The fatal gunfight between an outlaw and a lawman. “Black Face’ Charlie Bryant—his face bears powder marks from a shooting scrape—was a member of...
Paying a Debt to Society
Lawman Henry Brown went to the dark society, with tragic results. Henry Newton Brown made his spurs by fighting in the Lincoln County War. By 1882,...
Nowhere to Run
Outlaw Nick Worthington comes to a bloody end. June 18, 1878. A group of men spot outlaw Nick Worthington outside the St. James Hotel in Cimarron,...
Lean Times for an Action Star
Tom Mix’s last years were tough… Tom Mix’s movie career was basically done by 1929. Westerns were out of fashion, so he spent his last years were...
And Your Horse, Too!
Tom Mix’s horse became a famous screen presence. Tom Mix's horse, Tony, was the only horse who starred in his own movie, made in 1922. Mix had a...
Superstar of the Silver Screen
Tom Mix dominated in the 1920s. The 1920’s was an age of superheroes like Babe Ruth, Red Grange, and Charles Lindbergh. But perhaps the greatest...
The Man Who Killed the Man Who Killed Jesse James
Ed O’Kelley blows away Bob Ford. June 8, 1892. Ed O'Kelley blasts Robert Ford into eternity in Ford's tent saloon in Creede, Colorado. O'Kelley...
Evans and Sontag: End of Trail
The train robbers are taken down by a California posse. June 10-11, 1893. Train robbers John Sontag and Chris Evans are taken down by a posse...
The Truth About Tom Carson
The Abilene hardcase was less than the legends. June 14, 1871. Abilene, Kansas Marshal Wild Bill Hickok hires Tom Carson as a deputy. There are a...
He Knew Where the Bodies Were
Burt Alvord and a practical joke. The story (maybe the legend) goes that Arizona lawman/outlaw Burt Alvord loved practical jokes. He and Matt Burts...
They Didn’t Call Him Smart for Nothing
One successful train holdup deserved another. On April 27, 1887, Doc Smart and his band robbed a train near Pantano, AZ. The bandits uncoupled the...
An Explosive Robbery
Two outlaws discovered how not to stick up a train. On January 30, 1895, Joe George and Grant Wheeler, a couple of unemployed cowboys, held up the...