and was among his cronies.
Dick Lloyd is reportedly a shy, hardworking cowhand, until he gets to drinking. In the Texas tradition, the drunk cow-boy rides his cayuse up and down the main drag, shooting off his pistol—a habit that will not serve him well.
IN SEARCH OF THE REAL CURLY BILL
Wyatt Earp Exonerates Curly Bill Two months after the shooting, on am an officer; give me your pistol;’ and just December 27, 1880, a hearing is held in as I was almost there I saw the defendant Tucson to examine pull his pistol out of the charges against his scabbard and Marshal White Curly Bill. Wyatt B.S. Earp is called grabbed hold of the for the territory and barrel of it; the parties were not testifies: “I was in Billy more [than] two feet Owen’s saloon and apart facing each heard three or four other; both had hold shots fired; upon of the pistol, and hearing the first just then I threw my shot I ran out in the arms around the street and I saw the defendant, to see if flash of a pistol up he had any other weapons, and the street about a looked over his block from where I was; several shots shoulder, and White were fired in quick saw me and said; Wyatt Earp ‘Now, you God succession; ran up as quick as I could, and when I got there I damned son of a bitch, give up that pistol;’ met my brother, Morgan Earp, and a man by and he gave a quick jerk and the pistol went the name of [Fred] Dodge; I asked my brother off; White had it in his hands, and when he fell to the ground, shot, the pistol dropped who it was that did that shooting; he said he and I picked it up; as he fell, he said, ‘I am didn’t know—some fellows who run behind shot.’ ...when I took defendant in charge he that building; I asked him for his six shooter and he sent me to Dodge; after I got the said, ‘what have I done? I have not done pistol.... I ran between [one of the anything to be arrested for.’ When the pistol participants] and the corner of the building, exploded I knocked defendant down with but before I got there I heard White say: ‘I my six-shooter; he did not get up until I
Marshal White is murdered somewhere in this area.
stepped over and picked up the pistol, which had fallen out of White’s hands as he fell. I then walked up to defendant, caught him by the collar and told him to get up. I did not notice that he was drunk; if he was I did not notice it.... I examined the pistol afterwards and found only one cartridge discharged, five remaining. The pistol was a Colt’s 45 calibre.” After hearing more witnesses, including Morgan Earp and Curly Bill, Justice Joseph Neugass called the killing a “homicide by misadventure,” and the court dismissed charges against Curly Bill.
Gunsmith Jacob Gruber also testifies at the murder hearing, telling the court he examined the pistol and found a “defect in it...the pistol can be discharged at half-co*ck.”
Intersection of Sixth and Allen Streets
This is a good view of the crime scene, taken in 1879, looking northwest from across the gully toward downtown. – TRUE WEST ARCHIVES –
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JANUARY 9, 1881 “CURLY BILL” BROCIUS VS ON
F
EVERYBODY THE SAN PEDRO
resh out of jail in Tucson, Arizona Territory, “Curly Bill” Brocius leads a group of cow-boys to the San Pedro River, where they head upstream and stop at a church four miles from Charleston. Dismounting and going inside, Curly Bill, followed by his gang, demands the parson, Joseph McCann, “stop his talk” or Curly Bill “will shoot an eye out.” “You’re a pious sort of man. I’ve been told, but I want to test it,” says Curly Bill, according to the May 21, 1881, San Francisco Daily Report. “You just naturally think of the Savior while my bazoo [mouth] works, and at the same time pay a little attention to me.” The minister agrees. “Now stand perfectly still and you won’t get hurt,” Curly Bill says, “Don’t move a peg or this congregation will be without a gospel sharp. Do you take?” The two cow-boys begin firing, with the shots striking the side wall above and on either side of the pastor’s head, some coming within an inch of his cranium. The minister never flinches, only to lift his head toward the roof for a prayer. When the gunfire stops, Curly Bill says, “You have given us an evidence of piety which shows that you have chewed the Bible to good advantage. “I’m damned if I don’t like your style, and if you don’t climb up to the good place, it’s because the seats are already filled. Now step down on the floor, my pious friend, and we will have the doxology. “Come right down,” says Curly Bill, when the minister hesitates. “It shan’t cost you a cent, and Pete, my Christian friend here, will provide the music.” He points to his pal. The minister steps to the floor and folds his hands as Curly Bill lays out his next command: “Now dance a jig, and see if you can’t discount Solomon in all his glory.” The minister finally protests: “I can’t dance. You know not what you ask.” “Oh, that’s all right,” Curly Bill responds. “Do the best you can. Dance anything, only dance, you must.”
Curly Bill pulls his gun, and the minister begins shuffling his feet, continuing until Curly Bill orders him to stop. “My friend, your piety is of the right stripe. It pleases me to find that this congregation has such a worthy man to guide its spiritual affairs. Now go right ahead with your gospel chin music and proceed with your bible lessons to the kids.” Nine days later, the terror from San Simon and his pards invade Contention City, where the cow-boy devils begin to tree the south end of the town. After abusing everyone they can find, the gang gravitates to the north end, where they go in a store, rob the till of $50 and commit other outrages like “shooting at a peaceable citizen.” At 8 p.m., several citizens go before the justice of the peace and file complaints against the cow-boys. Warrants are issued. Deputy T.B. Ludwig tries to serve them, but he is run off by Curly Bill and his men, “drawing their Henry rifles.” Several brave citizens arm themselves and come out on the street to confront the outlaws, but Curly Bill and his men pay them no attention. Eventually, gunfire erupts on both sides, with neither side taking any casualties. After a full day of bedevilment, the cow-boys finally decide to decamp and head up into the hills toward Tombstone. Curly Bill and his cow-boys don’t quite make it to Tombstone (although Parsons notes in a diary entry that they did), but they stay for two days at nearby Watervale. Allegedly, Curly Bill dares the county authorities to come and get him. The Tombstone Daily Nugget reports seeing “this bravado” wearing “two belts of cartridges, a revolver, and a Henry rifle.”
“Texas John” Slaughter’s cow-boys pose for the camera, circa 1880s. This is a good example of the style and dress of Curly Bill’s crowd. – COURTESY ROBERT G. MCCUBBIN COLLECTION –
Outlaws
A typical newspaper editorial: “The depredations of the cow-boys are becoming as frequent and of such magnitude that no time should be left in adopting measures which will insure either their total extermination, or their departure from the territory. Not less than two hundred of these marauding thieves infest the southeast section of Arizona. “These bands of thieves go armed to the teeth and show up in all directions, take in small settlements and cause terror wherever they make their appearance.”
Treeing a Town
Hunters consider it a victory when their dogs chase game and run it up a tree and surround it. Webster’s definition of treeing is: “To bring to bay. To put into a position of extreme disadvantage: corner.” This becomes a favorite pastime of the cow-boys as they tree towns and settlements all over the Tombstone Mining District. T R U E
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IN SEARCH OF THE REAL CURLY BILL Naked Desperado Fandango More than a year later, The National Police Gazette runs an article allegedly based on information provided by James Hume, the chief of detectives for Wells Fargo: “It was night when [Curly Bill] and a pal arrived [in Charleston] and a Mexican fandango was in progress. They entered the ball room and each placed his back against the door at either end of the apartment. They then drew their pistols. “Stop! cried he. Everyone knew the desperate character of the men and stopped as commanded. Strip, every one of you! shouted Bill. They did so without hesitation. Strike up the music; now then, dance. And men and women in a state of perfect nudity were made to dance madly for an hour at the point of the desperado’s pistol.”
Curly Bill and his cow-boy pards make the locals dance to a six-shooter tune.
Curly Bill was arrested the next day for his church shenanigans and charged $25 for disturbing the peace. “Curly paid,” Deputy Sheriff William Breakenridge reported, “but said no more church for him, it was too expensive.” Curly Bill and pards shoot up Fifth and Allen in Tombstone more than once.
Curly Bill’s Table Manners “The worst trick I ever knew him to do was to go into a restaurant once, while the people were at dinner. He was drunk and pulled out his two revolvers and laid them beside his plate, and ordered every one at the table to wait until he was through, as it was ungentlemanly and impolite to rise before all had finished their meal. Of course, everybody in the restaurant sat and waited until Bill got done eating, but he was so full he laid down his head upon his arms and fell asleep, and the folks were so afraid of him that they supposed he was just shamming sleep as to get a chance to shoot the first one who rose from the table. They all waited until he awoke, when he paid the bill for the crowd and left.” —Tom Thorton, hotelkeeper in Galeyville, Arizona Territory
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MARCH 8, 1881 VS
According to legend, the cow-boys then resume their card game and throw excess winnings onto his body to help defray his funeral expenses.
DICK LLOYD
R
ip roarin’ drunk cow-boy Dick Lloyd steps into O’Neil and Franklin’s Saloon in Maxey, where Curly Bill Brocius, Johnny Ringo, Joe Hill and other cow-boys are playing cards. Several of the cow-boys in the card game dislike Lloyd, and he is soon encouraged to leave. Lloyd makes his way over to Mann’s Saloon, where he drinks with the owner. Known to be quarrelsome when drinking, Lloyd gets into an argument with Ed Mann and ends up shooting him as they stagger into the street. Running back toward the O’Neil saloon, Lloyd climbs on Joe Hill’s horse and spurs down the main street. As several bystanders watch, disbelieving, Lloyd rides back down the street, shooting and yelling. He rides Hill’s horse right into O’Neil and Franklin’s Saloon. The cow-boys at the card table (and evidently, the bartender as well) unlimber their six-shooters and plug Lloyd, dropping him to the floor of the saloon.
“Dick Loyed [sic], a cow-boy shot E. Mann this evening. After the shooting he rode into O neil [sic] & Franklin’s Saloon, where some person shot him dead. “Oneil [sic] gave himself up as the party who shot him. We have no Justice to act as coroner. I summoned seven persons to investigate the case. It was justifiable. Mann will survive. Will abide instructions.” —Arizona Weekly Star, March 8, 1881
Cow-boy Dick Lloyd interrupts his last poker game.
–TRUE WEST ARCHIVES –
“CURLY BILL” BROCIUS, JOHN RINGO AND OTHERS
Odd Couple Deputy Sheriff Billy Breakenridge (above) met up with Curly Bill during a sweep through the San Simon area to collect taxes. Breck later reports that the outlaw leader thought it great fun to join Breck in the hunt for Curly Bill’s rustler cronies, who were intimidated into paying their fair tax. This odd friendship explains why, in May, Curly Bill will force Jim Wallace to apologize to his “friend.”
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IN SEARCH OF THE REAL CURLY BILL MAY 19, 1881 “CURLY BILL” BROCIUS VS
JIM WALLACE
C
urly Bill Brocius is holding court in Galeyville, with his cow-boy cohorts. Jim Wallace, a veteran of the Lincoln County War, rides up on a chestnut horse with a whitestriped face, dismounts and joins Brocius and friends on the porch of a saloon. While the cow-boys catch up on the latest news, local constable Goodman comes down the street, notices the horse and asks Wallace where he got it. Insulted, Wallace pulls his pistol and shoots at the ground near Goodman’s heels, saying as he does, “If you want that horse more than I do, take him.” The lawman quickly leaves in the midst of laughter, and the cow-boys think it is all great sport. Deputy Sheriff Billy Breakenridge, who is in town to serve attachment on a store that has gone out of business, walks past the saloon when Wallace comes out and confronts him, asking if he, too, is after that horse. “No,” Breakenridge replies, “I am riding a better horse than that.” Wallace reaches for his revolver, but Breck (as his friends call him) quickly pulls out his pistol from his waistband and jams it into Wallace’s stomach, and with his other hand grabs the cow-boy’s gun hand, overpowering him.
Once I owned a bronco and I bought him for a song He wasn’t very handsome but he carried me along But now I punch my burro all up and down the hill For my bronco’s gone to San Simon to carry Curly Bill. —Ditty by Gordon Atwood, printed in The Tombstone Epitaph, October 14, 1881 T R U E
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Rather than arrest him, the deputy returns Wallace’s pistol and exhorts him to stop making a fool of himself. Leaving Wallace behind, Breck enters the saloon and buys a round of drinks for the boys. With things back under control, Breck leaves to finish the inventory at the store. After hearing what happened on the porch, Curly Bill demands that Wallace bring Breck back to the saloon for a public apology. Humiliated, Wallace does as he is told. Curly Bill is unsatisfied with the apology, however, and threatens to shoot Wallace’s horse. The cow-boys then take up residence at another saloon, Babco*ck’s. After more abuse from Curly Bill, Wallace decides it is a good time to leave. Soon after Wallace’s departure, Curly Bill leaves the saloon. While Curly Bill mounts his horse, Wallace steps forward and shoots at point-blank range. The bullet hits Curly Bill in the neck and passes through his cheek, taking out a tooth as it exits his jaw. Hearing the gunshot, Curly’s pards quickly come outside and disarm Wallace. Others carry the cow-boy leader to a nearby doctor’s office. “Billy, someone shot me,” Curly Bill says to Breck, who has heard the shooting and came to investigate. “Who was it?” the outlaw asks. Breck says he doesn’t know, but he assures Curly Bill he will find out. Walking up the street to Babco*ck’s corral, the deputy finds Wallace, disarmed and surrounded by cow-boys who want to lynch him. Breck arrests the young cow-boy without incident and takes him down to the local justice of the peace. The doctor pronounces Curly Bill’s chance of survival as 50/50, to which the outlaw proclaims, “Whenever I get an even chance, I always come out ahead.”
The Crimes of Curly Bill What follows is a meager rap sheet, detailing Curly Bill’s verified scrapes with the law. Legend has filled in the rest.
• July 26, 1881: At Guadalupe Canyon, Curly Bill and other cow-boys attacked a band of Mexican vaqueros, killing eight Mexicans and stealing a herd of cattle.
• May 21, 1878: Curly Bill Brocius and Robert Martin attack a military ambulance wagon eight miles north of El Paso, Texas, killing one soldier and badly wounding another. Captured in Mexico the following day, the two outlaws are tried and convicted, but escape on November 2.
• November 4, 1881: Curly Bill is arrested in Lordsburg, New Mexico Territory, but released after paying a fine (no other details are known).
• October 28, 1880: After a night of carousing in Tombstone, Arizona Territory, Curly Bill “accidentally” shoots and kills Town Marshal Fred White.
• December 2, 1881: In Arizona Territory, a Cochise County Grand Jury indicts Curly Bill and three cow-boys for grand larceny. The complaint, filed by a rancher in Huachuca Mountains, stated that the cow-boys had stolen 19 head of cattle.
• Around January 9, 1881: Exonerated for the killing of White, Curly Bill goes on a tear as he and his cow-boy pards tree Charleston, robbing stores and citizens at will. They also humiliate a preacher and his congregation at gunpoint. When they take over a Mexican fandango, all the participants are forced to strip nude and dance. • March 8, 1881: Cow-boy Dick Lloyd is shot and killed as he drunkenly rides his horse into a Maxey saloon where Curly Bill, Johnny Ringo and others are playing cards. Saloon owner Jack O’Neil turns himself in as the shooter.
Legend says Curly Bill Brocius was always laughing.
Curly Bill Brocius shoots up Tombstone, Arizona Territory, on more than one occasion, stated Tombstone diarist George Parsons. Although suspected in several stage holdups that plague the mining district, Curly Bill is never charged.
IN SEARCH OF THE REAL CURLY BILL Fighting Days Are Over
“You damned Lincoln County son of a bitch. I’ll kill you anyhow.” —Curly Bill to Jim Wallace
“Curley [sic] Bill, a notorious outlaw, was shot and instantly killed at Galeyville Thursday afternoon by his partner, Jim Wallace,” reported Tucson’s Arizona Citizen on May 22, 1881. But four days later, the Tombstone Daily Nugget clarified: “‘Curly Bill’ not Dead.” The following excerpt is from the May 26, 1881, news report: “From a gentleman who arrived from Galeyville yesterday, we learn that Curly Bill is rapidly recovering from the effects of his wound. Curly’s escape from death was miraculous, the ball passing between the thorax and jugular vein without touching either. When the doctor examined the wound, Bill asked him what his chances for life were.
MARCH 24, 1882 “CURLY BILL” BROCIUS VS
W YAT T E A R P
W
yatt Earp and his men take breakfast north of Contention, Arizona Territory, along the San Pedro River, then ride south toward the Babocomari River to scout out possible hiding places of various criminals. Leaving his brother Warren on the trail to meet a courier, Wyatt, along with “Doc” Holliday, Sherm McMasters, “Texas Jack” Vermillion and “Turkey Creek Jack” Johnson, ride up a rocky canyon into the Whetstones. Seeing no sign of recent riders, Wyatt loosens the gunbelt around his waist. Horses and men are weary and hot. The trail they are on is about 100 yards from the waterhole, and it cuts across a deep, sandy shelf. They can see only the tops of the cottonwood trees, as the 15-foot-high bank hides the springs from their view. Across this sandy stretch, Wyatt rides, coat unbuttoned, six-guns sagging low, Winchester in the saddle boot, Wells Fargo shotgun and ammunition belt looped to the saddle horn. At the scent of water, Wyatt’s horse quickens; Wyatt lets him make his gait. Fifty feet from the spring, intuition brings Wyatt up short. He swings out of the saddle, loops the reins in his left hand with his shotgun in his right hand and walks forward. Texas Jack and Sherm ride behind Wyatt, with Doc and Turkey Creek Jack much farther to the rear. Another step gives Wyatt a full T R U E
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The doctor replied that the chances were about even. ‘Then,’ exclaimed Bill, ‘I’m going to get well, for whenever I get an even chance I always come out ahead.’ “Curly says his fighting days are over and he intends to return to Texas to see his old mother as soon as he recovers. He got off a witticism at the expense of his shooter, Wallace. ‘Boys,’ said he, ‘let Wallace go up to Tombstone. They’ll turn out to meet him with a brass band!’ It is a fact that there isn’t much love in Tombstone for Curly, and no doubt Wallace would receive a popular ovation for his service in giving Curly a dose of lead, and thus incapacitating him from mischief for some weeks to come.
view of the hollow. Two cow-boys jump to their feet, one yanking a sawed-off shotgun to his shoulder, while the other breaks for the cottonwoods. “Curly Bill!” Sherm yells in astonishment, before wheeling his horse and retreating. Wyatt later remembers shooting at nine cow-boys who each “had a rifle at his shoulder, and every rifle blazed.” Aiming at the outlaw chieftain Curly Bill Brocius, Wyatt fires both barrels of his shotgun, fatally striking Curly Bill in the chest, almost cutting him in half.
In spite of his rapid retreat, Sherm is hit in the side, and his binoculars are shot from his neck. Texas Jack’s horse is killed in the volley of cow-boy fire. Wyatt tries to remount, but his loosened gunbelt has slipped down around his thighs. Bullets tear into his hat, coat and boot heel, and his saddle horn is shot off. He finally succeeds in forking his horse and rides back to a rocky outcropping to rejoin his men. The brief, dramatic fight is over.
Running to their fallen comrade, the cow-boys unlimber their hardware and send a blistering return fire at the two horsem*n (Wyatt Earp and “Texas Jack” Vermillion) on the ridge. In the Earp party, only Sherm McMasters is hit. As you can see from this perspective, the others are straggling behind on the trail, so the cow-boys cannot see them.
Sa n
R– –TRUE WEST MAP BY GUS WALKE
GALIURO MOUNTAINS
San
P
Ri
ver The Vendetta Ride
Hooker’s Ranch
ro ed
ve r Ri
SANTA CATALINA MOUNTAINS
South ern Pa cific R R
Willcox
Tuc s
DOS CABEZAS AINS MOUNTAINS Willcox Playa
LITTLE DRAGOON MOUNTAINS
6. From the springs, Wyatt and his men make their way to Henry Clay Hooker’s ranch.
on
5. Wyatt dismounts, grips his shotgun and steps forward. Two cow-boys jump from behind a dirt bank and begin firing. Wyatt recognizes Curly Bill Brocius and fires two rounds of buckshot that strike Curly Bill in the chest.
S U L P H U R S P R I N G S
Benson
WHETSTONE MOUNTAINS
Cottonwood Springs
Bab
Mescal Springs
ocomari Riv er
travel 4. From north of Contention, the Earps scout south along the San Pedro Valley and waits on along the Babocomari River. Warren north the trail for Smith, while the party heads to check on Cottonwood Springs.
V A L L E Y
St. David
2. They camp north of Tombstone. Wyatt sends Charlie Smith into the town to get money from mining engineer E.B. Gage.
Contention Fairbank
Charleston
PELONCILLO AINS MOUNTTAINS
n Simo
Wyatt Earp’s Vendetta Ride
WINCHESTER MOUNTAINS
1. The Earp posse shoots Florentino Cruz at South Pass.
DRAGOON MOUNTAINS
Tombstone
Soldiers Hole
3. Charlie Smith is thrown in jail in Tombstone. Whistling Dick Wright and another guy are charged with getting the money to Wyatt.
Tantalizing Clues to Curly Bill’s Alleged Death Some historians maintain Curly Bill is not even in the area of the springs at the time of the Earp encounter; he was last seen in Shakespeare, New Mexico Territory—90 miles away. Yet, after the gunfight takes place here, Curly Bill’s young followers, Billy Grounds and Zwing Hunt, attempt to rob the Tombstone Milling and Mining Company’s office in nearby Charleston. They are obviously desperate to get out of the area, perhaps because their leader has just been killed? For years, folks claim to see Curly Bill in Texas, Montana, Colorado and Old Mexico. Whatever happened to Curly Bill, he is no doubt still laughing at the absurdity of our obsession with him (see painting of Curly Bill at left).
