1874 – Chunk Colson tried to bushwack Clay Allison after a horse race in the Indian Territory.  Clay killed him.  Also on this day, settlers in the Black, Walla Walla, and Yakima River Valleys erected blockhouses at the urging of Oregon Territorial Governor Issac I Stevens to protect themselves from the Yakima and other nations read more…

Perhaps the most distressing feature of Old West medicine was its inability, outside of surgical anesthesia, to alleviate pain. Even minor afflictions often meant weeks of suffering that a modern society, accustomed to instant relief, would not have the fortitude to endure. I would have been one of those that could not have endured. I read more…

The few Westerns seen on television during the early 1950s starred old-style movie heroes such as the Lone Ranger and Hopalong Casssidy, and had little to do with the real West.  Westerns were considered another form of obvious fantasy strictly for kids.  Two shows, Gunsmoke and The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp changed all read more…

The date on the small rock tombstone atop of Bob Ford’s grave in Richmond, Missouri is incorrect. Ford was born in 1861, but the tombstone has 1841 as his birthday. A reader who picked up a copy of Tales Behind the Tombstones pointed that out yesterday. The book was released in 2007 and I never read more…

I like clean slates. The idea of blank canvas before me gives me some hope. The possibilities are endless. The first work day of the New Year…that clean slate promises to be filled by the day’s end. Looking forward I have three new books that are going to be released – two in the summer read more…