Contributors
The American West: Old Ephraim
A loud ruckus awakened Frank Clark from a sound sleep. Still in his in his underwear, Frank grabbed his rifle, and ran to investigate. He found a legendary grizzly bear named Old Ephraim, enraged and fighting to free himself from a 23-pound bear trap.
R.B. MillerApril 13, 2025
The American West: An Early California-Oregon Cattle Drive
Ewing Young and his men drove a herd of cattle into the Willamette Valley in 1837, providing a basis for the dairy and beef industries in Oregon. This cattle drive was an undertaking that would not occur on such a vast scale again until the late 1860s.
James A. CrutchfieldApril 12, 2025
The American West: Val Kilmer's "Tombstone"
Despite performances as Tom Cruise’s rival in “Top Gun,” Jim Morrison in “The Doors” and Bruce Wayne/Batman in “Batman Forever” (1995), Val Kilmer is probably best remembered as the witty, drunken, charming but deadly Doc Holliday in “Tombstone.”
Johnny D. BoggsApril 11, 2025
The American West: Surveying the Santa Fe Trail
The Santa Fe Trail is one of the most important thoroughfares in the history of the United States. In its relatively short lifetime as a highway of commerce, it linked the raw, brazen youth of American industry to the centuries-old marketplaces of New Mexico.
James A. CrutchfieldApril 07, 2025
The American West: Colorado Cowpoke Sets Off the Greatest Gold Rush in History
On a cool, crisp autumn day in 1890, there was no doubt in Bob Womack’s mind that he had uncovered a rich vein of gold. After spending considerable time examining the half-inch discolorized vein in the rock surface, Bob decided to use dynamite in an effort to break loose the ore.
Linda WommackApril 06, 2025
The American West: Thomas “Broken Hand” Fitzpatrick Helps Open The West
Solid, dependable, fearless, and trusted by Indians and whites alike, Thomas Fitzpatrick made a wide circle in his travels in the West from 1823 until his death in 1854, leading fur brigades, pioneers, and explorers, and brokering deals with tribal leaders.
Candy MoultonApril 05, 2025
The American West: Black Hills Entrepreneur Started Off Poor And Shoeless
Frederick Taft Evans Sr., at 6-foot-4 and barrel-chested, was more than just physically big. The entrepreneur also had big ideas for the development of Hot Springs, Dakota Territory. But in the fall of 1856, Evans he was broke and barefoot, and chopping wood for $1 per cord.
Peggy SandersApril 03, 2025
The American West: When The Feds Unleashed Their Camels
In 1855, Congress, authorized “the importation of camels and dromedaries to be used for military purposes” and had earmarked $30,000 for the experiment. The Middle Eastern animals arrived at Matagorda Bay, while many stood in awe.
James A. CrutchfieldApril 03, 2025
The American West: The Mormon Lad Who Died Stealing A Horse
Lot Huntington was on the run after stealing $800 from an Overland Mail strongbox at Townsend’s Stable in Salt Lake City, Utah, when he stole a horse that put a feared deputy U.S. Marshal on his trail and got him killed.
R.B. MillerApril 02, 2025
The American West: The Woman Whose Handcart Mission Went Very Wrong
Elizabeth Whittear Sermon in 1856 persuaded her family to join a handcart company traveling to Utah. They left in August, which was a disaster. Her husband died and her children lost some of their toes.
Candy MoultonMarch 31, 2025
The American West: Private Businessmen, Not The Government, First Launched Denver Mint
When Colorado’s gold miners filled their pockets with nuggets, it became evident they needed a better way to carry their wealth – the answer was the region’s first mint. Based in Denver, it got its start with private, not government owners.
James A. CrutchfieldMarch 30, 2025
The American West: The Great Plains Inspired Mari Sandoz and Willa Cather
Two of the West’s best-known writers, Mari Sandoz and Willa Cather, found inspiration in the landscapes of Nebraska. In both cases the literature and the landscape endure. Cather called the harsh land "the happiness and the curse of my life."