Wyatt Earp’s younger brother . San n Simoin Morgan was assassinated Hatch’s Pool Hall in Tombstone, S A N Arizona Territory, on March 18, M O N S IWyatt 1882. shot and killed E Y L Lsuspects, V Athe one of Frank Stilwell, at the Tucson train station on March 20. A fugitive from justice, Wyatt returned to Tombstone to settle up his affairs. With his six-man posse and a pocketful of warrants, Wyatt rode to South Pass ville Galeyand killedCHIRI Florentino CAHUA Cruz. AINS MOUNTTAINS
Now, he and five others sweep the Babocomari area, looking for criminals, especially anyone Wyatt considers a conspirator in the killing of his brother. This leads to the confrontation at Cottonwood Springs. Frink’s Ranch
ury Ranch McLaury
ARIZONA Phoenix Map area
10 miles
Aftermath: Odds & Ends A newspaper war ensued between The Tombstone Epitaph, which backed Wyatt Earp’s version of the fight, and the Tombstone Daily Nugget, which offered a $1,000 reward to anyone who could prove “Curly Bill” Brocius had been killed. The Epitaph countered with a $2,000 reward “if Curly Bill will present himself.” Neither reward was ever claimed.
✩
Late in life, Wyatt claimed he could name all nine cow-boys at the spring The cow-boy version of the fight differed: Only four cow-boys claimed to be at the spring; Wyatt had fired, but his bullets didn’t strike anyone; and Curly Bill wasn’t even there. Recommended: The Illustrated Life & Times of Wyatt Earp and Classic Gunfights, Volume II: The 25 Gunfights Behind the O.K. Corral by Bob Boze Bell.
“She packed two six-shooters, and they all said she shore could use ’em....” —Jeff Ake, who met Sarah “Great Western” Bowman in 1856 at her “house” in the Sonoita Valley, called Casa Blanca
BY PAUL ANDREW HUTTON – ALL ILLUSTRATIONS BY BOB BOZE BELL UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED; HEADLINE DESIGN BY BOB STEINHILBER –
“She reminds me of Joan of Arc and the days of chivalry.” —Private Sylvester Matson, 2nd Dragoons
IN
late August 1890, a detachment from the U.S. Army Quartermasters Department began the arduous task of exhuming the bodies of the soldiers in the long abandoned and overgrown Fort Yuma cemetery to be reburied at the Presidio in San Francisco, California. Of the 159 bodies disinterred, only one was that of a woman, yet it was the largest of all the remains. Around her neck was an oversized Catholic medallion. This was the body of Sarah Bowman—the Great Western.
The Heroine of Fort Brown Sarah was born in either Tennessee or Missouri in 1812 or 1813 (the records are contradictory), and her maiden name was long ago lost to history. An impressive woman over six feet tall and close to 200 pounds, she was blessed with a wellproportioned, if ample, hourglass figure and an attractive face framed by dark red hair. Sarah had a great appetite for life...and for men. She married at least four times. The name of her last husband, a German immigrant in the 2nd Dragoons who was 10 years her junior, stuck with her. Private Sylvester Matson, impressed by Cpl. Albert Bowman’s bride, wrote in his diary on May 9, 1852: “Today we are reinforced by a renowned female character. They call her doctor Mary. Her other name is the Great Western.” Matson described her as a “giantess over seven feet tall,” with a scar across her cheek from a Mexican saber wound. The camp story claimed that she had killed the Mexican soldier who wounded her. “She appears here modest and womanly not withstanding her great size and attire. She has on a crimson velvet waist,
a pretty riding skirt and her head is surmounted by a gold laced cap of the Second Artillery. She is carrying pistols and a rifle. She reminds me of Joan of Arc and the days of chivalry,” Matson wrote. She claimed Lt. George Lincoln signed her on as a laundress at Jefferson Barracks in Missouri and that she accompanied her first husband (name unknown) to Florida during Col. Zachary Taylor’s Seminole campaign. This had to be after 1837, since Lincoln was not commissioned until late that year. Sarah developed a keen affection for the young 8th Infantry officer from Massachusetts. Her fame, however, was not derived from military life in the Florida swamps, but rather from her heroics during the Mexican-American War. Her second husband, Charles Bourgette of the 5th Infantry, was among the troops assigned to occupy the Nueces Strip in Texas just before the outbreak of the war. This disputed land between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande was claimed by both Texas and Mexico. Sarah worked as a laundress and cook attached to Gen. Zachary Taylor’s army when it reached Corpus Christi in July 1846. When her husband became ill and was evacuated to Point Isabel on the coast, she drove her wagon south to the Rio Grande. A Mexican officer sent the Americans an ultimatum not to cross the river unless they wished war. Hearing of this, Sarah declared to those around her that “if the general would give her a good strong pair of tongs, she would wade that river and whip every scoundrel that dare show himself.” The Mexicans withdrew before Sarah could secure her pair of tongs (pantaloons). Taylor reached the Rio Grande on March 28, 1845, and immediately ordered
the construction of earthen fortifications across the river from Matamoros in Tamaulipas, Mexico. The general left the 7th Infantry under Maj. Jacob Brown to finish construction, while he took his main force to Port Isabel to secure his line of supply. Sarah remained with the 7th. By this time, she had already been nicknamed the “Great Western,” which was, at the time, the name of the largest steamboat in the world. On May 3, the Mexicans opened a fierce bombardment of the post. Major Brown’s guns replied. For five days and nights, the Mexican shells rained down on the American fort. Brown fell on the fourth day, a shell exploding just above his position.
A stylized drawing of the Great Western at Fort Brown, during the Mexican-American War. — COURTESY LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
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Sam Chamberlain’s painting of the Great Western is the only known likeness of her and was painted from life. – COURTESY WEST POINT MUSEUM COLLECTION, UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY –
Sarah Bowman loyally followed Gen. Zachary Taylor (left) all throughout the Mexican-American War. —COURTESY LIBRARY OF CONGRESS –
Everyone who met Sarah Bowman was impressed by how big she was although, for some reason, they couldn’t agree on her height. An 1849 letter stated: “We found the far famed Great Western at this place on our side of the river.... She is about six feet one inch in height, and well proportioned.”
The experience was a living hell for all the defenders. Yet the Great Western refused to take shelter with the other women. She set up her kitchen tent in the middle of the fort and kept the men on the walls fed, despite a bullet dislodging her bonnet. She also took water to the parched soldiers and tended to the wounded until Gen. Taylor lifted the siege on May 9, crushing Gen. Mariano Arista’s force at Resaca de la Palma. On May 18, the American army crossed the Rio Grande to occupy Matamoros and prepare for the invasion of northern Mexico. A grand dinner party was held in Gen. Arista’s elegant headquarters in Matamoros, with Sarah as a special guest. Lieutenant Braxton Bragg offered a toast that was met with cheers from all the officers to the “Great Western—one of the bravest and most patriotic soldiers at the siege of Fort Brown.” Newspapers around the country quickly picked up on the story of this “heroine of Fort Brown.”
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“ She
had a reputation of being something of the roughest fighter on the Rio Grande.” —Texas Ranger John “Rip” Ford
Devotee to “Old Rough and Ready” When Taylor’s army moved west against Monterrey, the Great Western followed. Taylor was Sarah’s kind of general, a man who inspired her to walk into battle so she could feed the troops and care for the wounded. The soldiers had affectionately nicknamed the future President “Old Rough and Ready” for he was always quick to share their privations, discomforts and dangers. The general habitually kept a quid of tobacco tucked in his cheek and impressed all with his ability to hit a target with one spit. As a frontier soldier, he cared little for military pomp, leading one officer to describe him as “short and very heavy, with pronounced face lines and gray hair, wears an old oil cloth cap, a dusty green coat, a frightful pair of trousers and on horseback looks like a toad.” “Old Rough and Ready” may have not looked much like a soldier, but he was a fighter, and Sarah admired him as such. During the Battle of Buena Vista, on February 23, 1847, a panicked soldier rushed back among the reserves, crying out that Taylor was whipped and the Army destroyed. Sarah seized the man, and “she just drew off and hit him between the eyes and knocked him sprawling; says ‘you damned son of a bitch, there ain’t Mexicans enough to whip old Taylor,’” Texas volunteer George Washington Traherne reported. Lincoln, the man who had welcomed Sarah into the Army, met his death in Buena Vista. She was devastated by the news and fell weeping into a chair. Composing herself, she rushed to the field to retrieve
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the captain’s body and bring it back to Saltillo for burial. She later purchased Lincoln’s white horse at auction, offering three times the high bid for the animal so that the proceeds could be sent home to the captain’s mother. She rode the horse during the rest of the campaign and then arranged for it to be sent to Massachusetts for the Lincoln family.
husband had long since vanished, and Sarah provided some of the most sought after services herself. Traherne left an indelible pen picture of her statuesque charms when he commented: “you can imagine how tall she was, she could stand flat footed and drop those little sugar plums right into my mouth.”
The Biggest Leg in Mexico
Sarah Bowman owned and ran the first hotel in Franklin, which became El Paso, Texas, seen here in 1864. — ALL PHOTOS TRUE WEST ARCHIVES UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED –
In Saltillo, she had opened an establishment—American House—that catered to the many needs of the army of occupation. It became a sort of informal headquarters for Army officers. Her
When the war ended and the Army moved north from Saltillo, Sarah appeared on horseback followed by three large wagons, only to be informed by a blue-nosed, by-the-book officer (Daniel Rucker, later quartermaster general and father-in-law to Phil Sheridan) that without a husband, she could not join the column. “All right Major, I’ll marry the whole Squadron and you thrown in but what I go along,” she declared. She gave the officer a smart salute and turned her horse to trot down the line of soldiers. “Who wants a wife with $15,000, and the biggest leg in Mexico!” she cried out. “Come my beauties, don’t all speak at once—who is the lucky man?” A dragoon named Davis volunteered for this hazardous duty, if a clergyman could be found “to tie the knot.” Sarah replied with a laugh: “Bring your blanket to my tent tonight and I will learn you to tie a knot that will satisfy you, I reckon.” Sarah soon had a new husband and an official place on the rolls of the dragoons as laundress. As soon as convenience allowed, Sarah ditched Davis and moved her thriving business north to El Paso del Norte, where, in April 1849, she set up shop on the
This dragoon sergeant offers a good example of how soldiers looked during the time the Great Western resided at Fort Yuma in Arizona Territory. —Courtesy yuma Quartermasters museum, yuma arizona –
and noted as illiterate. With her was a family of five orphaned children, the Skinners, who she had taken in. One of them, Nancy, would remain with Sarah for the rest of her life and always referred to her as mother. Over time, Sarah also adopted several Hispanic and American Indian children.
Life in Fort Yuma
American side of the river in partnership with a trader named Benjamin Franklin Coons. Their Central Hotel became the first business in the town called Franklin, but which became El Paso, Texas. Famed Texas Ranger John “Rip” Ford met Sarah at her hotel. “On our side an American woman known as the Great Western kept a hotel. She was very tall, large and well made,” Ford related of his 1849 encounter. “She had a reputation of being something of the roughest fighter on the Rio Grande. She was approached in a polite, if not humble, manner by all of us.” Sarah left El Paso late in 1849 for Socorro, New Mexico Territory, where she appeared in the 1850 census as Sarah Bourjette, age 33, birthplace Tennessee,
In Socorro, Sarah met an immigrant soldier of the 2nd Dragoons named Albert Bowman. They married, and the couple stayed together for the next 16 years. Bowman departed military service from Fort Webster in New Mexico Territory on December 1, 1852, and he and Sarah soon headed west toward California. They stopped at Fort Yuma at the Colorado River crossing where Sarah’s fame secured her an immediate position serving the officer’s mess at the post while Bowman found work as a carpenter. Captain Samuel P. Heintzelman, the post commander, took note of the Bowmans’ arrival in his diary entry for October 10, 1853: “The Great Western called to see me to get some tires reset. I could not refuse when I recollected her services. She was at Fort Brown and 20 years in the army and once in my Company. She looks 50 is a large tall fearless looking woman.” Sarah called on the captain for help again, sharing her tale of woe concerning
Future Civil War Gen. Samuel Heintzelman was the commander at Fort Yuma who helped Sarah Bowman set up shop across the river in Sonora to escape the do-gooders in San Diego.
her adopted daughter Nancy Skinner who she claimed California authorities planned to take from her. Heintzelman assisted Sarah with supplies and building materials in order to build a home in the future Arizona Territory, across the Colorado River, in Sonora, where Nancy would be safe from the California lawmen. Nancy, who was 16, soon married an ex-soldier who had followed her to the Yuma Crossing from New Mexico Territory. The good captain came to realize that he had been hoodwinked into helping the Great Western build a home for herself. Sarah’s new establishment across the Colorado River fed the varied appetites of Fort Yuma’s officers and enlisted men, as well as the hundreds of travelers who crossed the river on Louis Jaeger’s ferry. In time, a village grew up around her combination dance hall, restaurant and brothel, first called Colorado City and finally Yuma. Charles Poston and Herman Ehrenberg surveyed the town site in July
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She was the “greatest whor* in the West.” —Grundy Ake, Arizona Territory pioneer
The Return of Olive Oatman Most historians believe Olive Oatman was put in the care of Sarah Bowman. Several accounts avoid giving the “Great Western” credit, however, the most obvious one being Royal B. Stratton’s account in the 1857 bestseller, Captivity of the Oatman Girls, which was allegedly based on Olive’s account. Stratton claims Olive “was taken in by a very excellent family residing at the fort.” To confuse matters even more, Olive herself told a reporter in San Francisco, four months after her arrival at Yuma, “I was taken to Fort Yuma and remained there a month in the family of Sergeant Reuben Twist.” Some historians have speculated that Twist could have boarded at Sarah’s establishment. Yet come circles probably denied Sarah the credit for taking care of Oatman because of her scarlet past.
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1854 on their return journey to California from their exploration of the Gadsden Purchase in southeastern Arizona Territory. Lieutenant Sylvester Mowry, soon to be another of the founding fathers of Arizona, was one of Sarah’s most ardent admirers. “I have just got a little Sonoran girl for a mistress,” he wrote a Rhode Island friend in 1855. “She is seventeen very pretty [and] for the present she is living with ‘The Great Western’ you remember don’t you, is the woman who distinguished herself so much at the Fort Brown bombardment just before the battles at Palo Alto and Resaca. She has been with the Army twenty years and was brought up here where she keeps the officers’ mess. Among her other good qualities she is an admirable pimp. She used to be a splendid looking woman and has done ‘good service’ but is too old for that now.”
Olive Oatman’s Safekeeper Despite Sarah’s profession, or perhaps because of it, when Olive Oatman was ransomed from the Mohaves and brought to Fort Yuma on the last day of February 1856, she was turned over to Sarah for safekeeping. Olive was wild with fear and anxious to return to her Mohave family. The nine members of the Oatman family had been traveling westward along the Gila River toward California when a party of Yavapai warriors attacked on March 19, 1851. The Yavapais are Yuman speakers, related in the distant past to the Mohaves and Walapais, but because they ranged north into central Arizona, they were often mistaken for Apaches by the whites. The Spanish called the Yavapais by three distinctly different names, the Americans by two names and the neighboring tribes by six different
names. Little wonder that the confusion over the Yavapais resulted in the Apaches being universally blamed for the Oatman family killings. Royce and his wife Mary, along with four of their children, were murdered. The Yavapais left a 15-year-old son, Lorenzo, for dead, while carrying off 14-year-old Olive and seven-year-old Mary into slavery. The Yavapais sold the girls to their Mohave cousins, who took them to their village along the Colorado River. Mary starved to death, but Olive survived to grow into an attractive young woman who became quite acculturated to her new life, even participating in a tattooing ritual that left her chin permanently marked with native designs. After five years, Olive was ransomed by a Fort Yuma carpenter and his Yuma Indian friend, and brought into the post. She had forgotten English. The officers feared for her sanity, but under the tender care of the Great Western, she was soon communicating well and anxious to be reunited with her long lost brother, Lorenzo. After the massacre, two Pima Indians had found Lorenzo and taken him to Fort Yuma where he had begged the soldiers to go in search of his sisters. Captain Heintzelman refused to send out a search party since he barely had enough men to garrison and guard the fort. By now, Lorenzo was living in El Monte, California. He rushed to Fort Yuma upon receiving word of his sister’s rescue. “She did not know him and he did not know her also,” remarked an eyewitness to the reunion, “so much change in five years.” Sarah would be facing considerable change herself. As she watched Olive depart for her new life as a celebrated “redeemed captive,” Sarah was preparing to depart Yuma for Tucson.
Yuma Crossing Graydon’s Girls In October 1856, Sarah and Albert joined a small wagon train headed east, happy to leave Yuma behind. “There was just one thin sheet of sandpaper between Yuma and Hell,” she declared, upon departing the desert metropolis she had founded. Along the Gila Trail, Sarah halted the wagon train long enough to give the victims of the Oatman massacre a decent burial. Upon her arrival in Tucson, Sarah operated a boarding house, but soon decided to relocate to the Sonoita Valley to be closer to the new Fort Buchanan. She formed a fresh business partnership, and by the summer of 1858, she and her girls were well established with James “Paddy” Graydon at Casa Blanca. An Irish immigrant and ex-dragoon, as well as one of the most colorful characters in the Southwest, Graydon owned the United States Boundary Hotel, located along Sonoita Creek, just four miles south of Fort Buchanan. The one-story adobe was known to all as Casa Blanca because of its whitewashed walls. Graydon advertised his hotel’s “fine assortment of wines, liquors, cigars, sardines…and good accommodations for the night.” At the hotel, Sonoran señoritas sang songs, waited tables and cooked, sometimes dealt cards, and always smiled at the rough patrons, laughed at their crude jokes and helped them to forget just how very far from home they were. The hotel, remarked one patron, was a “pretty tough joint, but a good saloon.” Guns and knives often settled disputes over cards, for as Lt. Isaiah Moore of the dragoons commented, the “American population” on the Sonoita was “mostly outlaws having everything to gain and nothing to lose.” Graydon’s most profitable venture was likely the partnership he formed at Casa Blanca with the most famous woman on the frontier—Sarah Bowman.
Fort Yuma sits on the California side of the river just below the confluence of the Gila River, coming in from the right, and the Colorado River, angling down from the north. Albert and Sarah Bowman arrived sometime in December 1852. Sarah also brought along several homeless Mexican and American Indian children (the census records state five) who she had adopted in New Mexico Territory. For the first part of her stay at the crossing, the “Great Western,” as Bowman was known, lived on the west side of the river, where she was engaged as a cook for the officers: “The Western is installed as keeping the mess for Lt. McLean and Bond and the doctor,” Maj. S. Heintzelman wrote in his journal. Things went well for the Great Western until the early part of 1854. Some people in San Diego, California, got
wind of Sarah’s adopted children and were horrified that they were being cared for by a woman of “ill repute;” they threatened to take the children away. The Great Western asked Heintzelman for help. The major, who owned an interest in the ferry and also land across the river, helped set her up on land in Sonora, Mexico, right across the river. The Great Western opened a restaurant, bar and boarding house on the Gila Trail. After the Gadsden Purchase, this area became part of the U.S. By then, the threat of her kids being removed had passed. Thus, the Great Western became the first resident of what would later become the town of Yuma in Arizona.
This contemporaneous illustration of Yuma Crossing was created by J.P.S. Brown, who was there in 1863. The inset shows a closeup of what looks to be Sarah Bowman’s bar.
Word quickly spread of Sarah’s arrival at Casa Blanca. Jeff Ake, who met her at Graydon’s place in 1856, was awestruck: “They called her old Great Western. She packed two six-shooters, and they all said she shore [sic] could use ’em, that she had killed a couple of men in her time. She was a hell of a good woman.” Ake’s father, Grundy, spoke of Sarah reverently as simply the “greatest whor* in the West.” Sonoran ladies by the score came north to work for Paddy and the Great Western. “Sonora has always been famous for the beauty and gracefulness of its señoritas,” Poston remarked. He remembered that they “really had a refining influence on the frontier population. Many of them had been educated at convents, and all of them were good Catholics.” The Americans both amused and disgusted the señoritas. “They called the American men ‘Los God-dammes,’ and the American women ‘Las CamisasColorados,’” Poston noted. “If there is anything that a Mexican woman despises it is a red petticoat.” While some of the Sonoran maids and grass widows may have been repulsed by the Great Western and her girls, others happily joined in the fleecing of soldier and miner alike. They found work as cooks at mines and ranches. Some landed husbands, while others served drinks and food, sang songs and ran the gambling tables at Casa Blanca. “They were experts at cards,” Poston recalled from sad experience, “and divested many a miner of his week’s wages over a game of Monte.” The valley was troubled by a turbulent group of young toughs led by Bill Ake, which a later generation would label with the epithet “cow-boys.” They terrorized the local Hispanics, and Graydon had to
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Sylvester Mowry was a ladies’ man who served at Fort Yuma. He referred to Sarah as an “admirable pimp.”
establish some sort of law and order in the valley. After two Mexicans were killed in a saloon brawl with the cow-boys at Casa Blanca, Graydon had a gunfight with one of the drunken toughs. In time, Graydon set himself up as a sort of an informal lawman and drove out the outlaws. The Army also paid him a monthly salary to act as a scout and interpreter when needed. Much of this work involved trailing deserters and bringing them back to the fort, and Graydon made quite a reputation for himself in this work. Yet the outlaws or the deserters were not the ones who most troubled the valley, but rather the secessionists and the Apaches. The kidnapping by Aravaipa Apaches of a local rancher’s stepson— Felix Ward (a.k.a. Mickey Free)—had led to a war between the Chiricahua bands of Cochise and Mangas Coloradas and the whites in January 1861. The outbreak of the Civil War in April sealed the valley’s fate.
