One of the greatest western legends that actually lived was the black lawman Bass Reeves. He served as a US Deputy Marshal under “Hanging Judge” Isaac Parker in Oklahoma, arresting over three thousand law breakers in his thirty-two year career. Reeves was born in July 1838 in Crawford County, Arkansas. He was the slave ofContinue reading “Bass Reeves: Real-Life Legend”
Category Archives: Wild West History
But Weren’t Cowboys Good?
Everyone knows that the cowboys were the greatest heroes of the Wild West. The overwhelming evidence of the silver screen cannot be contradicted. Or can it? The modern conception of cowboys is along the lines of a John Wayne character- tough, a little rough around the edges, and perhaps overly bellicose, but still the goodContinue reading “But Weren’t Cowboys Good?”
Gunfighters in the Wild West
The typical Western movie or novel ends with a glamorous gunfight on a dusty street. What could be more romantic, than a chance to publicly vindicate yourself, and have a few dozen witnesses to your proficiency with a gun? But did it ever actually happen? Wild Bill Hickok had public fight on the Springfield, MissouriContinue reading “Gunfighters in the Wild West”
Cowboy Food
What exactly did the cowboys eat on a cattle drive? They were driving cattle nearly every hour of daylight, and riding horses over rough ground, and fighting rougher longhorns. The rigorous work left the cowboys dog-tired and ready to eat a “whole mule and a hamper of greens.” According to Theodore Roosevelt, that literally couldContinue reading “Cowboy Food”
Big Medicine in the Wild West
In the early days of the Wild West, a band of Indians approached a priest and requested that he baptize them. The padre was delighted. However, to fulfill church policy, he inquired into the braves’ desire for baptism. The bronzed warriors replied that they wanted the Spanish medicine. (Medicine, to the Indians, was anything thatContinue reading “Big Medicine in the Wild West”
Dusty Trails 