Candy MoultonMarch 29, 2025
The American West: Rattlesnake Kate Started Killing Snakes To Protect Her Baby
The legendary homesteader "Rattlesnake Kate" was a mama first. She slaughtered 140 rattlesnakes that dared surround her 3-year-old son while the pair were out on horseback, looking for waterfowl on the Colorado plains in 1925.
Linda WommackMarch 28, 2025
The American West: Actually, The First Woman To Vote Was In Utah
Wyoming’s role in winning the vote for women is well chronicled and documented in history, and rightly so. But the first woman to actually cast a ballot in an election is less well known, and often a surprise. She was not from Wyoming.
R.B. MillerMarch 27, 2025
The American West: Carving A Homestead In The Black Hills
Ira and Hattie Tillotson homesteaded a quarter section of land south of Hot Springs, Dakota Territory, near Cascade Springs, in 1883. The place is the oldest farm continuously owned by the same family in Fall River County, South Dakota.
Peggy SandersMarch 25, 2025
The American West: Annie Tallent, The First White Woman In The Black Hills
Annie Tallent was the first white woman to enter the Black Hills, Dakota Territory. She was a member of the Collins-Russell Expedition, also called the Gordon Party, which illegally traveled into the Black Hills in December 1874.
Peggy SandersMarch 24, 2025
The American West: Wyoming’s First Woman Senator Brought Back The Saloons
When Thermopolis pioneer, businesswoman and advocate Dora McGrath decided to run for the Wyoming senate in 1930 it was to give soldiers all the freedoms for which they risked their lives -- including the freedom to drink alcohol.
Jackie DorothyMarch 23, 2025
The American West: John Wesley Powell Explores The Green River in 1869
John Wesley Powell and his 1869 expedition pushed into the Green River on May 24, 1869, the first American explorers to challenge the mighty river across Colorado, Utah, and into the Grand Canyon.
Candy MoultonMarch 22, 2025
The American West: Did The Wild Bunch, Rob The Bank In Winnemucca?
Three, maybe four, robbers entered the bank in Winnemucca, Nevada, in 1900, stole about $32,000, then made a daring escape, dodging bullets as they went. The most popular story is that Butch Cassidy pulled off the heist, assisted by the Sundance Kid and George “Flat Nose” Curry.
R.B. MillerMarch 21, 2025
The American West: Lieutenant Charles Wilkes and the United States Exploring Expedition
The mission of the United States Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842 was to encircle the globe and to document the scientific findings revealed on the journey. Its greatest contribution to the story of America’s westward expansion, however, was the map entitled “Mouth of the Columbia River, Oregon Territory, 1841.”
James A. CrutchfieldMarch 20, 2025
The American West: Larger Than Life Cowboy Bob Fudge
Bob Fudge followed herds north from Texas to Montana many times, and eventually stayed on the northern plains with the XIT Ranch, which moved tens of thousands of cattle to grazing grounds in Montana.
R.B. MillerMarch 20, 2025
The American West: Doc Holiday - The Colorado Years
Despite earning a degree in dentistry at the age of 20 from Pennsylvania College, John Henry "Doc" Holliday is best known in history as gambler and a killer. Surprisingly, while in Colorado, he never killed anyone.
Linda WommackMarch 18, 2025
The American West: Seminoe Dune Murder - An Early Cold Case in Wyoming
Mysteries linger in the wide-open landscapes of Wyoming — cases of missing persons that have remained unsolved for decades. Evidence suggests the body found in the Seminoe dune field in 1996 is that of the only witness who saw the lynching of James Averell and Cattle Kate more than 100 years earlier.
Mark E. MillerMarch 17, 2025
The American West: Peg Leg Smith, Horse Thief
In 1840, Pegleg Smith stole some 1,200 mules and horses at the Mission of San Luis Obispo and eluded a posse in the Mojave Desert. It was as wild and wooly as any criminal enterprise in the history of the American West.
R.B. MillerMarch 16, 2025