On July 9, 1861, an express reached Fort Buchanan with orders to abandon the post and march to Fort Fillmore along the Rio Grande. Lieutenant Moore soon arrived with his two dragoon companies from the abandoned and burned Fort Breckenridge to join the two companies of the 7th Infantry on their eastward trek. As the troops departed on July 23, they torched the fort and all the supplies they had left behind. Even Graydon was not allowed any government goods, for orders were orders, and the government wanted all property destroyed rather than turn any over to the citizens of Arizona Territory. In some ways, the government feared the citizens, and their secessionist sympathies, more than the Apaches. “Well, this country is going to the devil with railroad speed,” reported journalist Thompson Turner from Tucson on July 17. “Secessionists on one side and Apaches on the other will bring us speedily to the issue, and the issue will be absence or death.” The game was up, and the Americans along the Sonoita and Santa Cruz packed up and left their fields. Most of the Mexican mine and ranch workers fled south to Sonora. To make matters worse, Mexican bandits came north to loot the abandoned mines and ranches. Only Sylvester Mowry, with 100 heavily armed men, held out at his Patagonia mine. Poston, with Raphael Pumpelly and a black servant, also finally gave up on his Arizona dream and headed for Yuma. Poston was struck by the lonesome sound of co*cks crowing on the deserted farms as smoke from the burning wheat fields filled the sky. “It was sad to leave the country that had cost so much money and blood in ruins, but it seemed to be inevitable,” Poston later wrote, “but the
“She was a lesson in the complexity of human nature.” —Raphael Pumpelly, Harvard professor and famed explorer greatest blow was the destruction of our hopes—not so much of making money as of making a country.” The largest exodus from the “Purchase” was led by old Grundy Ake and his friend William Wadsworth. Driving all the cattle of the Sonoita with them, they reached Tubac on July 20. With them was Sarah. Graydon had decided to abandon Casa Blanca, for the clientele had left. With no one left to purchase the services that the Great Western’s girls provided, Sarah sent her girls south to Sonora and parted with the eastbound Graydon. The flamboyant Irishman joined the Union Army and soon raised a company of Hispanic scouts who harassed the invading Confederates under Henry Hopkins Sibley. A hero of the 1862 Battle of Valverde, Graydon then served under Col. Kit Carson against the Mescalero Apaches before being killed in a senseless gunfight on the Fort Stanton parade ground.
she was adored by the soldiers for bravery in the field and for her unceasing kindness in nursing the sick and wounded.” The Eastern dude watched this magnificent woman’s every movement “as with quiet native dignity, she served our simple meal. She was a lesson in the complexity of human nature.” California volunteers soon flooded into Fort Yuma to prepare to march east against the Confederates. Sarah once again did a booming business, although in a new house, since the first had washed away in a flood that winter. Lieutenant Edward Tuttle was suitably impressed. “She was a splendid example of the American frontier woman,” he gushed. He was also impressed that the 4th Infantry had awarded her “rations for life.”
Acts of Tenderness The Great Western once again headed westward. She and her people traveled with the Ake-Wadsworth wagon train to Tucson, but then headed back to the Yuma Crossing. The crew made the trip safely, and Sarah and Albert were soon well established in their old house on the Arizona side of the Colorado River. Poston and Pumpelly arrived in Yuma to find Sarah back in business. They boarded with her, and Pumpelly, who later became a famous explorer and Harvard professor, was mesmerized. “Our landlady, known as the ‘Great Western,’ no longer young, was a character of a varied past,” Pumpelly wrote in his memoir. “Her relations with the soldiers were of two kinds. One of these does not admit of analysis; the other was angelic, for
Those rations did not continue for long. Sarah died on December 23, 1866, at Fort Yuma, in her 53rd year, the victim of the bite of a tarantula spider. Soldiers buried her in the Fort Yuma cemetery, where they fired a salute over her grave. She was the only woman buried there amidst all the soldiers. Prescott’s Arizona Gazette mourned her passing with a tardy obituary on July 31, 1867: “She was familiarly known as the ‘Heroine of Fort Brown,’ and was at several battles during the war, caring for the wounded. Blunt and unguarded in speech, she was yet the possessor of a kind heart, and whatever her failings, engendered by wild associations, very many will remember with grateful feeling the acts of tenderness bestowed by her on themselves and associates in that inhospitable section.... And as this mention of the decease of the ‘Great Western’ meets the public eye, how many minds will revert to the frequent acts of kindness performed by this distinguished female representative of American frontier life.”
The Golden Gate’s Gal In 1890, soldiers exhumed the bodies at the abandoned Fort Yuma cemetery and reburied them at the Presidio in San Francisco. The Great Western now rests at the very end of the westward trail, overlooking the Golden Gate. Her grave above San Francisco Bay is marked with the same simple white stone reserved for all the heroes of the republic.
The honored resting place of Sarah Bowman at California’s San Francisco National Cemetery, in the northern center of the Presidio.
A Distinguished Professor of History at the University of New Mexico, Paul Andrew Hutton won the Western Writers of America Spur for his most recent book, The Apache Wars: The Hunt for Geronimo, the Apache kid, and the Captive Boy Who Started the Longest War in American History.
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COWBOY RANGERS OF THE EARLY U.S. FOREST SERVICE
INVALIDS NEED NOT APPLY! BY JOEL McNAMARA
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oday, a forest ranger may call to mind a friendly guide who leads nature walks and gives campfire talks. But 100 years ago, forest rangers who worked west of the Mississippi River were closer in spirit and appearance to cowboys. During the early days of the U.S. Forest Service, these rangers rode horses, packed mules and carried Colts and Winchesters. Their story is a little-told chapter in the history of the American West.
COWBOYS ON THE FOREST RANGE The Forest Service was created in 1905, when management of nearly 18 million acres of public lands was transferred from the Department of Interior’s General Land Office to the Department of Agriculture. These 17 forest reserves (later called national forests) were scattered across the U.S., with most in the Western states and territories. Gifford Pinchot, a pal of President Theodore Roosevelt, oversaw the fledgling Forest Service. Pinchot’s vision produced the greatest good for the country. He balanced revenues brought in by timber sales, mining leases and grazing fees with conservation efforts. Pinchot decided a graduate from Yale’s School of Forestry would supervise each reserve. District rangers took charge of subdivided parts of a forest, with assistant rangers reporting to them. Rangers carried out the day-to-day operations.
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MEN WANTED
to take care A Ranger must be able rses under of himself and his ho s: build trails very trying condition y and all and cabins; ride all da d fight fire night; pack, shoot, an ad. without losing his he vigorous All this requires a very s the hardest constitution. It mean from kind of physical work not a job beginning to end. It is h or light for those seeking healt outdoor work... PLY! INVALIDS NEED NOT AP ng poster, 1905 —U.S. Forest Service recruiti
Given the strenuous work, rangers had to be between 21 and 40 years old. The starting pay was $60 monthly, and a ranger had to supply his own saddle, pack horses, tack, clothing, firearms, cooking gear, bedroll and other sundries. Believing that the General Land Office had staffed the forests with political appointees, leading to incompetence and corruption, the country’s first Chief Forester kept the best General Land Office men and forced the rest out. For prospective rangers, Pinchot tasked his staff to develop examinations that would raise standards and encourage professionalism.
SELF-SUFFICIENT MEN Pinchot sought men familiar with the forests where they’d be working. Candidates were told: “No one may expect to pass the examination who is not already able to take care of himself and his horse in regions remote from settlement and supplies. He must be able to build trails and cabins and to pack in provisions without assistance. He must know something of surveying, estimating, and scaling timber, lumbering, and the live-stock business.” The one-day written examination consisted of basic questions about timber cruising (assessing
Some forest rangers took to enforcing the job naturally. Among them was Cyrus “Cy” Bingham, born in 1870, who started work as a ranger in 1903, patrolling the Cascade forests from central Oregon south to the California border (shown on opposite page, outside his ranger station in 1906). In 1920, he resigned and became sheriff of Grant County for 12 years. Bingham had his hands full with moonshiners during Prohibition, but at six feet tall, 300 pounds and with a Colt strapped on his hip, the “biggest sheriff in Oregon” often settled trouble based on his appearance alone. – COURTESY U.S. FOREST SERVICE –
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“...from the the potential value of trees), surveying, livestock care and local geography. The more rigorous practical examination featured two-day field tests. Shooting was one of the first skills assessed. An early ranger recalled, “The applicants were required to shoot at marks at 100 yards with rifle and 50 yards with revolver.” During the horsemanship portion, evaluator Elers Koch recalled, “Most of the men got by fairly well with the horseback riding, since everybody rode in those days, but from the way a man approached a horse and swung into the saddle it was not hard to tell the good horseman.” Packing was another story. Prospective rangers had to cargo up a horse or mule with camp outfit and grub; this was not a skill everyone had. At times, examiners could barely keep a straight face, considering the curious knots, hitches and methods applicants used to attach gear to a horse. The second day tested forestry skills. The men mounted horses and buggies, headed to the woods and were tested on ax work, timber cruising and surveying. Koch concluded his ranger examinations with a hell-bent-for-leather, 10-mile horse race to Bozeman, Montana. An outstanding horseman, he never lost a race.
A RAngeR’s Life Once hired, men received their appointment to a forest district and were told to “go out and range.” They were expected to be self-starters. One man could have responsibility for a territory several hundred thousand acres in size. Rangers took direction from a 142-page manual known as the “Use Book,” more formerly, The Use of National Forest Reserves: Regulations and Instructions. The thin volume spelled out how to deal with grazing, timber sales, trespass issues and fires. Between the Use Book and
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way a man approached a horse and swung into the saddle it was not hard to tell the good horseman.”
common sense, a ranger was expected to have the knowledge he needed to handle any situation he confronted. “The ranger in his district was often the only policeman, fish and game warden, coroner, disaster rescuer, and doctor,” historian Robert J. Duhse wrote. The job attracted rugged individualists, leaving no shortage of colorful characters. One included Montana ranger Fred Herrig, a big man with a thick handlebar mustache who had worked as one of Teddy Roosevelt’s Dakota Territory ranch hands and served as a Rough Rider in the Spanish-American War. Herrig’s experience as a cowboy caused him to dress the part, down to his hightop boots with silver spurs. His dark bay horse wore a silver studded bridle, and his constant companion was his Russian wolfhound, Bruno. He favored a .45-70 rifle in his saddle scabbard and a .44 revolver on his belt—given to him by President Roosevelt. Practicality and personal fashion dictated a ranger’s duds. A ranger only needed to
keep his badge, a bronze medallion with a pine tree in the center, visible to the public. A horse and maybe a buckboard wagon were a ranger’s primary means of transportation over trails or countryside, in those pre-road days. If a horse couldn’t survive the terrain or weather, a ranger set off on foot. He didn’t think much of strapping on a 25- to 40-pound pack and hiking 40 miles in summer or snowshoeing through deep snow in the dead of winter.
LAwmen RAngeRs Encounters with bears, mountain lions and snakes were not unusual for rangers, but the pests who offered the biggest challenges were the two-legged variety, especially after the Forest Homestead Act of 1906. When homesteaders could claim a 160-acre parcel within forest boundaries, fraud became a big issue. Commercial timber, mining and grazing concerns paid people to file personal homestead claims, with an eye to acquiring the property cheaply after the claim was “proved up.” If a ranger suspected fraud, he gathered evidence to get the claim revoked. Lawmen rangers didn’t sit well with homesteaders more interested in a quick buck than starting a new life, nor with ranchers, miners and timber men unhappy about conservation efforts. They occasionally threatened to hang or shoot the rangers. Idaho rangers found trouble in Grand Forks, known as the “wickedest town in America,” while enforcing an alcohol ban. A dozen saloons and an undetermined number of brothels had sprung up there, to serve railroad construction crews. One ranger, unable to convince soiled doves to leave, wired his supervisor, “Undesirable prostitutes occupying Federal land. Please advise.” The reply came back, “Get desirable ones.” Even when rangers arrested the proprietors of vice and booze, replacements
Posing with his six-shooter, chaps, bandana and gauntlet leather gloves,Fritz Sethe looks like the quintessential horseback ranger in this 1910 photo taken in Washington’s Columbia National Forest (now Gifford Pinchot National Forest). Rangers stopped using pack horses here in 2005, marking the end of the cowboy ranger era. – ALL PHOTOS COURTESY NATIONAL ARCHIVES AT COLLEGE PARK, COLLEGE PARK, MD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED –
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stepped in to run the show. Grand Forks ceased to be a problem in 1910, when the town burned to ashes.
FIGHTING FIRE A much greater threat than outlaws, though, were wildfires. During summer, fire was always on a ranger’s mind. Down-on-their-luck men, often recruited from pool halls and saloons, typically made up firefighting crews of six to 75 men. Larger crews became necessary because “stewbums” were notorious idlers; while digging a fireline to corral a fire or beating flames out with burlap bags, a firefighting crew might feel the work had gotten too hard and walk off, never to be seen again. A ranger would enforce his will with a shooting iron if a crew became unruly or panicked at an approaching wall of flames,
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as did “Big Ed” Pulaski, during the Great Fire of 1910, which burned three million acres and killed at least 87 people. The 42-year-old former prospector knew Idaho’s Bitterroot Mountains like the back of his hand. On August 19, Pulaski and another ranger were overseeing around 200 men fighting fires outside of Wallace. When hurricane-force winds struck, the smaller fires joined and turned into a raging inferno, trapping Pulaski and 42 men. The ranger herded his panicked firefighters through the flames to a mine shaft. He ordered them to lay face down, where the air was cooler. Then he stationed himself at the entrance, fanning the flames away with a wet burlap sack. When smoke filled the shaft, one man decided he’d take his chances outside. Pulaski drew his .44 revolver. “The next
Candidates were often surprised when they were told to prepare a meal over an open campfire. Just making supper wasn’t good enough; the man had to eat the meal and hold it down too. The Forest Service wanted rangers who wouldn’t poison themselves or starve to death while out in the wilderness. This pack outfit, taking a lunch break at Colorado’s Pike National Forest in 1913, wears caulk (pronounced “cork”) logging boots; the spiked soles helped prevent the men from falling off logs.
man who tries to leave the tunnel, I will shoot,” he proclaimed. He knew the tunnel was their only chance for survival. Nobody else attempted escape, but the smoke and heat became so intense, everyone passed out from a lack of oxygen. When the fire died down and the men regained consciousness, they found Pulaski in a crumpled heap. “The boss is dead,” one man said grimly. “Like hell he is,” said Pulaski, as he struggled to his feet. His hands, eyes and lungs seared, Pulaski was hospitalized, but recovered and returned to work. Hailed as a hero for saving his men, he is still known by wildland firefighters. The combination axe-mattock he created in his blacksmith shop a year after the fire is widely used and is called the Pulaski.
END OF AN ERA The cowboy rangers who rode the Old West’s forests lasted into the 1920s. Then telephones connected ranger stations and fire lookouts, wireless radios conveyed messages in the wild, fire roads crisscrossed the forests, cars and trucks replaced horses and wagons, and airplanes patrolled woods and range. Instead of the Use Book, rangers had to consult a bookshelf full of policies. They grumbled about doing paperwork behind a desk instead of working outside. The jack-of-all-trades rangers saw their duties reduced, as job specialization became common. In less than two decades, the time had passed for rangers with strong backs and steel wills. A Forest Service supervisor some 70 years ago best summed up these
Lewis A. Myrick, a General Land Office ranger outside his office on the Battlement Mesa Reserve (now Grand Mesa National Forest) in Colorado, reclines in this pre1905 photo. Myrick wears a pre-Forest Service, round, nickle-plated badge. When Gifford Pinchot took control of professionalizing the Bureau of Forestry, Myrick survived Gifford Pinchot’s examination that tested the mettle of any Westerner, put in place to weed out incompetent political appointees.
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This prospective ranger underwent a test of his packing abilities in Colorado’s Arapaho National Forest in 1907.
Ranger Jim Sizer stands with his pistol tucked in his waistband next to his horse around 1910, in the Apache National Forest in Arizona Territory.
cowboy rangers: “They endured physical discomfort and hardships as a matter of course. Too often they had to face injustice and to battle discouragement, but they were never quitters.”
A former U.S. Forest Service firefighter, Joel McNamara has written magazine articles as well as technical books, including Geocaching for Dummies. He has a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and specializes in American West historical archaeology.
SADDLE UP While the days of the cowboy rangers are long gone, you can still get a taste of the old times at the Forest Service’s Ninemile Wildlands Training Center on the Lolo National Forest. Located outside Huson, Montana, the center features the Remount Depot, a facility built in the 1930s for pack stock breeding and training. The depot is a working ranch that, each summer, provides training to agency personnel and the general public on traditional ranger skills, such as packing, horsemanship, dutch oven cooking and tree cutting.
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Forest Assistant W.H.B. Kent became known as a maverick ranger, for wearing a bandanna instead of the regulation Stetson cowboy hat and for reading poetry to his charges. Known as “Whiskey High Balls” Kent, due to his fondness for whiskey, Kent left the Forest Service by 1911, served in France during WWI and then moved to California to pen his Western novels: 1942’s The Tenderfoot and 1943’s Range Rider.
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U N S U NG BY J E F F E R S O N G L AS S
LITTLE KNOWN CHARACTERS OF THE OLD WEST
The Sunny Sheriff Joe Hazen left a deep hole in the heart of Wyoming after the Wild Bunch shot him down.
Led by the Masonic lodges of Douglas and Casper, Joe Hazen’s funeral was reportedly the largest in Wyoming state history at that time. Dignitaries who attended included Gov. DeForest Richards. The Union Pacific sent special trains to carry mourners from Casper and Cheyenne to the funeral in Douglas. – ALL PHOTOS COURTESY WYOMING PIONEER MUSEUM, DOUGLAS, WYOMING –
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osiah “Joe” Hazen is best known for leading a posse that chased the Wild Bunch after the gang robbed a Union Pacific train near Wilcox, Wyoming, in June 1899. At the age of 17, in 1872, the Illinois-born Hazen found himself in Fort Worth, Texas. After six years working as a cowhand, he became foreman in charge of moving Sam Boyd’s 2,400 cattle onto a range 20 miles west of Wyoming’s Fort Fetterman. In this era of open-range cattle operations, and during his 12 years as foreman, Hazen developed a keen eye for evidence of cattle rustling. His detective and tracking skills helped him earn his deputy sheriff role, under Converse County Sheriff John T. Williams, in 1890. That November, Hazen married Nancy Burlingham. Two weeks after the wedding, four prisoners overpowered the deputy at the jail. Alerted to the commotion, the sheriff ended the ruckus. Embarrassed, Hazen vowed never to let such an episode repeat itself.
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Hazen left office the next year, and he bought and ran the Elkhorn Stables in Douglas. But he missed public service. In 1892, he won election as Wyoming State Representative. He immediately jumped on the controversial “Arid Land Bill” to cede federal rangelands to various states, including Wyoming. His proposal would have protected homesteaders and smallscale ranchers, but left the majority of the land as open range. The bill never passed. Disheartened by state politics, Hazen returned to his livery business. He discovered local politics to be more suitable when he became councilman for Douglas in 1895. He would parlay that experience into earning him the county sheriff badge in 1896. Hazen was also a prospector. He located copper near War Bonnet Peak, and he and his partners formed the Douglas Mining and Milling Company. As Converse County sheriff, Hazen possessed courage and tenacity that was unsurpassed. To help rancher James C. Shaw
recover his stolen calves, Hazen spent two days in a blizzard without winter gear. “…like every old-time cow-puncher,” Bill Barlow’s Budget reported, “he was equal to the emergency.” When Hazen tracked the rustlers down, he found them with about 30 calves hidden in a remote ravine in the mountains. He transported R.W. Reed and John Olson to jail in Cheyenne. Hazen’s notoriety arose, however, once he died in the line of duty. On June 6, 1899, the Wilcox train robbers killed this brave sheriff in an ambush north of Casper, fatally shooting Hazen in the stomach, with the bullet hitting his liver and exiting near his spine. Wyoming newspapers everywhere paid tribute to the lawman. “The conventional declaration that ‘his death is universally regretted’ is in this case an absolute truth,” Hazen’s obituary in Bill Barlow’s Budget stated. “Possessed of a sunny disposition which led him to look on the bright side of life, Joe’s kind words and hearty laugh have brushed the cobwebs of care and sorrow from the mind of more than one of us during his residence among us…. He died a martyr to his fidelity as an officer, and in the discharge of his duty.” Born and raised in Oregon, Jefferson Glass is the author of the Spur-winning nonfiction book, Reshaw: The Life and Times of John Baptiste Richard.
Friends John T. Williams and Josiah Hazen posed for this photograph, probably following an 1886 cattle roundup. Four years later, Hazen would be helping Williams dispense justice to rustlers, bigamists and robbers in Wyoming’s high plains.
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R E N E GA D E ROA D S BY J O H N N Y D. B O G G S
A Murderous Trail
The bloody past of the Johnson County War stretches from Cheyenne to Sheridan, Wyoming.
Today, the lush summer forage of the Big Horn Mountains is serenely shared by sheep and cattle, and the only gunshots heard are during hunting season. But, 125 years ago, the Big Horns were ablaze with the Johnson County War, and cowboys, cattlemen and rustlers left a sanguine trail of murder and deceit.
T
– COURTESY GATES FRONTIERS FUND WYOMING COLLECTION WITHIN THE CAROL M. HIGHSMITH ARCHIVE, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS –
hey came from Texas—and not because they’d heard that Chugwater chili was better than anything you’d find in
Terlingua. They arrived in Cheyenne, Wyoming, from Paris, Texas—once home of cattleman John Chisum, who likewise knew a thing or two about range wars—to take part in what Wyoming historian T.A. Larson calls “the most notorious event in the history of Wyoming,” and what, more recently, Christopher Knowlton has labeled “the Watergate of Wyoming.”
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Yes, the Johnson County War of April 1892 remains a blight on Wyoming—and the American judicial system—but think about it. Would we have ever heard the words, “When you call me that, smile,” or “Shane, come back,” had it not been for this bloody feud? Besides, it’s an easy road trip to travel. If you believe what the cattle barons claimed, rustlers were running rampant in Johnson County in the late 1800s, and the cattlemen had to stop it—even if it meant violating state law and becoming vigilantes.
Leaving Cheyenne On April 5, 1892, a train arrived from Denver carrying 25 hard cases from Texas, recruited by stock detective Tom Smith— all top guns, if you believed the Texans. George Tucker, however, said this of the hired guns: “There were some good men, and some who were worse than no men at all.” When the train arrived, roughly 25 men who had been attending the Wyoming Stock Growers Association began loading the train with horses, rifles, ammunition, wagons and food. The train pulled out that evening, with some 75 animals and 52 men,
In his new book, Cattle Kingdom: The Hidden History of the Cowboy West, author Christopher Knowlton details how The Johnson County Invaders—cowboys hired as gunmen from Paris, Texas—were captured at the siege of the TA Ranch in Johnson County by the U.S. Army in April 1892, and their subsequent captivity, before being freed on bail in Cheyenne in January 1893. – CHARLES D. KIRKLAND, COURTESY OF WYOMING STOCK GROWERS ASSOCIATION RECORDS, AMERICAN HERITAGE CENTER, UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING –
Sheridan N
Buffalo E
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Kaycee
quotes in Wyoming Range War: The Infamous Invasion of Johnson County, “to kill all the people in the state of Wyoming.” They brought along surgeon Charles Penrose, originally from Pennsylvania; three teamsters; and even two embedded journalists, Ed Towse of the Cheyenne Daily Leader and Sam T. Clover of the Chicago Herald.
Casper
Area of Detail map by
10 20 30 40 50 Scale in Miles
Cheyenne
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ISTORICAL MARKER who might have been animals themselves. They weren’t just planning on TA Ranch The TA Ranch near Bu eliminating rustlers. As Knowlton ffalo, Wyoming, becam e the site of the last bat tle of the Johnson Co puts it in his new book, Cattle unty War of 1892. A state historical marker, at Kingdom: The Hidden History of the intersection of State Hig hway 196 and TA Ranch the Cowboy West: “The plan was to Road, details the causes and the history of the ran ge war, but also points get to Buffalo as fast as possible to out an important epi logue: “Th is, the ma jor confrontation of kill the sheriff, his deputies, and the invasion, marked the end of the open range cattle era.” every one of the Johnson County commissioners, thereby removing all county governance, which would give the invaders free rein to pursue other Cheyenne was a cattle town and assassinations.” a railroad town and the state capital Before you blame this disaster of a range in 1892. It’s still a cattle town, railroad town and state capital. war on Texans, keep in mind that the cattlemen had dispatched H.B. Ijams to recruit What’s more, it’s a town that preserves its gunmen in Idaho. Apparently, Idaho gunmen Western heritage and legacy. Check out didn’t want to play ball in Wyoming. Many the whole town, but especially the of the horses came from Colorado. So did Wyoming State Museum and Nelson the ammunition, “enough…” John W. Davis Museum of the West.
Cheyenne was also a city of wealth. Just walk through the Union Pacific Depot, a Richardsonian Romanesque-style structure finished in 1887 and renovated in 1922 and 1929, and now a museum. From this stunning, popular structure, the killers headed north.
An I-25 Mosey Near Douglas, the telegraph lines were cut, which would hurt the invaders when the tables were turned and they couldn’t send word to the Cheyenne powers that the secret was out. Around 4 a.m., the train stopped at Casper and the invaders unloaded. Had Lou Taubert Ranch Outfitters been around then, those Texans might have stopped in for some
The Cheyenne Club’s cattle baron members hosted a celebratory party for the freed Texas cowboy Invaders before boarding trains back to the Lone Star State in January 1893. – COURTESY WYOMING STOCK GROWERS ASSOCIATION RECORDS, AMERICAN HERITAGE CENTER, UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING –
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As the cabin burned around him, infamous rustler Nate Champion (inset) was shot 28 times as his six-gun and rifle blazed out at the 50 Johnson County Invaders who surrounded him at the KC Ranch in the rugged Hole-in-theWall rangeland (left) near Kaycee, Wyoming, on April 9, 1891.
winter clothing, but the Taubert legacy didn’t get started until 1919 in Fort Laramie. It’s a great Western wear store in the heart of downtown. And don’t forget the Fort Caspar (“-ar,” “-er”…crazy Wyoming spelling!) Museum and National Trails Interpretive Center, even though neither plays a role in this story. The Texans also learned what April’s like in Wyoming. Horses stampeded. Wagons
got stuck in mud from snowmelt. The invaders got out of Casper before the town woke up, but it started to snow. The snowstorm turned into a blizzard. Cattleman Frank Wolcott got lost. Reporter Ed Towse learned that riding horseback is no fun when you have hemorrhoids. Two miserable days later, the invaders reached the Tisdale Ranch on the South Fork of the Powder River. On April 8, Mike
– PHOTO OF HOLE IN THE WALL COURTESY BLM.GOV/ PHOTO OF NATE CHAMPION COURTESY JOHNSON COUNTY JIM GATCHELL MEMORIAL MUSEUM, BUFFALO, WY –
Shonsey brought word that a bunch of rustlers, including Nate Champion and Nick Ray (sometimes spelled Rae), were at the KC Ranch, 14 miles north on the river. The invaders disputed whether they should wipe out Champion’s boys or go to attack “the fountainhead” that was Buffalo. In the end, they decided to hit the KC Ranch.
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The Hoofprints of the Past Museum in Kaycee, Wyoming, honors, preserves and celebrates the heritage of southern Johnson County. Exhibits include historic farm and ranch equipment (right) and a display of items from the Johnson County War and Nate Champion’s shootout at the KC Ranch. – ALL PHOTOS COURTESY WYOMING OFFICE OF TOURISM UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED –
No Sunshine Band There isn’t much to Kaycee these days, but the Hoofprints of the Past Museum and the Invasion Bar are well worth visiting. Of course, there wasn’t even a town in 1892. Using public land like most outfits, big or small, Champion ran about 200 head of cattle. Late on April 8, the invaders quietly surrounded the ranch. Two trappers, who had stopped to spend the night, were captured the next morning when they went out for water. When Ray stepped outside, he was shot down. Champion raced out, dragged Ray back inside, and the battle raged on.
The story has been told often in histories, novels and even that disaster of a movie Heaven’s Gate—still worth watching, just to say you’ve seen it. Suffice it to say: Ray died, the invaders torched the cabin, and Champion, who had wounded a handful of invaders, signed off on the journal he kept during the hours-long gunfight: “Goodbye, boys, if I never see you again.” Champion was shot dead as he ran out of the burning cabin.
That’s what the invaders wanted, of course. What they didn’t want was to be seen. But Jack Flagg, on horseback, and his stepson, Alonzo Taylor, driving a hay wagon, happened along. The invaders fired at them, but the witnesses escaped for Buffalo. Another local rancher also discovered what was happening. The alarm was sounded. “That ends our raid,” Wolcott announced, and the invaders hurried for Fort McKinney,
FULL OF HISTORY. There’s plenty to see and do. Plan a Cody, Wyoming vacation now. 1-800-393-2639 or yellowstonecountry.org. THE WILDEST WAY INTO YELLOWSTONE
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A must stop on the trail of the Johnson County Invaders is the Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum (right) in Buffalo, Wyoming, which has exhibits on the rustlerversus-cattlemen war that led to great changes in rangeland management.
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which became the Veterans’ Home of Wyoming in 1903, roughly three miles west of Buffalo. The hunters became the hunted.
North Country Buffalo sent out its posse. Volunteers from Sheridan joined the hunt. Northern Wyoming did not care for outsiders, and the invaders were about to find out just how Western things can get in this country. Buffalo and Sheridan, both with a wide array of museums, historic sites, shops and scenery, certainly keep that heritage alive—especially at Buffalo’s Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum and Sheridan’s Bozeman Trail Gallery. In 1892, residents of both towns had little interest in keeping invaders alive.
Unable to reach the Army, the invaders holed up at the TA Ranch, still in operation today just outside of Buffalo, and learned what it’s like to be surrounded. They found shelter—the bullet holes remain visible in the ranch barn. By April 11, some 200 and perhaps as many as 400 men surrounded the invaders. The posse built a log fort on wheels–dubbed a “godevil” or “ark of safety”—and planned to use it to get close enough to dynamite the invaders out of hiding. But soldiers arrived from Fort McKinney on April 13, and the invaders surrendered and returned to Cheyenne. How ironic that the cavalry rode to the rescue and saved the villains. The invasion was over. Justice, it can be argued, never came. Governor Amos Barber, in the cattlemen’s
The end of the Johnson County War opened the door to expansion of tourism in Wyoming, including the opening of the Historic Sheridan Inn (left) in 1893. A gathering place for travelers for decades, the inn was recently completely restored and reopened in 2013.
The exhibits at the Sheridan County Historical Society & Museum in Sheridan (below) detail the history of the Big Horn Mountain region of the state—from the Battle of the Rosebud to ranching.
Lou Taubert Ranch Outfitters, Casper, WY – COURTESY GATES FRONTIERS FUND WYOMING COLLECTION WITHIN THE CAROL M. HIGHSMITH ARCHIVE, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS –
PLACES TO VISIT / CELEBRATIONS & EVENTS
Founded in 1907 at 151 N. Main Street in Sheridan, the Mint Bar (left) is a legendary watering hole for ranchers and cowboys, tourists and travelers. Wyoming ranchers have left their mark in the bar, with 9,000 brands burned onto the cedar shingle walls for patrons to admire.
One World Prairie Music Festival, Sept. 9, Laramie County Library, Cheyenne; Bighorn Mountains Antique Fair, Sept. 22-24, Buffalo; Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum, Cheyenne; Fort Fetterman Historic Site, Douglas; Pioneer Memorial Museum, Douglas; Lou Taulbert Ranch Outfitters, Casper; Nicolaysen Art Museum, Casper; Hoofprints of the Past Museum, Kaycee; Fort McKinley State Historic Site, Buffalo; King’s Saddlery and Museum, Sheridan
GOOD EATS & SLEEPS BEST GRUB: Luxury Diner, Cheyenne; The Depot Restaurant, Douglas; Sherrie’s Place, Casper; Invasion Bar, Kaycee; Winchester Steak House, Buffalo; Cowboy Café, Sheridan BEST LODGING: Nagle Warren Mansion B&B, Cheyenne; National 9 Inn Showboat Motel, Casper; Willow Creek Ranch, Kaycee; Occidental Hotel, Buffalo; TA Guest Ranch, Buffalo; Sheridan Inn, Sheridan
pocket, kept prosecutors at bay. Johnson County couldn’t afford the expenses. Weeks of voir dire failed to seat a jury. The case was dismissed, the Texas gunmen went home and, as John H. Davis writes, “the criminal cases against the invaders came to their dishonorable end.” Or as Knowlton puts it: “…the Cheyenne cattlemen…got away with murder.” Johnny D. Boggs always stops at the Invasion Bar in Kaycee because any place that serves cold beer and good hamburgers and has Gunsmoke on the TV is worth invading.
GOOD BOOKS, FILMS & TV
The lobby of the historic Occidental Hotel in Buffalo (above) is a perfect place to relax when on a heritage tour of Johnson County. Guests can stay in the Owen Wister Suite, named for the famed author, who was a guest in the 1880s.
BEST READS: Alias Frank Canton by Robert K. DeArment; Cattle Kingdom: The Hidden History of the Cowboy West by Christopher Knowlton; History of Wyoming, Second Edition, Revised by T.A. Larson; War on the Powder River by Helen Huntington Smith; Wyoming Range War: The Infamous Invasion of Johnson County by John W. Davis; Riders of Judgment novel by Frederick Manfred BEST FILMS & TV The Virginian (Paramount, 1914); Shane (Paramount, 1953); Heaven’s Gate (United Artists, 1980); The Johnson County War (Hallmark, 2002)
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Seafood prevailed as the mainstay of settlements near Matagorda Bay, including in the capital of the Republic of Texas, Austin. Crab, oyster and shrimp fishermen must have been overjoyed to drink some suds after a long day at sea when German immigrant August Scholz (inset) opened his biergärten in Austin in 1866. – COURTESY SCHOLZ GARTEN –
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T
exas’s oldest continuously operating tavern can be found in Austin. August Scholz opened his establishment after the Civil War, in 1866, and it remains a popular gathering spot to this day. Scholz found even more patrons to sip on his suds once the Houston and Texas Central Railway reached the settlement, on December 25, 1871, which turned Austin into a popular trading center. By 1876, the town reported among its businesses 145 retail merchants, two breweries, six bakeries, six restaurants, 23 butcher shops, 11 boarding houses, five hotels, two ice factories, 26 bar rooms and seven beer saloons, including Scholz’s, which opened 10 years earlier. “This [official] record is evidently imperfect,” Austin’s Weekly Democratic Statesman joked, “for to our certain knowledge there are at least eleven hundred boarding houses and one hundred saloons.” Fish and seafood were popular fare in this railroad town about 200 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. In 1879, I.S. Simon advertised he had the choicest of oysters,
fish and game that were in season. Clay Jones competed with Simon for Austin patrons by advertising fresh shrimp, crab, fish and Matagorda Bay oysters daily. While oysters continued to be a popular 19th-century food, trends evolved. In 1882, cooks devised recipes to see how many fish could be served at one dinner. The Sheepshead, pompano, sea bass, red snapper and salmon were becoming the popular fishes Americans ate. They prepared their palates with a soup order, either crawfish bisque or a puree of crab. One of the grandest hotels and dining rooms in Austin opened four years later. Tennessee native Jesse Driskill had it built, although he was so busy with his cattle ranch, he didn’t run the hotel, but leased it to S.E. McIlhenny, for $20,000 per year (equivalent to more than half a million dollars today). The Romanesque-style hotel was, and still is, four stories tall and made of pressed brick with cut-stone adornments. Equipped with an elevator and a grand staircase, the pioneer hotel housed a billiard room, barbershop, bathroom, reading room, gentlemen’s toilets and five stores. The
second floor housed a bridal suite, ladies and gentlemen’s parlors, and an elaborate dining room that featured stained glass windows and ceiling. The restaurants in Austin were as varied as the people who called the town home. One place, the Mexican Restaurant owned by Evaristo Liceaga & Co., served an interesting combination of oysters and chocolate. By 1889, Austin’s locals could find fare at 24 restaurants and lunch stands, and at eateries in 20 hotels. Special occasions called for a special menu, as was the case in 1893, when the owner of the New Orleans bakery, Charles Lundberg, and his wife celebrated their 25th anniversary at the Hotel Salge. After the couple renewed their vows at 7 p.m., they and 50 of their closest friends enjoyed an extensive three-hour banquet. Guests dined on oysters, consommé royal, trout with tartar sauce, potato soufflé, chicken croquettes with French peas, boned turkey, buffalo tongue, shrimp with lettuce and lobster and chicken salads. For dessert, they could choose macaroon pyramids, angel food, coconut cake, meringues, cheese and crackers, fruit and coffee noir. While the Lundbergs chose lobster over crab for their party menu, Deviled Crab was enjoyed by many in Austin—try the Texas pioneer recipe today! Sherry Monahan has penned The Cowboy’s Cookbook, Mrs. Earp: Wives & Lovers of the Earp Brothers; California Vines, Wines & Pioneers; Taste of Tombstone and The Wicked West. She has appeared on Fox News, History Channel and AHC.
DEVILED CRAB
1 ½ cups cooked crab meat 4 tbsp. butter, melted 1 tbsp. olive oil 1 tbsp. parsley, chopped Salt and pepper to taste Cream for moistening 3 eggs, beaten 2 tbsp. breadcrumbs
Combine crab meat, but ter, oil, parsley and salt and pepper . If mixture seems dry, add cream to mo isten. Stuff the mixture into ramekins, and brush with the beaten eggs. Spr inkle with breadcrumbs. Bake at 400°F. for 15 to 20 minutes or until thoroughl y heated.
Adapted from The Dallas Morning News, May 13, 1897 T R U E
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S K O BO n r e t s e W
ROSEBROOK OR: STUART T I D E S W E I BOOK REV
Western Legend A new biography on Cochise’s friend, Tom Jeffords, plus a history of Utah Territory, the story of one of America’s early female stars, a Gold Rush memoir, and a new Western from Brett Cogburn.
F
ollowing the 16th-century Spanish entrada into the future states of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, centuries of war and uneasy peace defined life and death in the arid region between generations of Spanish and Mexican settlers and the Native tribes of the Southwest. Three centuries later, the American Empire’s entrance into the Mexican-Indian borderlands would redefine the violent relationship of raiding, revenge and retribution between Mexico and the Southwestern tribes, into a trilateral conflict over the control of the limited—but precious— resources needed to satisfy the United States’ empirical goals of Manifest Destiny in North America. From this international three-way border conflict between Mexico, the United States and the Apache people emerged several leaders, many famous, some infamous and many forgotten. Two would become legends, forever entwined historically in war and peace, in truth and fiction. The brilliance of historian Doug Hocking’s lean biography, Tom Jeffords: Friend of Cochise (TwoDot, $16.95), is his determination to write the record from primary sources and the accounts of the eyewitnesses and participants who left a paper trail of the events as they occurred. He acknowledges in detail how Jeffords—one of the Southwest’s most enigmatic figures—and his friendship with Chiricahua leader Cochise— has been romanticized by novels, film, television and popular culture, clouding the truth and historical record, with numerous historians trying to write but never completing a published biography of the red-bearded gold-seeking sailor from the Great Lakes. Hocking states in his introduction, “I’ve tried to be an honest broker of history. I won’t tell of Apache wives, mystical blood brother ceremonies, or shooting a pistol out of Will Harden’s (John Wesley Hardin?) hand. Even without the fancy stage dressing and legendary nonsense, the story is still compelling. It is the story of a strong man doing what he thought right.” Jeffords’ roles in the Southwest as a prospector, U.S. Army scout, Indian agent and friend to Cochise are the centerpiece of Hocking’s biography, but the author also includes introductory and concluding chapters that provide the reader with a broader understanding of the native New Yorker who first went west to sail and captain ships on the Great Lakes, before heading farther west to seek his fortune in
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Doug Hocking enlightens readers about Tom Jeffords’ determination to seek his mining bonanza in the last two decades of his life on his claims near his home in the Owl Head Buttes north of Tucson. Jeffords was photographed at age 81 in 1913 by Thomas Farish, the Arizona State Historian, just a few months before his death. – PHOTOS COURTESY ARIZONA HISTORICAL SOCIETY –
gold. His concluding chapter includes the intriguing tale of Jeffords’ late-in-life friendship with Alice Rollins Crane, who, according to Hocking, was “a strange woman…who sought him out in 1895, and set him on his last great adventure.” The strength of Hocking’s biography is his coverage of the early years of the Apache War, which was ignited by the Bascom Affair of February 1861—carefully retold and analyzed from the primary sources and eyewitnesses—Jeffords’ migration and multiple professional ventures in southern New Mexico and Arizona territories, his friendship with Cochise, and his departure from the Chiricahua Agency to return to prospecting after the Apache leader’s death in 1874. Hocking’s Tom Jeffords is an instant classic of Western history, a succinct, wellresearched, narrative biography that illuminates in full the remarkable life of Cochise’s friend, Indian agent, U.S. Army scout and indefatigable Westerner. Hocking’s impeccable research, inclusive bibliography and detailed, and very useful, end notes provide a historiography of archival, primary and secondary source material available to researchers and scholars of Jeffords and American-Apache history, especially from the Bascom Affair in 1861 and the end of the old agent’s life in 1914. What is hard to believe is that a stand-alone biography of the influential and well-known Jeffords has taken
General O.O. Howard’s trust of Tom Jeffords’ friendship with Cochise in negotiating peace with the Apache leader is detailed in Doug Hocking’s Tom Jeffords: Friend of Cochise.
so many decades to be published. But the fortune is all ours, as Hocking pursued his oft-romanticized subject with the diligence of a detective, thoughtfulness of a historian and passion of a storyteller. After reading the Cochise County, Arizona, author’s first major biography, I believe you will have to agree with Hocking’s conclusion: “Tom Jeffords was a great man, respected and loved by the Arizona Pioneers and Chiricahua Apache.”
When was the last time you listened to an audiobook? According to the Audio Publisher’s Association, the audiobook industry grew 33.9 percent in 2016, with 67 million Americans listening to audiobooks annually. Sales of audiobooks in 2016 generated over $2.1 billion, an increase of 18.2 percent over 2015. Almost half of the listeners (48 percent) are under 35. Also, more listeners report they use their smartphones to listen to audiobooks. While Mysteries/Thrillers/Suspense, Science Fiction/Fantasy and Romance lead the pack in popularity of the more than 50,000 titles produced on audio in 2016, Westerns are on the rise in audiobooks (and it should be noted that a large segment of Mysteries and Romance are written in the Western genre). Jackie Dinas, director of subrights at Kensington Books, says, “We’re finding new readers discovering Westerns through audiobook that haven’t come to the print market before, so it’s a real ability for expansion of the genre.” She adds that for fans of Kensington’s Westerns, almost the entire Western catalogue is done in audiobook now…a huge increase over the last five years, and sales are up across the board on all titles. One author who has found success in reading Western audiobooks is John Burlinson, the featured reader on Amazon’s Audible edition of Andy Adams: Cattle Brands: A Collection of Western Camp Fire Stories, Volume 1 & 2, David Althouse’s The Guns of Frank Eaton and McKendree Long’s Dog Soldier Moon. —Stuart Rosebrook
—Stuart Rosebrook
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Lonesome Ron - Cowboy Yodeler Louis L’Amour Trading Post DVD: Ride with James/Younger Gang: Trail of Terror & Beyond University of Oklahoma Press MUSEUMS A. R. Mitchell Museum Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum Besh Ba Gowah Archaelogical Park Boot Hill Museum Buffalo Bill Center of the West Buffalo Soldiers National Museum Bullion Plaza Cultural Center & Museum California Trail Interpretive Center Cripple Creek District Museum Crow Canyon Archaeological Center Deming Luna Historical Society Durham Museum Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home Fort Smith Museum of History G.W. Frank Museum of History and Culture Gila County Historical Museum Harold Warp Pioneer Village Hastings Museum of Natural and Cultural History Jesse James Farm & Museum John Wayne Birthplace & Museum Knight Museum & Sandhills Center Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum Museum of the Big Bend Museum of the Mountain Man Museum of the Plains Northeastern Nevada Museum Northern Pacific Railway Museum Olaf Wieghorst Museum Old Cowtown Museum Old Trail Town Museum Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum Pawnee Bill Ranch & Museum Phippen Museum Red River Valley Museum Sharlot Hall Silver City Museum Smoki Museum
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UTAH SOVEREIGNTY Antebellum America saw continuous political conflict over the expansion of slavery into new Territories. Popular sovereignty—allowing Territories greater control and choice in governance— represented one attempt to cope. But its proponents refused to promote popular
sovereignty for Utah Territory where theocracy, polygamy and liberal Indian policies made the notion of expanded local control anathema to the national government. The resulting clash, which helped shift the balance of power in a growing nation, is often overlooked for its importance during the run-up to the Civil
War. Scholar and history buff alike will enjoy Brent M. Rogers’ Unpopular Sovereignty: Mormons and the Federal Management of Early Utah Territory (University of Nebraska Press, $65), a carefully researched and well-written history of the decades-long struggle to bring Territorial Utah to heel. —Rod Miller, author of The Lost Frontier: Momentous Moments in the Old West You May Have Missed
Brent M. Rogers’ Unpopular Sovereignty: Mormons and the Federal Management of Early Utah Territory examines the complex relationship between the Utah pioneers, Salt Lake City Mormon leadership and the federal government. – COURTESY LIBRARY OF CONGRESS –
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Julia Bricklin’s thoughtful biography, America’s Best Female Sharpshooter: The Rise and Fall of Lillian Frances Smith, chronicles the challenges that Smith faced as a female in the Wild West show business, seen here in 1904 as Princess Winona (below), one of her best known roles and costumes.
PRINCESS WINONA While Annie Oakley is well known as the demure darling of the lady sharpshooters of the Wild West shows of old, only the more ardent Western aficionados recall Lillian Frances Smith. Better known as “Winona,” Smith often outshined—and outshot “Little Sure Shot”—while starring with the top showmen of the era, including Buffalo Bill, Pawnee Bill and the Miller Brothers. In this spirited biography, painstakingly researched from family records, interviews and numerous other sources, America’s Best Female Sharpshooter (University of Oklahoma Press, $24.95) is engagingly and honestly presented. Briklin’s work offers an in-depth look at Smith’s half centurylong career, as well as her tumultuous
– COURTESY LIBRARY OF CONGRESS –
GOLD FEVER
private life, as one of the world’s greatest female sharpshooters and a woman who loved living and shooting. —Phil Spangenberger, True West’s Firearms Editor
Author Ken Lizzio’s Forty-Niner: The Extraordinary Gold Rush Odyssey of Joseph Goldsborough Bruff (The Countryman Press, $24.95) is a sparkling and fast-paced narrative of Bruff’s adventures way out West. This new book should be on the shelf of all readers interested in the Gold Rush, for Bruff was one of its most perceptive participants and observers. Bruff was an ex-West Pointer, a conscientious diarist, cartographer, cartoonist and sketch artist. The captain of a company of “Gold Rushers” from Washington D.C., Bruff sketched his overland trek and the goldfields once he got there, creating priceless moments, frozen in time, from a period for which photographs are either
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THE MYSTIQUE OF THE WEST Harlan Hague grew up in Texas and never quite got over it. He was posted with the U.S. Navy in Japan, later lived in England, visited about seventy countries and confirmed the Earth is round. He taught and wrote history for thirty years, then turned to writing fiction and nurtured his love of the West. The measure of a good book for Hague is how long it stays with him. If he reads a book that is merely entertaining, he’ll forget it quickly. If it haunts him, it stays with him forever. Hague’s first perception of the West was that it was a never-never land that existed only in the minds of writers like Will James. As a young boy, he yearned almost painfully for that West. He read Sand four times. It was years later that he discovered the historical West, and it’s still sometimes difficult to draw a clear distinction between the two—the real West and the mythical West. If he can blend the two into a single story, he is content. It was “excruciating,” Hague said, “to have to choose but five books that shaped my view of the West.” Here are notable examples. These still haunt him.
1 Sand (Will James, Charles Scribner’s Sons). This is a classic about a city boy who wants to be a cowboy. The tale develops into a story about grit—sand—that a cowboy and his horse must overcome with the challenges they face daily on the plains. While battling nature, man and horse battle each other. 2 Death Comes for the Archbishop (Willa Cather, Alfred A. Knopf). Cather captures the essence of Hispanic Santa Fe and the Southwest under Yankee rule following the American victory in the Mexican War. Bishop Latour seeks to defend the church, careful not to offend the American overlords, and coax the parishioners to remain faithful. The bishop struggles with loneliness, uncooperative priests and a landscape that is both inspiring and unforgiving.
3 Laughing Boy (Oliver La Farge, Houghton Mifflin). In this star-crossed Navajo love story, Laughing Boy is a traditionalist, a jeweler
“Journey to the town of Buffalo for an epic story of betrayal, revenge, and love on the wild American frontier.” A new novel available in paperback or Kindle from Amazon.com, or visit www.DanielFludgate.com T R U E
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and horseman, who loves Slim Girl, who had been educated in the boarding schools run by the federal government. Descriptions of Navajo lifestyle and territory in 1915 are a beautiful and poignant part of this tale of a waning way of life.
4 Angle of Repose (Wallace Stegner, Doubleday). A modern-day historian studies letters and journals and other papers as he seeks to learn about the life of his grandmother in this intriguing story. The narrative alternates between late twentieth century and mid-nineteenth century, mostly in California. Both the historian and the ancestor struggle with loneliness and abandonment, futility and inevitability.
5 Lonesome Dove (Larry McMurtry, Simon & Schuster). This is an amalgam of stories wrapped inside the quintessential fictional cattle drive. All the elements are here: stampedes, storms, Indians, gunfights and lovesick cowboys. It’s full of action and the opening of a new country, and one can still sense the end of an era.
rare or nonexistent. He drew his fellow miners, Indians, bear confrontations, even a San Francisco lynching. —Brian Dervin Dillon, Ph.D. is an archaeologist with more than 25 years of historic and prehistoric research throughout California’s Gold Country
sc 2-Di Set
ERNEST HAYCOX AND THE WESTERN By Richard W. Etulain
If you’re a history buff or just want to learn more about the James Brothers, Trail of Terror and Beyond is a musthave!
Joseph Goldsborough Bruff’s remarkable diaries and sketches provided author Ken Lizzio an amazing first-person record of life on the trail and in the mining camps of California in FortyNiner: The Extraordinary Gold Rush Odyssey of Joseph Goldsborough Bruff.
ACTION-PACKED WESTERN Smoke Wagon by Brett Cogburn (Five Star Publishing, $25.95) sweeps up the reader and carries them along the well-written, fast-paced journey of Morgan Clyde, who is immediately pulled into an action-packed adventure involving gamblers, saloon owners, soiled doves, tribal police, Pinkerton detectives, sleazy railroad executives and construction workers, along with enough bushwhackers and outlaws to fill the entire Indian Territory. Add a former wife, lingering memories and demons from his past, and his hands were full. The description and detail are so vivid, the reader must resist the inclination to constantly bathe and check for bullet wounds. Smoke Wagon leaves the reader wanting much more. —Phil Mills, Jr., author of Where A Good Wind Blows
To Order:
movieproductionsllc.com 1-320-241-7905 Special True West Holiday Discount Price 2 DVD Set: $29.95
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Western fans today may not recognize the name Ernest Haycox, but they know his work. The whole Western literary genre still follows conventions that Haycox deftly mastered and reshaped. In this new book about Haycox’s literary career, Richard W. Etulain tells the engrossing story of his rise through the ranks of popular magazine and serial fiction to become one of the Western’s most successful creators.
THE POPULAR FRONTIER Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Transnational Mass Culture Edited by Frank Christianson
$32.95 HARDCOVER · 264 PAGES 19 B&W ILLUS.
When William F. Cody introduced his Wild West exhibition to European audiences in 1887, the show soared to new heights of popularity and success. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West popularized a myth of American national identity and shaped European perceptions of the United States. The Popular Frontier is the first collection of essays to explore the transnational impact and mass-cultural appeal of Cody’s Wild West.
DEPREDATION AND DECEIT The Making of the Jicarilla and Ute Wars in New Mexico By Gregory F. Michno
$32.95 HARDCOVER · 366 PAGES 20 B&W ILLUS., 5 MAPS, 2 TABLES
The Trade and Intercourse Acts set up a system for individuals to receive monetary compensation from the federal government for property stolen or destroyed by American Indians. AngloAmericans and Nuevomexicanos became experts in exploiting this system. As Gregory F. Michno reveals in Depredation and Deceit, their combined efforts created a precarious mix of false accusations, public greed, and fabricated fear that directly led to new wars in the American Southwest between 1849 and 1855.
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Farewell to Curly Bill Powers Boothe: 1948-2017.
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n May 14, 2017, actor Powers Boothe died just short of his 69th birthday. A magnetic and commanding presence, he enjoyed simultaneous stardom as villains and heroes in films noir, action-adventures, thrillers and comedies. But he will be best remembered for two characterizations in two classic Westerns: “Curly Bill” Brocius in 1993’s Tombstone and Cy Tolliver in the HBO series Deadwood. Born in 1948 in Snyder, Texas, Boothe chopped cotton on his father’s ranch, played football and acted in high school plays. The
first in his family to attend college, he earned his drama bachelor degree at Southwest Texas State and his doctorate at Southern Methodist. While in college, he met and married Pamela Cole; they would be together for the rest of his life. He joined the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which led in 1974 to Boothe’s New York debut in Lincoln Center’s production of Richard III. His Broadway debut was in James McClure’s Lone Star. In 1980, he soared to sinister stardom on television, portraying the cult leader in Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones. “I approached him like I was playing King
Lear,” he told interviewer Matt Patches. “I made no judgments on him— I don’t make judgments on any character I play.” Members of the TV academy did make a judgment, voting Boothe a Best Actor Emmy. Incredibly, on awards night, Boothe’s two unions, S.A.G. and A.F.T.R.A., were on strike. He was the only actor to cross the picket lines and claim his award, noting in his acceptance speech, “This is either the most courageous moment of my career or the stupidest...I came here because this is America and one must do what one believes. I believe in the Academy. I also believe in my fellow actors in their stand.” Whether by chance or by blacklisting, the normally busy Boothe made only one film in the next three years. But soon after, he was starring in big films for top directors: 1984’s Red Dawn for John Milius, 1985’s The Emerald Forest for John Boorman and two for Walter Hill, who would dub Boothe, the “Hamlet of the prairies,” 1981’s Southern Comfort and 1987’s Extreme Prejudice. Then in 1993 came the movie that would turn Boothe from an actor into an icon, Tombstone . A classic today, Tombstone was
The Red Sash Gang, Sabino Canyon, June 1993 The cow-boys pose with Powers Boothe’s “Curly Bill” Brocius just before the filming of the Iron Springs shoot-out for the 1993 Western Tombstone. Boothe walked by and said, “One last photo before we’re all killed.” (From left) Logan Clark, Garrett Roberts, Powers Boothe, Rick Terry (behind Boothe), Jeff Dolan, Bill Luce (behind), Chris Ramirez (second from top), Charlie Ward (top), John Peel (with turquoise scarf), Reggie Byrum (kneeling), Billy Lang, Chuck Milner and Tom Ward (cut off on right). – COURTESY BILLY LANG – T R U E
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Discover the Past Change Your Future Perspective is Powerful
“Nothing livens up a Wild West party like a good old Cowboy Yodel”
Cultural Explorations Travel Seminars Mimbres Archaeology October 23–29, 2017
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originally a $9 million “quickie,” which Disney rushed into production to cash in on the hoopla around Kevin Costner’s $63 million Wyatt Earp. Word got around town about Tombstone’s screenplay. “Kevin Jarre wrote a brilliant script,” Michael Biehn, who played Johnny Ringo, told True West, “And everyone flocked to it—you can tell by the cast. “I immediately was interested in who they were going to cast as Curly Bill because we’d be working together. I knew Powers from his Jim Jones performance, which was incredible. Powers was always a real presence on film. There are certain people—like Lee Marvin—who just have character in their face, in them. You just know that they’ve lived a life and it’s been an interesting one. “Before we went to Tucson, [Boothe and I] went out to dinner. I said, ‘I’m going to take my car out there. It’s only going to be a seven- or eight-hour drive. Why don’t you come along with me?’ So, we drove to Tucson together.” Boothe once said, “‘Curly Bill’ was a guy who…everybody liked. He had a lot of dash about him, a lot of panache…a tremendous sense of humor. He really lusts for life—he just eats it up. He’s certainly got his mean streak and his killer streak, but there was a sympathetic quality to him as well.” Peter Sherayko, who played “Texas Jack” Vermillion, also assembled the riders for both the cow-boys and the Earp posse. He tells True West, “Powers really got into his Curly Bill character. He was in control of the cow-boys.” The sharp division between the Earps and the cow-boys remained even after the day’s work. “Every night, we’d come back from the set, and when you walked in the bar, there were always two or three tables with the cow-boys—Powers, Michael Biehn, Thomas Haden Church, all those guys were sitting there. And way at the other end of the room it was Bill Paxton, Sam Elliott, myself, Buck [Taylor].” “Peter’s right,” Biehn says. “I’d done a couple of pictures with Bill Paxton, was a great friend of Bill’s, but we did not spend time together on that set.” While Jarre was a fine screenwriter, he was a first-time director, and with shooting far behind schedule after four weeks, he was fired. “[Producer] Jim Jacks and Kurt Russell saved the movie, held it together,” Biehn believes, “because I think Disney was just going to flush it at that point.”
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In the Deadwood movie, who will now play Cy Tolliver (Powers Boothe, far right), the well suited rival to Ian McShane’s Al Swearengen (right)? – Courtesy HBo –
George Cosmatos was hired to direct, with John Fasano trimming the script. Originally, the story was almost evenly divided between the Earps, who weren’t all good, and the cow-boys, who weren’t all bad. But the cuts shifted the focus to the Earps. “A lot of actors lost scenes—the cowboys especially got nailed,” Biehn says. “Johnny Ringo [historically] never shot a priest—that’s completely a setup that he’s a really bad guy from the beginning. After the rewrite came out, Powers and I both knew that the dynamic had changed; some of his best scenes were gone.” The changes also shifted the balance between Curly Bill and Ringo. “Powers could have said, ‘I’m the antagonist in the movie. I’m not going to support Michael Biehn—he was signed to support me!’ But he was very, very gracious,” Biehn says. “Powers’s [reactions] made Johnny Ringo—he had a
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comedic way of complementing my character as being someone he really enjoyed, that impressed him. If everybody around you is walking on eggshells, you don’t have to do very much.” But even with his reduced role, whether shrugging off Wyatt Earp’s dramatic, “I want you to know that this is over,” with an indifferent “Well...’bye,” or joyously taking potshots at the moon while his character was high on opium, Boothe gave a performance that is unforgettable. “There were a lot of great characters in that movie, but Powers—his screen presence just dominates,” Biehn says. Boothe wouldn’t return to the Western for a decade, until David Milch offered him the role of Cy Tolliver in HBO’s foulmouthed Western drama Deadwood. As the proprietor of the saloon and brothel, the Bella Union, Tolliver was a worthy adversary
to Ian McShane’s Al Swearengen, proprietor of the Gem Theatre and, like Tolliver, homicidally ambitious. Boothe told TV Guide, “For me, it was almost like doing Shakespeare…in that if you had one word out of place, the dialogue just flat didn’t work.... David explained [the character] to me like this: [Cy] was raised in a whor*house. So you can imagine watching your mother turn tricks and what it does to your thoughts on women.” “I loved being around Powers—he made you laugh all the time,” says Leon Rippy, who played Tom Nuttall, manager of the No. 10 Saloon. “And what a gentle soul in comparison to some of the roles
he played. He was a man of principle and character. And a lot of that has to do with how you were raised and what your parents instilled in you. I’ll miss him; he was a great talent.” Sherayko, who worked with Boothe in Tombstone, was in charge of background casting for Deadwood. “I used a lot of riders that had been the cow-boys from Tombstone,” Sherayko says, “and Powers remembered all these guys, remembered the names, even though it was 10 years later. He was a consummate actor, fun to work with, and I’m glad I got to work with him twice.” Tanner Beard, also born in Snyder, says that Boothe “was definitely the hometown hero.” Beard has directed two Westerns, 2011’s The Legend of Hell’s Gate and 2014’s Six Bullets to Hell, but he was still in his teens when Boothe hugely influenced his career. Beard met him when Boothe’s daughter,
Parisse, answered Beard’s casting notice for a stunt-show spoof of Tombstone. “We got to do rehearsals at Powers’s house! He was everything you hoped he’d be; his voice just rattles your soul. “The stunt show led to me writing a short film called The Mouth of Caddo, which Parisse helped me produce. Powers read the script, talked about the character breakdowns, told us that we needed to focus on a single lead rather than having three. It was amazing guidance coming from someone I already admired so heavily. He even did the narration for us. It starts off, you hear that voice. I think that was a big reason we were able to expand it to a feature, The Legend of Hell’s Gate.” Boothe would have acted in The Legend of Hell’s Gate, but he had to go back to do the third season of Deadwood. Unexpectedly, that was the final season. “I, like everyone, was stunned,” Boothe told
TV Guide, “because when we left the third season, it wasn’t a matter of, ‘Are we going to do a fourth?’ They were negotiating a fifth. And then I got the call from [Milch] that it was all over.” Boothe’s final Westerns performance was as the not entirely impartial Judge Valentine Hatfield in 2012’s Hatfields & McCoys miniseries on the History Channel, costarring with Wyatt Earp star Kevin Costner and Tombstone’s Morgan Earp, Bill Paxton. For a man who acted in a few Westerns, Boothe left a legacy in the genre that is remarkable. This April, Milch delivered HBO his script for a two-hour movie continuing the story of Deadwood. We wish we could have seen Boothe pull on his Tolliver boots once more. Henry C. Parke is a screenwriter based in Los Angeles, California, who blogs about Western movies, TV, radio and print news: HenrysWesternRoundup.Blogspot.com
AMERICANA & POLITICAL AUCTION November 4, 2017 | Dallas | Live ive & Online
Consign Your Important Old West Artifacts to Our Fall 2017 Auction
Frederick Remington Oil Painting of Custer at the Battle of Wash*ta
Lakota Chief Red Cloud’s Beaded Hide Moccasins
Annie Oakley’s Personal Gold Charm Bracelet
December 2012
June 2016
November 2013
SOLD for $179,250
SOLD for $23,750
SOLD for $245,000
Consignment deadline: September 13
George Armstrong Custer’s Personal Saddle from the Indian Wars Period
SOLD for $113,525 June 2012
INQUIRIES: 877-HERITAGE (437-4824) | Tom Slater | ext. 1441 | [emailprotected] If you haven’t been receiving our Americana and Legends of the West catalogs, you’ve been missing out on some of the finest Old West items available anywhere! To receive an introductory copy of our Fall auction catalog #6180, please go to HA.com/catalogs and enter code TW46294. DALL AS | NEW YORK | BEVERLY HILLS | SAN FRANCISCO | CHICAGO | PALM BEACH PARIS | GENEVA | AMSTERDAM | HONG KONG
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T RU E W E ST E R N T OW N S B Y L E O W. B A N K S
Gateway to the West Omaha, Nebraska, thrives in its role as a crossroads of American history.
From June to November 1898, Omaha was the crossroads of the world as host of The Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition. More than 2.6 million people visited the exposition, many to see Geronimo, one of 500 Indians from 35 tribes in attendance at the concurrently held three-month Indian Congress, which began on August 4, 1898, with the Indian Day Parade (above).
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ocated on a plateau above the west bank of the Missouri River and its confluence with the Platte River, Omaha has always been a good spot for westbound travelers to pull up, shake off the dust and look around. In 1804, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark stopped there to meet with Indians on their epic trek to the Pacific. Two decades later, in 1825, the American Fur Company established a trading post at what’s now Hummel Park.
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– COURTESY U.S. NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION, 530804 –
But it took the 1867 arrival of the Union Pacific Railroad to bring the new town of Omaha into prominence as the so-called crossroads of the nation. That history lives on today at the Durham Museum, located in an impressive Art Deco railroad terminal. Union Station opened in 1931 and now consists of 124,000 square feet of exhibits explaining the history and culture of the region. Visitors can step into a rawhide teepee of the type the Omaha Indians used on the
prairie, sit by the fire in a replica dirt lodge and see an 1804 dollar bill, part of a massive collection of documents, books and coins. A few blocks from the Durham, downtown’s Old Market district has been reborn as an art and entertainment center. The warehouses now hold boutiques, galleries, antique shops, restaurants and pubs. USA Today called it “home to gorgeously preserved cobblestone streets dating back to the late 1800s when the area served as a railroad center of the country.”
The General George A. Crook House Museum is a national historic landmark managed by the Douglas County Historical Society. Crook (inset, right) oversaw the construction of the Italiante-style home in 1879, while he was commander of the Department of the Platte from 1875 to 1882. – CROOK HOUSE PHOTO COURTESY TRUE WEST ARCHIVES/GEORGE CROOK PHOTO COURTESY LIBRARY OF CONGRESS –
Eight miles away, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, visit the Union Pacific Railroad Museum. Here and at other sites—the Western Historic Trails Center and the Historic General Dodge House—travelers can learn everything about the transcontinental railroad, down to the smallest detail. For example, who invented the blue-andwhite-striped engineer’s cap? Engineer George “Stormy” Kromer, who wore a baseball cap at work, complained in 1903 to his seamstress wife, Ida, that it just wasn’t right for the job. She fashioned a new hat by hand, with blue-and-white pinstripe pillow ticking. Railroaders loved the new look and it stuck. Omaha boasts an extraordinary public art project of more than 100 larger-than-life bronze sculptures in a five-block area Union Pacific Railroad vice president and financier Thomas C. Durant, fellow executives, investors and Omaha city fathers posed in front of the locomotive during their famous October 1866 “Excursion to the 100th Meridian.” – JOHN CARBUTT, COURTESY NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY –
of downtown. In tribute to the pioneers who settled the West, three talented artists re-created a Westbound wagon train stampeding a herd of buffalo and scattering a flock of Canadian geese. The pieces weigh up to six tons and might be the largest installations of bronze and stainless steel in the world. “We’re more cosmopolitan than people realize,” says Deborah Ward, vice president of marketing and communications for the Convention and Visitors Center. “Omaha is considered a cultural oasis on the Plains.”
In the entertainment arts, Omaha boasts of native sons Fred Astaire and Marlon Brando. The history-minded shouldn’t miss the Winter Quarters Historical Site, where Mormons camped on the Missouri during their great westward migration. At a beautiful interpretive center built by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, visitors can walk beside a covered wagon or pull a handcart. The winter of 1846-’47 turned deadly with disease, exposure and hunger. Pioneer Luisa Barnes Pratt wrote of seeing friends sicken
On the bluffs above the Missouri River, the Missouri Basin Lewis and Clark Visitor Center’s interactive exhibits detail the many scientific aspects of the Corps of Discovery’s expedition. – COURTESY NEBRASKA TOURISM –
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Visitors to Omaha will enjoy the Western art collection at the Joslyn Museum, including Matthew Placzek’s Sioux Warrior in the Peter Kiewit Foundation Sculpture Garden. – COURTESY NEBRASKA TOURISM –
and being unable to comfort them: “Neither could I go see their remains carried to their final resting place where it was thought I would shortly have to be conveyed.” At the Missouri River Basin Lewis & Clark Visitor Center in nearby Nebraska City, inspect a full-sized replica of the 55-foot keelboat the explorers used.
At the Mayhew Cabin & Historic Village, see a cabin that historians believe might have served as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Famed abolitionist John Brown reportedly harbored slaves there. Built in 1855 and later moved to its present
22 Years in the Making
location, the cabin is on the National Register of Historic Places. Leo W. Banks is an award-winning writer based in Tucson. His first novel, Double Wide, is a mystery set in Arizona.
Visit Nebraska’s newest
NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK
“Wild Bill was on the schedule and then it got put on the back burner for a couple decades because we bought True West. Thanks to Ken Amorosano and Robert Ray for reclaiming it. Lookout, going to be damn good.” —Bob Boze Bell
Watch for it this Fall!
Store.TrueWestmagazine.com
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Fascinating Exhibits One-Of-A-Kind Events Cherished Traditions
801 S 10TH ST | OMAHA | 402-444-5071 DURHAMMUSEUM.ORG
WHERE HISTORY MEETS THE HIGHWAY THE DURHAM MUSEUM The Durham Museum celebrates Omaha and regional history in Omaha’s historic Union Station, an architectural masterpiece opened in 1931. DurhamMuseum.org FATHER FLANAGAN HOUSE MUSEUM See the home of Father Edward Flanagan, founder of Boys Town for troubled youth. Spencer Tracy portrayed the Irish priest in a popular 1938 movie. The Catholic Church is considering Flanagan for sainthood, possibly in 2017. Boystown.org
– COURTESY OMAHA CVC –
OMAHA CONVENTION & VISITORS CENTER Start your trip at Omaha’s Convention and Visitors Center (above), at 1001 Farnam Street. VisitOmaha.com
GENERAL CROOK HOUSE MUSEUM Tour the restored home of one of the West’s great Indian fighters. Built in 1879 and on the National Register of Historic Places, the house contains period furnishings, art, clothing and antiques. DouglasCountyHistory.org
FIREARMS COLLECTION The Union Pacific Museum displays 55 historic firearms, including the Winchester Model 1866 given to Gen. Grenville Dodge, UP’s chief engineer. See an 1860 Army Colt owned by UP’s construction superintendent. The guns provided protection and food for railroad workers, and allowed UP’s agents, the frontier’s only law, to guard passengers and cargo.
UPRRMuseum.org JOSLYN ART MUSEUM In its Art of the American West Collection, the museum displays works by Caitlin, Moran, Remington and Russell, as well as portraits of Plains Indian chiefs. The Art Deco building was made of 37 kinds of marble from around the world. Georgia pink marble covers the exterior. “We call it the pink marble masterpiece,” says Deborah Ward of the Omaha Convention and Visitors Center. “It’s so beautiful.” Joslyn.org
Made of 100% Cotton Most sizes
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BY C A N DY M O U LTO N A N D THE EDITORS OF TRUE WEST
The best museums of the Western United States celebrate the past, engage the present and inspire the future.
2017
2017
useums across the West are embracing an ever-widening range of stories to interpret—from the geology and paleontology of the landscape to the cultural materials of Western film and Western art. Big new installations were made and significant milestones were reached this year. The West’s greatest showman, William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody, gets his due at two museums with the recognition of the centennial of the Buffalo Bill Memorial Association—which grew into the Buffalo Bill Museum, now a part of the Center of the West in Cody. And the Buffalo Bill Gravesite played homage to the man on the 100th anniversary of his burial on Lookout Mountain, west of Denver. Celebrations along the Chisholm Trail recognize the sesquicentennial of that cattle route, while one Texas museum opened expanded and reimagined exhibits, taking visitors from a gallery of dinosaurs to the rock art and ecological zones around San Antonio. Candy Moulton lives near Encampment, Wyoming, and has traveled the United States extensively, always making time for a visit to a local museum.
Visitors to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West’s museum complex in Cody, Wyoming, are greeted at its entrance by Peter Fillerup’s bronze Bill Cody—Hard and Fast All the Way, which was dedicated in 2010 in honor of the Pony Express’s sesquicentennial. – COURTESY BUFFALO BILL CENTER OF THE WEST –
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Buffalo Bill Center of the West Cody, WY
From its roots in a small log building to being one of five museums in today's Center of the West complex, the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody has been dedicated to preserving the story and heritage of the great American West showman. This year the Buffalo Bill Museum celebrates its 100th anniversary with a series of special events, new exhibits, including a gallery focused on Harold McCracken and his work, plus the new Western Writers of America Hall of Fame. CenterOfTheWest.org T R U E
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The Buffalo Bill Center of the West’s five museums provide an in-depth look at Western American history from many perspectives, including a William F. Cody TE Ranch exhibit at the Buffalo Bill Museum (top), an exhibit on daily life in a reservation home at the Plains Indian Museum (center), and a grizzly bear habitat interactive site at the Draper Natural History Museum (bottom). – PHOTOS COURTESY BUFFALO BILL CENTER OF THE WEST –
A tour of the Witte Museum in San Antonio will introduce the visitor to the rich heritage of Texas, including the role of Tejano freighters in the settlement of the geographically challenging state. – COURTESY THE WITTE MUSEUM –
The Witte Museum / San Antonio, TX What museum officials call a once-in-a-hundred-years exhibit upgrade opened this year at the Witte Museum, where the McLean Family Texas Wild Gallery added 10,000 square feet of space that immerses visitors in the ecological zones of Texas, all under a large Texas sky. The museum shows the changing geographical landscapes of Texas, from the time of the dinosaurs to rock art and geology. WitteMuseum.org
Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West Scottsdale, AZ
We love Western film and recognize this museum for its new Rennard Strickland collection—more than 5,000 items acquired in 2016. Now through September 30, 2018, Western film posters, lobby cards and more are on display in “The Rennard Strickland Collection of Western Film History” exhibition. With items dating from the 1800s to present, the collection is the world’s largest—and most historically important and inclusive—assortment of Western film graphic arts. Of course, we also love outlaws and lawmen and like that the museum presents “Western Wednesdays—Outlaws and Lawmen of the Wild West” programs geared toward children. Anybody who works hard to share history with kids is top-notch in our book.
A centerpiece of the Spirit of the West: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West is The A.P. Hays Spirit of the West Collection, including the colorful exhibition of Western chaps. – JENNIFER CONWAY/COURTESY THE A.P. HAYS SPIRIT OF THE WEST COLLECTION, WESTERN SPIRIT: SCOTTSDALE’S MUSEUM OF THE WEST –
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Just south of Sheridan, Wyoming, in the town of Big Horn, The Brinton Museum is located on the beautiful 620-acre gardens and grounds of Bradford Brinton’s original 620-acre Quarter Circle A Ranch and ranch house. – COURTESY THE BRINTON MUSEUM –
The Brinton Museum
Big Horn, WY
The Forrest E. Mars, Jr. Building, which opened in 2015, features Western art by Karl Bodmer, Thomas Moran, Charles M. Russell, Frederic Remington and John Mix Stanley. Also in the collection is a war shirt that belonged to Two Leggings—a piece that was selected in 2016 as one of the top ten historic artifacts in Wyoming— plus a Blackfeet war chief’s 1830s shirt and leggings, a Blackfeet Grizzly Bear shirt and a Lakota woman’s beaded dress TheBrintonMuseum.org
The 150th anniversary of the Chisholm Trail has been celebrated throughout the year at Old Cowtown in Wichita, Kansas, which is an active living history center depicting the rowdy cattle drive era of the state 150 years ago.
2017
– COURTESY OLD COWTOWN –
Old Cowtown Wichita, KS
Seeking to continue the legacy of the cowboys, Old Cowtown is expanding its saddle and harness exhibit and the livery stable to better display buggies and rolling stock. The Abel “Shanghai” Pierce Cattle Agent office portrays the cattle industry of the West, interpreting the sale of herds that moved up the Chisholm Trail. This year the historic town celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Chisholm Trail with special events October 6, and holds Victorian Christmas events in December. OldCowtown.org
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100 Years of Celebrating the Wild West!
long live the wild west Just east of Yellowstone. ■ #1 TripAdvisor attraction in Cody, Wyoming. ■ Five museums – one price. ■ tickets.centerofthewest.org. ■
image: James Bama (b. 1926), Rookie Bronc Rider, High School Rodeo, Cody, WY, May 1975, black and white photograph, P.243.02828, Gift of James Bama.
720 sheridan avenue | downtown cody, wyoming | centerofthewest.org T R U E
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This 500 acre historic ranch was once the showplace of wild west showman Gordon W. Lillie (Pawnee Bill). Visitors can tour his 1910 mansion, museum, ranch buildings, bison, horses and longhorn cattle in the drivethrough pasture. The Ranch is also a day use park and picnic facility complete with shelters and a fishing pond. Pawnee Bill’s Original Wild West Show Historical Reenactment June 8th & 9th, 2018 1 WEEKEND ONLY! All Day Festivities Activities at 2:00 p.m. Meal at 5 p.m. Show starts at 7:30 p.m.
Museum Hours:
Tuesday ~ Saturday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday ~ Monday: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Closed Monday~ Tuesday: November to March 1141 Pawnee Bill Rd, Pawnee, OK 74058 For more info call:
918-762-2513 or visit
PawneeBillRanch.org
MUSEUMS TO KNOW DAYS OF '76 MUSEUM DEADWOOD, SD
NORTHEASTERN NEVADA MUSEUM ELKO, NV
Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave / Golden, CO This year, the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave, having obtained the 1883 Wild West Show souvenir program, now seeks just three missing programs of the 30 created. The museum held a special event on June 3 marking the 100th anniversary of Buffalo Bill’s burial on Lookout Mountain, with a re-creation of the burial ceremony. BuffaloBill.org Charles Goodnight Historical Center Claude, TX The life and legacy of Charles Goodnight, the first white settler in the Texas panhandle, is the focus here, but you’ll also learn about the JA Ranch and Goodnight’s wife, Mary Ann (Molly). ArmstrongCountyMuseum.com Days of ‘76 Museum / Deadwood, SD Carriages, cowboy gear and a history of the Days of ’76 Rodeo with exhibits titled “Legends of the Rodeo,” “Rodeo Clowns & Bullfighters,” “Behind the Chutes” and "Tools of the Trade," are ready for exploration. A real attraction here is the Don Clowser collection of 19th-century pioneer, cowboy and American Indian art and artifacts. DaysOf76.com Fort Smith National Historic Site Fort Smith, AR Step right into the courtroom of Judge Isaac Parker, the U.S. federal judge in the western District of Arkansas, who became known as “the hanging judge” for sentencing 160 individuals to death as he demonstrated “the moral force of a strong federal court.” NPS.gov Gilliam County Historical Society’s Depot Museum Complex / Condon, OR The one-room schoolhouse and a barbershop that once was a brothel are attractions at this local history museum. CO.Gilliam.or.us
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Jesse James Birthplace / Kearney, MO “Frank & Annie James: The Later Years,” a new exhibit that focuses on the lives of Frank and Annie James during their later years at the James Farm, opened January 16, bringing new information to this old story. JesseJames.org W E ST
BUFFALO BILL MUSEUM AND GRAVE / GOLDEN, CO
Museum of Northwest Colorado / Craig, CO Anybody who likes gunfighters, outlaws and lawmen will want to spend time here to see the remarkable collection of cowboy guns, spurs and leather objects. MuseumNWCO.org Nevada State Museum / Las Vegas, NV Located on the campus of the Springs Preserve, this museum shows another side of Las Vegas: American Indians, pioneers, miners and ranchers. And it interprets how geology shaped the Great Basin, the plants and animals of the state, including the state fossil, the ichthyosaur. NVCulture.org Northeastern Nevada Museum / Elko, NV We admit that we love this museum for its collection of original Will James drawings, but you’ll also find good examples of the trappings of Nevada’s buckaroos. MuseumElko.org Northern Pacific Railway Museum Toppenish, WA Most railroad museums have rolling stock, and this is no exception, but here in addition to engines, you will find a freight train—including cars used to transport automobiles, livestock and even petroleum products—demonstrating the commerce that developed the region. NPRYMuseum.org University of Utah Natural History Museum Salt Lake City, UT Climb the “canyons” of Utah as you explore this museum dedicated to the state’s natural history. You’ll find human history, including a storyteller circle focused on the five tribes of the area, and you can wander through the landscape of the dinosaurs and into the ecology of the Great Salt Lake. NHMU.Utah.edu Wallace District Mining Museum / Wallace, ID “Wyatt Earp and the Coeur d’Alene Gold” is a permanent exhibit that explains the Earp brothers’ role in prospecting in the area for gold before silver was discovered. Among the details included: how the Earp brothers were convicted of “gold claim-jumping” by a state court in a lawsuit, and left the region after their conviction. WallaceMiningMuseum.org
ARIZONA’S MUST-SEE WESTERN MUSEUM
Ongoing exhibitions of western art, Old West artifacts, and historic Native American objects
PLUS Changing exhibitions of art and objects from outstanding private collections
Now On Exhibit The Rennard Strickland Collection of Western Film History June 20, 2017–September 30, 2018 Featuring the legends of the Old West immortalized on the silver screen. More than 100 rare and historic posters and lobby cards curated from one of the world’s largest collections of western film graphic arts.*
Downtown Scottsdale 3830 N. Marshall Way (One block west of Scottsdale Rd. at First St.) scottsdalemuseumwest.org 480-686-9539
Smithsonian Affiliate *Collection is jointly owned by Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West and the Arizona State University Foundation for A New American University t r u e
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Panhandle–Plains Historical Museum Canyon, TX
Artifacts related to the 1864 Battle of Adobe Walls involving Kit Carson, the Red River War (1874–’75), and Buffalo Soldiers are all good reasons to visit Panhandle–Plains Historical Museum. On display until February 2018, is “When Georgia Was Here,” an exhibition about Georgia O’Keeffe, including her piece, Red Landscape. The museum also holds a shield with both Spanish and Comanche origins. It was likely acquired by a Comanche from a Spanish soldier at the battle of Yellow House Canyon near Lubbock. The Comanche owner covered the original Spanish decorations on the shield with a piece of bison hide, making it the oldest known Comanche-Spanish hybrid artifact.
2017
PanhandlePlains.org In Canyon, Texas, the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum exhibits comprehensively walk the visitor through 14,000 years of history, including the key role of the Texas longhorn to the development of the region known worldwide for its cowboy and cattle culture. – COURTESY PANHANDLE-PLAINS HISTORICAL MUSEUM –
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MUSEUMS BRING HISTORY TO LIFE
The Museum That Works! Monday - Saturday, 9am - 4pm Guided tours at 10am & 1pm Come see the multiple operating steam engines roar to life, try your luck and pan for gold, and enjoy the family friendly special events throughout the year at WMMI! Pike’s Peak Antique Machinery Days - May Anniversary Weekend - July Reynolds Ranch Harvest Festival - October Visit wmmi.org/events for more! Western Museum of Mining & Industry 225 North Gate Blvd., COS, CO 80921 www.wmmi.org 719-488-0880
Celebrating
Fort Smith History! From frontier justice to national manufacturing center, you can experience it all at the Fort Smith Museum of History! Relive the intriguing stories of over a century of Fort Smith life. Savor an old-fashioned soda in the 1920s pharmacy. The Museum also presents special & traveling exhibitions.
Open Tuesday thru Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Closed Sunday and Monday. “Check our website for upcoming events and Summer hours”
West Texas Trail Museum…..more than just trail dust…
www.fortsmithmuseum.com
A little bit of everything…..a whole lot of history….
Become a member of the museum today and help us continue to preserve history.
Open Mondays through Fridays 9:00 am to 5:00 pm FREE admission 100 E. Weston, Moorcroft, WY 82721 307-756-9300 Cynthia Clonch, Director
320 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, AR 72901
(479) 783-7841
WestTexasTrailMuseum.com ~We are also on Facebook ~ T R U E
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MUSEUMS BRING HISTORY TO LIFE Visit the 1890’s Gold Rush at
AN AMERICAN TREASURE IN THE HEART OF THE WEST!
Voted a Top 10 Western Museum by True West Magazine
Cripple Creek District Museum 5th & Bennett Avenue Cripple Creek, CO 80813 719-689-9540 CrippleCreekMuseum.com
Northern Pacific W.H.D Koerner The Mercy Stroke, oil
Apsáalooke/Crow Two Leggings War Shirt
Railway Museum
Museum with historic displays located in RR depot built in 1902. 50 + pieces of Rolling stock, 2 steam engines being restored, cabooses,hand pump cars, signals etc. Open May 1~ October 15 Tuesday - Saturday 10am-4pm Sunday 12 noon - 4pm 10 Asotin Ave. Toppenish, WA.
509.865.1911
Quarter Circle A Ranch
TheBrintonMuseum.org • 307.672.3173 239 Brinton Road • Big Horn, WY 82833-0460 T R U E
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www.NPRYmuseum.org
Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park Tombstone, AZ
The centerpiece of the Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park is the fully restored two-story 1882 county building with its detailed exhibits on the history of Cochise County. In the courtyard stands a replica of the gallows from which many convicted felons met their final fate of territorial justice. – PRINCELY NESADURAI, COURTESY ARIZONA STATE PARKS & TRAILS –
While not everything in Tombstone is original, that is what makes Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park such a great attraction in this most Western of Western cities. The two-story Victorianstyle red-brick courthouse was constructed in 1882, a year after creation of Cochise County, and served the county for fifty years. In 1931, the county seat was relocated to Bisbee. The city of Tombstone leased the building and used it for years until it became an Arizona State Park. For a special view, visit during the annual luminaria lighting, held in conjunction with the local Christmas parade, to be held this year on December 9. AZStateParks.com
AN EXHIBIT FEATURING WORKS BY THE COWBOY ARTIST OF THE AMERICAN WEST & 4TH ANNUAL HERITAGE DINNER HONORING AL & JANE MICALLEF AND FAMILY OPENING WEEKEND EVENTS
SEPTEMBER 15 & 16, 2017 The Forked Trail, 1903, oil on board, mounted on particle board, 7 ½ x 11 inches. Bequeathed by Clara S. Peck, The Rockwell Museum, Corning, NY. 83.46.12 F.
Sul Ross State University
Museum of the Big Bend Alpine, Texas In the Heart of the Big Bend!
Exhibit Dates: 09.16 - 12.17.2017 For more information: www.museumofthebigbend.com 432.837.8143 T R U E
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Located in the historic H.B. Allman House, the Silver City Museum celebrates the heritage of the community through numerous exhibits on the community’s rich and diverse history, including the day to day life of children on the frontier. – COURTESY SILVER CITY MUSEUM –
Also, Join Us For... Trails, Rails & Tales 2017 Labor Day Weekend Abilene, Kansas
Silver City Museum Silver City, NM
Step Back in time to the 1890’s in Old Trail Town.
Step Back time to the 1890’s Cody is one of in Wyoming’s most popular sites is conveniently in Oldand Trail Town. Codylocated is one on of the road to Yellowstone National Park.is Wyoming’s most popular sites and The Old West—as Really conveniently locatediton the Was! road to Yellowstone National Park. This is not Hollywood, this is the real West!
Old Trail Town • Cody, WY. 82414 1831 DeMaris Dr., Cody, WY 82414 T R U E
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This year the museum hosted “Stories of Southwestern New Mexico Women,” an exhibit featuring multicultural stories of the Mimbres, Apache, African American, Mexican and Spanish women who shaped the town in the early 20th century. The museum strongly represents the 18th and 19th centuries and also sponsored an exhibit titled “The Universality of the New Mexico Colcha Stitch: from Central Asia, the Iberian Peninsula and Northern New Mexico.” SilverCityMuseum.org
Regional Museums
NOT
to Miss Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum at Top of the Rock Ridgedale, MO TopOfTheRock.com California Trail Interpretive Center Elko, NV CaliforniaTrailCenter.org Chisholm Trail Heritage Center Duncan, OK OnTheChisholmTrail.com Creede Historical Museum Creede, CO Creede.com Dayton Museum Dayton, NV DaytonNVHistory.org Grand Encampment Museum Encampment, WY GEMuseum.com
OLAF WIEGHORST MUSEUM & WESTERN HERITAGE CENTER
Missouri Civil War Museum St. Louis, MO MCWM.org Museum of the Fur Trade Chadron, NE FurTrade.org The Nevada Northern Railroad Museum Ely, NV NNRY.com North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame Medora, ND NorthDakotaCowboy.com San Juan County Archaeological Research Center and Library Salmon Ruin, NM SalmonRuins.com Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame Fort Worth, TX TexasCowboyHallOfFame.org
Olaf Wieghorst ”Partners” 1976 Oil on Canvas
Original Wieghorst Art in Main Gallery
• Wieghorst Prints in the Gift Shop
Historic Home of Olaf and Mae Wieghorst set in our acclaimed Cactus Garden Tours of Museum and Olaf’s House available: Call for Information Cactus Garden and Museum available for events; weddings, dinners, receptions Call 619.590.3431 for information 131 Rea Avenue – near Main and Magnolia Open Tuesday – Friday 10am – 3pm
•
• El Cajon, California – 619-590-3431
Last Saturday of Month 11am – 4 pm
To see all our events visit, www.wieghorstmuseum.org ~Friend the Museum on Facebook~ T R U E
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Knight Museum and Sandhills Center On the edge of the Nebraska Sandhills. Ne
10 MORE
MUSEUMS TO WATCH
A Railroad town. A Cow-town. An Ag town. A Where history W runs deep. Largest Genealogy Center in Western Nebraska
Building i the h Best B Hometown H in i America
KnightMuseum.com
TAMASTSLIKT CULTURAL INSTITUTE PENDLETON, OR
NATIONAL COWBOY & WESTERN HERITAGE MUSEUM OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum / Amarillo, TX Both horses and people are inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame, and here you can learn about their accomplishments—or in the case of the horses, their bloodlines. AQHA.com
Johnson County Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum / Buffalo, WY See a diverse collection of wagons, plus extensive artifact collections directly related to the war for the Powder River that involved Red Cloud and Colonel Henry B. Carrington. JimGatchell.com
Autry Museum of the American West Los Angeles, CA Colt revolvers, a coach from the California Stage Line, movie memorabilia and original artworks are among the extensive—and eclectic—collections at the Autry. TheAutry.org
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial/ Museum of Westward Expansion St. Louis, MO When this museum reopens—anticipated in 2018—the old tours to the top of the St. Louis Arch will resume, and the entire gallery space will be reimagined. Although the opening has been delayed, in part due to past flooding of the Missouri River in the area, we’re assured it will be well worth the wait. NPS.gov
Crook County Museum / Sundance, WY Outlaws, like the Sundance Kid and his time in this small town, are the focus of programs and exhibits. CrookCountyMuseumDistrict.com Fort Caspar Museum / Casper, WY When Lt. Caspar Collins rode across the bridge and onto the hillside northwest of this location on July 25, 1867, he found himself and his troops surrounded by a superior force of Cheyenne and Lakota warriors. The events played out as other troops looked on. This historic site has re-created buildings, an interpretive center and, occasionally, living history events. FortCasparWyoming.com Fort Wallace Museum / Wallace, KS If you missed the Great Fort Wallace and Western Kansas 1867 Exposition in early July, it’s not too late to see the new exhibits and the monument to Fort Wallace scout William Comstock at the newly reimagined museum. FTWallace.com Idaho State Museum / Boise, ID This museum is closed for a significant renovation. Watch for the reopening in 2018. History.Idaho.gov
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John Wayne Birthplace Museum Winterset, IA See memorabilia from John Wayne’s film career or celebrate his birthday at the annual celebration that this year involved Johnny Crawford and Robert Carradine. JohnWayneBirthplace.museum W E ST
JOHN WAYNE BIRTHPLACE MUSEUM WINTERSET, IA
National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum / Oklahoma City, OK The museum paid homage to the Chisholm Trail on its sesquicentennial and also recognized the legacy of black cowboys with its exhibition titled “Vintage Black Heroes: The Chisholm Kid,” including panels from the comic strip that ran from 1950 to 1954 in the Pittsburgh Courier’s comic insert. This black cartoon character stood alongside Hopalong Cassidy, Flash Gordon and Dick Tracy as a positive role model. NationalCowboyMuseum.org Tamastslikt Cultural Institute Pendleton, OR “A Kaleidoscope of Color: American Indian Trade Blankets,” a special exhibition that runs through mid-October, has examples of blankets by Pendleton Woolen Mills, Oregon City Woolen Mills and others. Tamastslikt.org Washington State Historical Society Museum Tacoma, WA Watch for the new exhibition now being developed that will share the many stories of immigrants to Washington told through the metaphor of fifteen pairs of shoes and a footprint. WashingtonHistory.org
MUSEUMS BRING HISTORY TO LIFE ~Your Adventure In History Awaits~ Cool Museums In Globe-Miami For A Hot Summer!
GlobeMiamiChamber.com • 800-804-5623 Besh Ba Gowah Archaeological Park 1324 Jess Hayes Road / Globe, AZ 928-425-0320
Bullion Plaza Cultural Center & Museum 150 N. Plaza Circle / Miami, AZ 928-473-3700
Gila County Historical Museum 1330 N. Broad / Globe, AZ 928-425-7385
Immerse yourself In hIstory!
Come visit our town of more than 50 historic and recreated buildings on 23 acres of the Old West!
STUHROF THE MUSEUM PRAIRIE PIONEER
1865 W. Museum Blvd. Wichita, KS 67203 (316) 350-3323
www.oldCowtown.org
-Living History Railroad Town -Beautiful Stuhr Building -Cowboy History -Over 200 Acres
www.stuhrmuseum.org Grand Island, NE (308) 395-5316 - Open All Year
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MUSEUMS BRING HISTORY TO LIFE
J. Henry Ray Indian Artifacts Quanah Parker Exhibit Doans Crosssing & Western Trail Interactive Exhibit Bill Bond Wild Game Exhibit “Largest Ranch Under One Fence” The Waggoner Ranch Exhibit Electra Waggoner Biggs Sculpture Studio
4600 College Drive / PO Box 2004 Vernon, TX 76385 (940) 553-1848 / (940) 553-1849 ***Admission: Adult $5.00 / Child $3.00***
Tue – Fri: 10:30 – 5:00 / Sat: 10:30 – 2:30 Closed sundAy & MondAy
52 years •1964 - 2016
Celebrating our Past, Igniting our Future
We are on facebook as of right now!
•Free Admission. Donations appreciated! •Closed Mondays and Major Holidays •Tour the home and learn about Kearney’s past! •Events, dinners, and special tours by reservation Tues-Fri from 1-5pm Sat-Sun from 12-5pm 2010 University Drive, Kearney, NE 308.865.8284 frank.unk.edu | [emailprotected] T R U E
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Visitors of all ages will enjoy the interactive educational exhibitions on the history and heritage of South Dakota, such as the American bison exhibit, at the Cultural History Museum, the headquarters of the state historical society. – CHAD COPPESS, COURTESY SOUTH DAKOTA TOURISM –
Cultural Heritage Center / Pierre, SD Home to the South Dakota State Museum and Archives, this center is attractive enough as a location to dig into the history collections of the state, but go there to also learn the stories of the Lakota, Nakota and Dakota people. You will see an Indian camp, bull boat and other artifacts. The “Proving Up” exhibit features stories of explorers and settlers, ranging from the placing of the Verendrye Plate in 1743 on a hillside west of the city to the establishment of the state capital. History.SD.gov
2017
Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum Hannibal, MO
Ride a raft with Huck Finn, visit a cave with Tom Sawyer, or learn more about Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), his work as a riverboat pilot and his journeys in the West in an area dedicated to “Roughing It.” This summer, the museum hosted radio-theater productions of an adaptation of Huck. Newly installed is the 1840-era Justice of the Peace office of John M. Clemens. MarkTwainMuseum.org. In Hannibal, Missouri, the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum includes five buildings and two museums with exhibits that display personal items of the American author, including Mark Twain’s watch, which was presented to him at a banquet in Nevada in 1863. – COURTESY MARK TWAIN BOYHOOD HOME AND MUSEUM –
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B y J o h n n y D. B o g g s
�e Good! Louisa Swain was the first woman in the world to vote!
Diversity in our Western heritage is celebrated in artwork across the region.
�e Bad! �e Wyoming Territorial Prison was the only jail to house Butch Cassidy!
�e Ugly! University of Wyoming Geological Museum has some of the Worlds first �in�aurs!
Museums and Monuments: • Ames Monument • Laramie Plains Museum • Laramie Railroad Depot • Nici Self Museum • Lincoln Monument Museum • UW Anthropology Museum • UW Art Museum • UW Geology Museum • Wyoming Territorial Prison • Women’s History House Brochures: • 8 Walking Tour Brochures • Legends of Laramie Tour
H i s t o ry & A dv e n t u r e
www.visitlaramie.org
1-800-445-5303
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he best art museums don’t just show you art. They show you history. They show you personalities. They move you. Our top museums certainly did that over the past year—and continue to do so. From celebrating the centennial of the Chisholm Trail to honoring everything from Fred Harvey to bandannas, these museums showed us what made the West great, showcasing artists of yesteryear and today who have kept that spirit alive with their own vision. Johnny D. Boggs plays poker in a monthly game that includes Western artist Thom Ross and Santa Fe goldsmith Marc Howard.
TOP
ART
MUSEUMS OF THE WEST
2017
The Sid Richardson Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, is home to one of the most signifiant Charles M. Russell and Frederic Remington art collections in the world, including one of Remington's finest—created in the last year of life—his 1909 oil on canvas Buffalo RunnersBig Horn Basin. – COURTESY SID RICHARDSON MUSEUM –
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TOP
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MUSEUMS OF THE WEST
2017
Sid Richardson Museum
Fort Worth, TX Charles M. Russell's 1917 oil on canvas, Buffalo Bill’s Duel with Yellowhand, is representative of the type of action-oriented Western art that philanthropist Sid W. Richardson preferred to collect, rather than classic Western landscapes, when he was building his collection in the 1940s and 1950s. – COURTESY SID RICHARDSON MUSEUM –
Sid Richardson had an eye for Western art, collecting works by Charles M. Russell, Frederic Remington and others before his death in 1959. His namesake museum keeps its eye on art and history—to wit, the “Hide & Horn on the Chisholm Trail” exhibit which closed August 27. Since 1982, this museum has highlighted Western art and Western history. Few museums do it better. SidRichardsonMuseum.org
STEP BACK
IN TIME
Savor culinary delights, outdoor adventures, and small town charm in this gem nestled against the Gila National Forest. With a Wild West past, a flair for arts and culture, and friendly locals, you will want to plan to stay yo an extra day! Murray Ryan Visitor Center 201 N. Hudson Street Silver City, NM 88061 (575) 538-5555 Funded by Silver City Lodger’s Tax
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National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum Oklahoma City, OK
Exhibits such as “Hell on Wheels: Uniting a Nation by Rail,” “The Artistry of the Western Paperback” and “A Yard of Turkey Read: The Western Bandanna” kept everything fresh and fun. And “Vintage Black Heroes: The Chisholm Kid” (closing September 17) and “We the People: A Portrait of Early Oklahoma” (closing October 22) are doing the same. NationalCowboyMuseum.org
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, honors the heritage of the West through its vast collection of artisan materials, history exhibits, such as "Ranch Life (above)," and Western artwork. – COURTESY NATIONAL COWBOY & WESTERN HERITAGE MUSEUM –
The Buffalo SoldierS NaTioNal MuSeuM What to See:
Step into America’s only Museum that solely chronicles the African American Military experiences from the Revolutionary War to the present times. Observe artifacts from the Civil War, WWI and WWII.
Did You Know?
The men in blue were Black: The Buffalo Soldiers were the peacekeepers of the Western Frontier. They encountered warring Indians, bandits, cattle thieves, murderous gunmen, bootleggers, trespassers, and Mexican revolutionaries.
For more information please visit: www.buffalosoldiermuseum.com or call (713) 942-8920
Exhibit Hours:
M-F: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Sat: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
readY aNd forWard • We CaN We Will The Buffalo Soldiers National Museum 3816 Caroline Street / Houston, Texas 77004 T R U E
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The Wieghorst Western Heritage Center in El Cajon, California, is both a museum and educational center of Western art. The collection of masterpieces by Danish artist Olaf Wieghorst on display at the museum reflects his internationally acclaimed knowledge and passion for Old West history, American Indian culture and horses. – HOWARD BAGLEY, COURTESY WIEGHORST WESTERN HERITAGE CENTER –
Wieghorst Western Heritage Center / El Cajon, CA
Denmark-born Olaf Wieghorst (1899-1988) was a stunt rider for the Danish circus before coming to America, where he served in the cavalry, cowboyed and taught himself to paint. His art is showcased here, where other artists, visual and performing, educate the public about Western history, art, culture and traditions. WieghorstMuseum.org
The Western art collection at the Stark Museum of Art in Orange, Texas, is renowned for its permanent exhibition of Taos Society of Artists' masterpieces, including William Herbert Dunton's 1934 oil on canvas McMullin, Guide (right). – COURTESY STARK MUSEUM OF ART –
Stark Museum of Art Orange, TX One of the most underappreciated museums of art has an amazing collection of Western greats, and outstanding exhibitions such as “Branding the American West: Paintings and Films 19001950.” (Hurry, that exhibit closes September 9.) T R U E
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ELKO CITY CENTENNIAL Special Exhibit
1917 ~ 2017
A.R. Mitchell Museum of the West / Trinidad, CO Step back into the golden age of pulp illustrations. For roughly 40 years, this museum’s dedicated staff has made one of the best illustrators of the 1920s through 1940s better known today. ARMitchellMuseum.com Amerind Museum / Dragoon, AZ This hidden gem might have its roots grounded in archaeology, but it also highlights historical and contemporary Indian art and is a major research center of Southwestern culture and history. Amerind.org New Mexico Museum of Art / Santa Fe, NM The state’s oldest art museum in one of the nation’s best art towns celebrates its centennial this year. Check out “Imagining New Mexico” before it closes September 17. NMArtMuseum.org
CELEBRATE THE CENTURY!
April 14 ~ October 10, 2017
The Favell Museum / Klamath Falls, OR With more than 100,000 Indian artifacts and artwork by several masters, this is a Western artlover’s mecca. FavellMuseum.org
NortheasterN Nevada MuseuM 1515 Idaho Street ~ Elko, Nevada
www.MuseumElko.org
The Museum of Western Art / Kerrville, TX Originally the Cowboy Artists of America Museum, this gallery in the Texas Hill Country remains dedicated to Western artists. MuseumOfWesternArt.org Phippen Museum / Prescott, AZ The upcoming “Kids, Colts & Calves” exhibit (September 3-January 21) has us excited, but with permanent exhibits showcasing George Phippen, Solon H. Borglum and others, there’s always a reason to visit. PhippenArtMuseum.org C.M. Russell Museum / Great Falls, MT An exhibit on Blackfeet painter Gary Schildt (through January 1) shows that this museum offers more than just Russell art, but Russell fans always have reason to visit. CMRussell.org Desert Caballeros Western Museum Wickenburg, AZ This oasis is outdoing itself with exhibits “Stormy Weather: Western Atmospheres” (through October 8), “Having their Picture Took: Western Portrait Photography Then and Now” (through October 29) and “How the West Is One: Contemporary Western Art from The Tia Collection” (through March 4). WesternMuseum.org Amon Carter Museum of American Art Fort Worth, TX Having one of the best collections of works by Charles M. Russell and Frederic Remington helps any art museum. But the upcoming “Caught on Paper” (September 23-February 11) and “Wild Spaces, Open Seasons: Hunting and Fishing in American Art” (October 7- January 7) don’t hurt. CarterMuseum.org Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art / Kansas City, MO Home to one of the finest Western art and Indian artifact collections in the Midwest, the NelsonAtkins permanent collection of contemporary and international art also reflects Kansas City's cosmopolitan culture. Nelson-Atkins.org
(775) 738-3418
Harold Warp
PONY EXPRESS STATION
See How America Grew Over 50,000 historic items displayed in the order of their development in 26 buildings! HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE
• Buggies • Indian Stockade • Wagons • Pioneer Depot • Harness • Livery Barn • Guns • Over 350 Autos • Sod House • 100 Tractors • 7 Generations of Kitchens • Buffalo Bill’s Saddle • 20 Historic Airplanes Rated by True West 3 years running as:
Best Pioneer History Collection. Adjoining
MOTEL & CAMPGROUND
(800) 445-4447
138 E Hwy 6, Minden NE 68959
www.pioneervillage.org
Experience the TRUE STORY! Early Adventures in the American West
Museum of the Mountain Man Pinedale, WY
MuseumoftheMountainMan.com 307-367-4101 T R U E
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Whitney Western Art Museum Cody, WY
Albert Bierstadt's The Last of the Buffalo, ca. 1888, is just one of the major pieces by 19th century masters, including Frederic Remington, Charles M. Russell and George Catlin, at the Whitney Western Art Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. – COURTESY BUFFALO BILL CENTER OF THE WEST, OIL ON CANVAS 60.25 X 96.5 INCHES, GERTRUDE VANDERBILT WHITNEY TRUST FUND PURCHASE. 2.60 –
The Buffalo Bill Center of the West turns 100 years old this year. The Whitney Western Art Museum, one of the center’s five great museums, started in 1924 with the dedication of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney’s sculpture Buffalo Bill—The Scout, and today houses works by 19th-century masters and 20th- and 21st-century artists following those footsteps or blazing their own trails. CenterOfTheWest.org
• Interactive exhibits • Movies and interpretive programs • Hiking Trails • Gift shop • Free admission all ages
At the California Trail Interpretive Center Elko, NV•I-80 Exit 292•www.californiatrailcenter.org•775-738-18497 T R U E
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Heard Museum / Phoenix, AZ The only North American stop for the “Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera” world tour, the Heard again inspired art-lovers and artists. Check out “Over the Edge: Fred Harvey at the Grand Canyon and in the Great Southwest” before it closes December 31. Heard.org
The American Indian Veterans National Memorial at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona, honors three centuries of Native veterans. Unconquered II (above, right), the last bronze by Allan Houser, an acclaimed Chiricahua Apache artist and Vietnam War veteran who was blinded in action, is one of several that grace the memorial courtyard. – CRAIG SMITH, COURTESY HEARD MUSEUM –
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Historic EyeWear Co. Keeping History in Sight ¨
Josey Wales
Killgore
A sure bet ! Prices start at $139.95
The Best Old West EyeWear Ò Reproduction 1800s spectacles to suit all sightsÓ
www.HistoricEyeWearCompany.com 862~812.4737
5 C
The largest collection of new and out of print Civil War & Western Americana books. Lincoln and Custer Collections, American Indian History, Arts & Crafts.
Online sales Or visit us at Our new lOcatiOn
Check out BBB’s new website where he posts his daily whipouts.
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“Worried About The Back Trail” Gouache, 12” X 10” art print $45 plus S&H
FOR SEPTEMBER 2017
HAPPY CANYON INDIAN PAGEANT & WILD WEST SHOW Pendleton, OR, September 13-16: The outdoor “Pageant of the West” show honors American Indian heritage and the settling of the West. 800-457-6336 • HappyCanyon.com ADV E NTU RE
VIEJO PUEBLO GHOST RIDES San Elizario, TX, September 2: This ghost ride aims to educate visitors about San Elizario’s history through explorations of “Lost and Creepy” sites. 915-206-8723 • VisitElPaso.com ART
S HO W S
BRANDING THE AMERICAN WEST Orange, TX, Through September 9: Explore the landscapes and characters that shaped Hollywood’s mythology of the Wild West. 409-886-2787 • StarkMuseum.org BOSQUE ART CLASSIC Clifton, TX, September 9-23: View Western art, particularly those selected by Phippen Museum’s award-winning watercolor artist Teal Blake. 254-675-3724 • BosqueArtsCenter.org
THAT DAY: PICTURES OF THE AMERICAN WEST San Antonio, TX, Opens September 15: Exhibits dramatic images of the American West photographed by Laura Wilson since the 1970s. 210-299-4499 • BriscoeMuseum.org A UCT ION
AMERICAN INDIAN & WESTERN ART AUCTION Cincinnati, OH, September 23: The highlight of this year’s auction is Jan W. Sorgenfrei’s collection of prehistoric American Indian art. 513-871-1670 • CowanAuctions.com F R ONT I ER
FA R E
RIBS, RODS & ROCK ’N’ ROLL Vermillion, SD, September 8-9: Taste the best BBQ with “People’s Choice” wing judging, Rib Fest food court and the South Dakota BBQ championship. 605-624-2021 • TravelSouthDakota.com
PENDLETON ROUND-UP Pendleton, OR, September 13-16: A PRCA rodeo with cowboy concerts, Indian relay races, the Happy Canyon festival and a rodeo parade. Buckeye Blake created the artwork for this year’s poster! 800-457-6336 PendletonRoundUp.com
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for september 2017
honor Winnemucca’s cowboy heritage and culture. 800-962-2638 • Winnemucca.com Celebrate bandera Bandera, TX, September 1-3: Bandera comes alive with music, gunfights, an intertribal powwow, a Wild West show and a mutton busting rodeo. 970-247-3555 • CelebrateBandera.com renaissanCe festival Oklahoma City, OK, September 1-4 & 8-10: Old West time travelers head to the woods to take in Medieval arts and crafts. 844-332-3327 • VisitOKC.com roCK island premiere firearms auCtion Rock Island, IL, September 8-10: Bid on the life collection of firearms dealer Vernon J. Berning, as well as other antique, modern and rare collectible firearms. 800-238-8022 • RockIslandAuction.com 1880 trains rails & ales Hill City, SD, September 9: Enjoy local beer and food, live music and the beauty of the Black Hills from a historic steam engine train. 605-574-2222 • TravelSouthDakota.com
texas Gun & Knife show Kerrville, TX, September 9-10: New and used guns, knives, gold & silver coins, jewelry, camping gear and military supplies are all under one roof. 830-285-0575 • TexasGunAndKnifeShows.com
D RAM A
H ER ITA GE
“the west” in story and sonG Durango, CO, Through September 16: The life of the cowboy on the frontier will come alive through story and song, being told by Carol Heuchan. 970-375-7160 • HenryStraterTheatre.com
elKo County fair & horse raCes Elko, NV, Aug. 25-Sept. 4: Elko County residents pay tribute to their pioneer heritage with livestock shows and horse races. 800-248-3556 • ElkoCountyFair.com
E NC A M P M EN TS
fort bridGer rendezvous Fort Bridger , WY, September 1-4: Celebrate the Fur Trade Rendezvous era with archery, American Indian dances and Mountain Men knife throws. 801-690-6619 • FortBridgerRendezvous.net
F EST IVA LS
tri-County fair & stampede Winnemucca, NV, Aug. 31- Sept. 3: This 1868 railroad town at a former Paiute camp gathers to
soldier hollow ClassiC sheepdoG Championship Midway, UT, September 1-4: Features the world’s best border collies in the world’s largest Sheepdog Championship. 435-654-2002 • GoHeberValley.com waGon days Ketchum, ID, September 1-4: Features one of the largest non-motorized parades in the Pacific Northwest, plus wagons and stagecoaches. 208-726-2777 • WagonDays.org fiesta de septiembre Wickenburg, AZ, September 2: Mariachi music, folklorico dances and an outdoor mercado liven up this Hispanic pioneer heritage festival. 928-684-5479 • WickenburgChamber.com Gold rush days Sacramento, CA, September 2-4: Go back in time to 1850 Sacramento where you can pan for gold, gamble and drink sarsaparilla. 800-292-2334 • SacramentoGoldRushDays.com
oGallala indian summer rendezvous Ogallala, NE, September 21-23: Honors the colorful heritage of the South Platte River valley with live entertainment, dances, food and crafts. 800-658-4390 OgallalaIndianSummerRendezvous.com G UN
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all ameriCan Gun & western ColleCtibles show Ruidoso, NM, September 3-4: Shop 180 tables of guns, hunting equipment, knives, cowboy gear, saddles, blankets, spurs and Western collectibles. 575-257-6171 • TrekWest.com trails, rails & tales Abilene, KS, September 1-4: Celebrate the 150th Chisholm Trail Anniversary with activities including a long horn cattle drive, parade and more. 785-263-2681 • ChisholmTRT.com t r u e
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THE TWENTY-THIRD ANNUAL
HEBER VALLEY
WESTERN MUSIC & COWBOY POETRY GATHERING
ARIZONA RANGERS 60TH ANNIVERSARY Phoenix, AZ, & Nogales, AZ: On September 1, 1901, the Arizona Rangers launched, carrying on the tradition of the territorial rangers that began in 1860. Fast forward to 1957, when the Arizona Rangers formed again. This year, those volunteer Rangers celebrate their 60th anniversary. To pay tribute to this history, view exhibits at Phoenix Police Museum and at the Arizona Rangers Museum in Nogales. Phoenix: PhoenixPoliceMuseum.org Nogales: AZRangers.us/museum
DEFEAT OF JESSE JAMES DAYS Northfield, MN, September 6-10: Celebrate the town heroes who stopped the Jesse James Gang during their famous 1876 bank raid. 800-658-2548 • DJJD.org HELLS CANYON MULE DAYS Enterprise, OR, September 8-10: This mule show and sale features an Old World Oxen living history camp, plus cowboy music, poetry and art. 325-677-4376 • HellsCanyonMuleDays.com NATIONAL COWBOY SYMPOSIUM & CELEBRATION Lubbock, TX, September 8-10: Celebrate cowboy culture at one of the West’s biggest chuckwagon cook-offs, plus enjoy cowboy music and poetry. 806-798-7825 • Cowboy.org 2017 HARVEST FESTIVAL Delmont, SD, September 10: Highlights the history of agriculture, as well as the history of the machines that were used in years gone by. 605-933-1770 • TravelSouthDakota.com DAKOTA WESTERN HERITAGE FESTIVAL Fort Pierre, SD, September 15-17: Fur trade and Lewis & Clark history lovers flock to this celebration of cowboy music, art and culture. 605-222-0079 • TravelSouthDakota.com HARVEST FESTIVAL Gering, NE, September 16-17: Honors Nebraska’s agricultural history with parades and demonstrations at Legacy of the Plains Museum. 308-436-1989 • LegacyOfThePlains.org TERRITORIAL DAYS Tombstone, AZ, September 16-17: Experience Tombstone’s territorial history with a military encampment, chuckwagon cook-off and ball. 888-457-3929 • TombstoneForward.com M US IC
F E STI VA L
PILGRIMAGE MUSIC & CULTURAL FESTIVAL Franklin, TN, September 23-24: Highlights include Country music by Marty Stuart, Langhorne Slim and Nikki Lane. PilgrimageFestival.com
The final four surviving Arizona Rangers helped reestablish the modern-day Rangers in 1957—and one is the grandfather of this issue’s Old West Savior! (From left) Chapo Beaty, Joseph Pearce, William Parmer and John Redmond. – COURTESY PARLEY PEARCE –
their traditional songs and dances. 307-328-2740 • WyomingCarbonCounty.com AMERICAN INDIAN DAY POW WOW Chamberlain, SD, September 14-16: American Indian children share their culture, heritage and traditions at the St. Joseph’s Indian School. 800-798-3452 • STJO.org R O D EOS
STOCKYARDS CHAMPIONSHIP RODEO Fort Worth, TX, September 1: Cheer on rodeo cowboys at the world’s first indoor rodeo, upon the Cowtown Coliseum’s debut in 1908. StockyardsRodeo.com CAL FARLEY’S BOYS RANCH RODEO Amarillo, TX, September 2: Features the rodeo talents of the boys and girls of Cal Farley’s, plus a free barbecue lunch. 800-687-3722 • CalFarley.org WEST TEXAS FAIR & RODEO Abilene, TX, September 7-16: West Texas cowboys and cowgirls head to this PRCA rodeo that also features a tractor pull and a carnival. 325-677-4376 • TaylorCountyExpoCenter.com NAVAJO COUNTY FAIR & RODEO Holbrook, AZ, September 13-17: Navajo County draws PRCA talent to its rodeo that also features carnival rides and a demolition derby. 928-524-4757 • NavajoCountyFair.com
OCTOBER 25-29, 2017 Heber City, Utah TICKETS ON SALE NOW!
BELLAMY BROTHERS FRIDAY OCTOBER 27 7:30PM $30 RESERVED $40 VIP
P OWWO WS
HIGH PLAINS POW WOW Rawlins, WY, September 9: Take in the majesty of American Indian cultures through
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View Western events on our website.
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GET ’EM Order yours before they are gone!
True West is one of the most collectible history magazines in the world. (Back issues have sold for as high as $300!) Collect your favorites now, as the love for history will never go out of date!
Jan-2000 Wild Bill
Aug/Sep-2001 Wild Bill
Aug/Sep-2002 Defeat of Jesse James
Jul-2003 Doc & Wyatt
Dec-2006 Buffalo Gals & Guys
Oct-2006 Tombstone/125th OK Corral
Apr-2011 True Grit/Bridges & Wayne
Aug-2012 Butch and Sundance
Almost Gone!
Almost Gone!
Almost Gone!
Jan-2001 Topless Gunfighter
Almost Gone!
Feb/Mar-2001 Wyatt Earp
Feb-Mar-2003 Guns that won the West
Aug-2004 John Wesley Hardin
Jan-2003 Historical Photos
Jan-2007 Cowboys ae indians
Nov/Dec-2008 Mickey Free
Sep-2009 500 Yrs Before Cowboys
Nov/Dec-2010 Black Warriors of the West
Aug-2013 Tombstone-The Walk Down
Dec-2014 Women Who Left Their Mark
Dec-15 First Mountain Man
Apr-2016 Lonesome Dove
WHILE THEY LAST! Complete Your Collection 2000 o o o o o o o o o o
2005
Jan: Buffalo Bill Mar: Richard Farnsworth May: Samuel Walker Jun: Frontier Half-Bloods Jul: Billy & the Kids Aug: John Wayne Sep: Border Breed Oct: Halloween Issue Nov: Apache Scout Dec: Mountain Men
o o o o o o o o o o
Jan/Feb: Rare Photos Mar: Deadwood/McShane Apr: 77 Sunset Trips May: Trains/Collector’s Edition Jun: Jesus Out West Jul: All Things Cowboy Aug: History of Western Wear Sep: Gambling Oct: Blaze Away/Wyattt Nov/Dec: Gay Western? Killer DVDs
o o o o o o o o o o
Jan/Feb: Mexican Insurgents Mar: Kit Carson Apr: I’ve Been Everywhere, Man May: The Racial Frontier Jun: Playing Sports in the OW Jul/Aug: Dude! Where’s My Ranch? Sep: Indian Yell Oct: Tombstone/125th Ok Corral Nov: Gambling Dec: Buffalo Gals & Guys
o o o o o o o o o o
Jan/Feb: Cowboys Are Indians Mar: Trains/Jim Clark Apr: Western Travel May: Dreamscape Desperado/Billy Jun: Collecting the West/Photos Jul: Man Who Saved The West Aug: Western Media/Best Reads Sep: Endurance Of The Horse Oct: 3:10 To Yuma Nov/Dec: Brad Pitt & Jesse James
o o o o o o o o
Jan/Feb: Pat Garrett/No Country Mar: Who Killed the Train? Apr: Travel/Geronimo May: Who Stole Buffalo Bill’s Home? Jun: The Last Cowboy President? Jul: Secrets of Our Nat’l Parks/Teddy Aug: Kendricks Northern CBs/Photos Sep: Saloons & Stagecoaches
2001
2006
o Jan: Topless Gunfighter o May/Jun: Custer o Jul: Cowboys & Cowtowns
2002 o Aug/Sep: Jesse James o Oct: Billy On The Brain o Nov/Dec: Butch & Sundance
2003 o Jan: 50 Historical Photos o Feb/Mar: 50 Guns o Apr: John Wayne o Spring: Jackalope Creator Dies o May/Jun: Custer Killer o Jul: Doc & Wyatt o Aug/Sep: A General Named Dorothy o Oct: Vera McGinnis o Nov/Dec: Worst Westerns Ever
2004 o o o o o o o o o o
Jan/Feb: Six Guns Mar: Fakes/Fake Doc April/Travel: Visit the Old West May:Iron Horse/Sacred Dogs Jun: HBO’s Deadwood Jul: 17 Legends Aug: JW Hardin Sep: Wild Bunch Oct: Bill Pickett Nov/Dec: Dale Evans
2007
2008
o Oct: Charlie Russell o Nov/Dec: Mickey Free
2009 o o o o o o o o o o
Jan/Feb: Border Riders Mar: Poncho Villa Apr: Stagecoach May: Battle For The Alamo Jun: Custer’s Ride To Glory Jul: Am West, Then & Now Aug: Wild West Shows Sep: Vaquero/500 Yrs Before CBs Oct: Capturing Billy Nov/Dec: Chaco Canyon
o o o o o o o o o o
Jan/Feb: Top 10 Western Towns Mar: Trains/Pony Express Apr: OW Destinations/Clint Eastwood May: Legendary Sonny Jim Jun: Extreme Western Adventures Jul: Starvation Trail/AZ Rough Riders Aug: Digging Up Billy the Kid Sep: Classic Rodeo! Oct: Extraordinary Western Art Nov/Dec: Black Warriors of the West
o o o o o o o o o o
Jan/Feb: Sweethearts of the Rodeo Mar: 175th Anniv Battle of the Alamo Apr: Three True Grits May: Historic Ranches Jun: Tin Type Billy Jul: Viva, Outlaw Women! Aug: Was Geronimo A Terrorist? Sep: Western Museums/CBs & Aliens Oct: Hard Targets Nov/Dec: Butch Cassidy is Back
o o o o o o o
Feb: Az Crazy Road to Statehood Mar: Special Entertainment Issue Apr: Riding Shotgun with History May: The Outlaw Cowboys of NM Jun: Wyatt On The Set! July: Deadly Trackers Aug: How Did Butch & Sundance Die?
2010
2011
2012
o o o o
Sep: The Heros of Northfield Oct: Bravest Lawman You Never Nov: Armed & Courageous Dec: Legend of Climax Jim
o o o o o o o o o o o
Jan: Best of the West/John Wayne Feb: Rocky Mountain Rangers Apr: US Marshals May: Texas Rangers Jun: Doc’s Last Gunfight Jul: Comanche Killers! Aug: Tombstone 20th Annv Sep: Ambushed on the Pecos Oct: Outlaws,Lawmen & Gunfighters Nov: Soiled Doves Dec: Cowboy Ground Zero
o o o o o o o o o o o o
Jan: Best 100 Historical Photos Feb: Assn. of Pat Garrett Mar: Stand-up Gunfights Apr: Wyatt Earp Alaska May: Tom Horn Jun: Custer Captured Jul: 50 Historical Gunfighter Photos Aug: Bigfoot Wallace/Train Robberies Sep: New Billy Photo/Top Museums Oct: Charlie Russell/Movie Hats Nov: Wild Bills's Last Gunfight Dec: Olive Oatman-Branded
2013
2014
2015 o Jan: 100 Historical Am. Indian Photos o Feb: Mountain Man-First Survivalists o Mar: Mickey Free/Severed Heads o Apr: Jack Stilwell-Forgotten Scout o May: Armed to Survive o Jun: Billy the Kid-Special Report o Jul: 50 Historical Photos-Panco Villa o Aug: Luke Short-Dodge City War o Sep: Crossing America-Lewis & Clark o Oct: Wyatt Earp in Hollywood o Nov: 22 Guns that Won the West o Dec: The First Mountain Man
See the complete collection of available back issues online at the True West Store!
Store.TrueWestMagazine.com 1-888-687-1881
“Sidekick Syndrome”
Marshall Trimble is Arizona’s official historian and vice president of the Wild West History Association. His latest book is Arizona Outlaws and Lawmen; The History Press, 2015. If you have a question, write: Ask the Marshall, P.O. Box 8008, Cave Creek, AZ 85327 or e-mail him at [emailprotected]
BY Marshall TriMBle
Did “Wild Bill” Hickok have a sidekick named Jingles? Jeanne Miller Clarksville, Tennessee
Jingles, played by the great Andy Devine, was a product, for lack of a better term, of the Hollywood “Sidekick Syndrome.” He was a fictional sidekick to Guy Madison, who played Hickok in the 1950s CBS series Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok.
What were frontier livery stables like? David Jones Phoenix, Arizona
A livery stable was a place where pioneers could hire horses, teams, buggies and wagons. The stable was often attached to a hotel or boarding house. Unlike modern-day rental cars, transports had to be returned to the place where you rented it. If you didn’t, a warrant was sworn out for your arrest. Rental prices are hard to track down, as most advertisem*nts stated, “Reasonable Prices.” One ad from 1850 reported that boarding a horse would set you back 50 cents a day. Pretty pricey for a time when an average worker earned less than $11 a month. Another ad, circa 1880, quoted $10 a week to board a horse. Customers who wanted to board a horse had several options. Full board
Not so True West: Despite what the 1950s CBS series told you, “Wild Bill” Hickok (played by Guy Madison, above left) did not have a real-life sidekick known as Jingles (played by Andy Devine, above right). – Courtesy CBs –
included shelter, water, stabling and twice daily feedings of hay; the animal would also be turned out a couple of times per day for exercise. Partial board featured shelter, water, stabling and twice daily feedings of hay; everything else was the responsibility of the owner. Self-boarding provided only a This historical photo of William “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s stagecoach line to the Black Hills in Dakota Territory shows his livery stable, originally built in 1894, which was also used by the Sheridan Inn. – true West ArCHIves –
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space in the stable; the animal’s owner was responsible for all care. Pasture boarding was also common. If the grass proved sufficient, a horse stayed in the pasture year round. If not, hay could either be provided by the stable operator or the horse owner. The livery stable keeper usually had a lien on anything else left in his care to ensure payment. He also had the right to detain horses, wagons and the like until the debt was settled.
Was Ike Clanton the coward that movies make him out to be? Rocky Strong Sherman, Texas
Pretty much. Ike Clanton gave an empty threat to kill the Earp brothers that caused the infamous 1881 gunfight that neither side expected or wanted. When
the gunfire broke out, Ike turned tail and hid, leaving his brother and the McLaurys to die. He blatantly lied at the O.K. Corral inquest in an effort to get Ike Clanton the Earps and “Doc” Holliday tried for murder. Ike was not exactly a stand-up guy.
Was ammunition expensive? Paul Piper Dorset, England, United Kingdom
Depends on what you were buying. A Remington 1877 catalog listed 1,000 rounds of .22 cartridges for $6, while 56-50 rounds went for $40. A Colt 1890 catalogue listed 1,000 rounds of .22 rimfire for $5, while .32 centerfire went for $11.32. “While that sounds inexpensive,” Firearms Editor Phil Spangenberger adds, “remember a common laborer only made a few dollars per week. Miners were well paid at $4 per day in some instances, while a cowhand may earn only about $30-$40 per month plus fare.”
How did Kit Carson die? Mike Suhy Corpus Christi, Texas
A hard life on the frontier took a toll on Kit Carson’s health, which began to decline in 1860, when he was 51, following a fall from a horse that resulted in an aneurism. When wife Josepha died a few days after giving birth to their daughter on May 13, 1868, his will to live was shattered. While lying on the floor over a buffalo robe at Fort Lyon in Colorado, his aneurism burst and he died on May 23. His body was buried in Taos, New Mexico Territory.
Is Clint Eastwood ambidextrous? Bud Haak West St. Paul, Minnesota
You’re not the first to notice Clint Eastwood is good at both left-handed and right-handed shooting in his movies. He was born a southpaw, but according to Richard Schickel’s authorized biography, like many of his generation, Eastwood was required to do things right-handed. So you might say he’s ambidextrous.
the Raised onoad MotheR R
Related to Outlaws My mother hated it when I would proudly tell everyone we were related to outlaws, like “Black Jack” Ketchum, John Wesley Hardin and “Big Foot” Wallace. At the time I couldn’t understand why, but since then I have learned that a typical Westerner will punch you in the mouth if you call his daddy a crook, but he will puff out a little when telling you about his grandfather being an outlaw.
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“I love Doc Holliday’s lines in 1993’s Tombstone,” Mark Boardman says, “ ‘specially the debate in Latin with Johnny Ringo. His most interesting comment came when Doc says that Wyatt Earp is not seeking revenge, but a reckoning. Although I don’t think we’ll start calling the ‘Vendetta Ride’ the ‘Reckoning Ride.’”
My favorite Old West character is Jim Miller. We still don’t know everything he did or all the people he killed. We have more to discover about this hired killer (and, for awhile, seemingly devout Methodist). What most people don’t understand about
Tombstone’s history is that the well-known stuff occurred in a brief period of time. The real heyday of Tombstone was only about seven years, and the better known events took place in a three-year span.
When I write my sermons, I always try to find a story that ties into the scripture lesson—and then make it relevant for the congregation. Balancing Old West history with the ministry is not hard. In fact, the story of the Old West is replete with sinners and angels, heaven and hell, faith and hope. The kind of history I prefer to read covers outlaws and
lawmen and gunfighters, or character-driven stories.
Most people don’t know that I love prog music, particularly Yes, Genesis, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and the Neal Morse Band. Don’t get me started on people who continue to spread legends and myths (and lies) as fact. Especially those people who should know better. The problems we face today aren’t that different
than the ones faced in the Old West. Humans cause most of them—and have the tools to solve them as well.
Did Wyatt Earp kill “Curly Bill” Brocius? I believe he
did, even though the supportive evidence is a bit thin. The fact that Curly Bill disappeared after the Iron Springs affray is a compelling argument that Earp did kill him.
My goal for The Tombstone Epitaph is to dominate the
world. Or to continue the long tradition of presenting the great stories of the Old West.
John Clum started this classic newspaper, and I
intend to continue the tradition. But I don’t do printing presses. I’m not an ink-stained wretch. Well, at least not ink-stained.
MARK BOARDMAN, EDITOR OF THE TOMBSTONE EPITAPH True West’s Features Editor Mark Boardman has taken on the reins of Arizona’s oldest continuously published newspaper, The Tombstone Epitaph. He is also the chief purveyor of ScarletMask Enterprises, and the pastor at Poplar Grove United Methodist Church in Wilbur, Indiana, near Avon, where he lives with his wife, Patty. The Northwestern University graduate also appeared in 2015’s Gunslingers that aired on the Discovery Channel.
The first time I visited Tombstone, in 1999, I was in awe seeing such a legendary place. I was a real tourist, with camera (no Hawaiian shirt, though). Most people don’t know I had a wild past in public radio.
I worked at National Public Radio for awhile and managed several stations. And, yes, I was pretty wild. So wild that I was encouraged to leave the field--which took me to Old West studies.
Wish I had a dollar for every time somebody said, “You were the last person I thought would become a pastor.” My mom says that every time we’re together. She’s right.
History has taught me that we can learn from the past—but all too often don’t. And it can be fun to study—but all too often isn’t.
If this were 1881, my first interview would be John Clum. “How the heck do I run this newspaper, John?”
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