The American West: George Catlin Helped Inspire Exploration With His Indian Art
Early America’s obsession with the West was inspired in part by early 1830s artists like George Catlin. His paintings and drawings of American Indians, including his famous tour of the Pipestone Quarry, sparked a young nation’s imagination.
James A. CrutchfieldSeptember 14, 2024
Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame: Gene Wollen, Cowboy From Bill Who Once Roped An Eagle
Gene Wollen, of Bill, will be inducted into the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame in October -- joining his late father who was inducted in 2017. Gene was great with a rope. He once, even, lassoed an eagle although the eagle let him know quickly who was boss.
Candy MoultonSeptember 14, 2024
The American West: Memories of September 11, 2001 and Relating to Other Historical Events
On September 11, 2001, I served as Captain of Engine Company 308, FDNY. I also enjoyed a modest writing career, penning books and articles on some of my favorite subjects, the battle of the Alamo, Davy Crockett, John Steinbeck, and others.
William GronemanSeptember 11, 2024
The American West: The Great Santee Sioux Uprising of 1862
By the summer of 1862, residents of the Santee Sioux villages situated along the middle Minnesota River, a tributary of the Mississippi, were weary of the constant influx of German settlers in the area and frustrated from seeing their government annuity payments stolen by unscrupulous traders.
James A. CrutchfieldSeptember 08, 2024
The American West: Debunking Three Deadwood Wild Bill Hickok Legends
Warning: You may not want to read any further if you don’t like the idea of a legend being debunked. Many legends swirl around Wild Bill Hickok. Three of these are associated with his stay in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, in 1876.
Bill MarkleySeptember 07, 2024
The American West: The Pony Express And Buffalo Bill Cody
Some people are skeptical of Buffalo Bill Cody’s claims of being a Pony Express rider as he was only 14 at the time. However, he likely did ride for the Pony Express, but expanded and embellished what really happened.
Bill MarkleySeptember 01, 2024
The American West: The Battles Of Tohotonimme, Four Lakes And Spokane Plains
The U.S. Army's Indian battles in Washington Territory in 1858 set the stage for more settlers. First was a demoralizing loss for Lt. Col. Williams Steptoe in the Battle of Tohotonimme. The Army retaliated at the Battles of Four Lakes and Spokane Plains.
James A. CrutchfieldAugust 31, 2024
The American West: The Ohio Cavalry Protected Wyoming Trails
Split Rock Station, constructed in 1859 near the landmark of the same name, was garrisoned by about 50 soldiers of the 6th Ohio in 1862 when traditionally friendly Shoshone Indians and their Bannock allies attacked stage stations along the Sweetwater River...
Candy MoultonAugust 26, 2024
The American West: The Saga of Sarah Ann Horn
For nearly five centuries, these thrilling, yet oftentimes horrific, narratives of confrontations between primarily settlers -- many of them women and children -- and the native tribes of North America have provided exciting literary fodder for generations of readers.
James A. CrutchfieldAugust 26, 2024
The American West: Chinese Miners Helped Build Idaho And Montana
Before they found work building the Central Pacific Railroad, Chinese laborers were already working in gold mining operations across the Intermountain West.
Candy MoultonAugust 18, 2024
The American West: The Legend of Baby Doe
In March 1935, an emaciated corpse was found frozen to the rough-planked floor of a tool shack at the Matchless Mine in Leadville, Colorado. The winter’s intense cold had preserved her body so that even her facial features could still be discerned.
James A. CrutchfieldAugust 18, 2024
The American West: Documenting the Wagonhound
A Frenchwoman from New York came to the Wagonhound, a large ranch outside of Douglas in a snowstorm. Wyoming’s open spaces, the seeming emptiness of the landscape, was the inspiration she sought.
Candy MoultonAugust 12, 2024
The American West: The Army of the West
The life of the Army of the West was brief. From its establishment in June, 1846, until its demise after the American victory at Los Angeles in January, 1847, its members had traveled hundreds of miles against grueling, sometimes almost impossible, odds.
James A. CrutchfieldAugust 11, 2024
The American West: The Great Wyoming Diamond Swindle Of 1871
During the Gilded Age, the Rocky Mountain West had its share of speculation in get-rich-quick schemes. One such design happened in Wyoming. It was an elaborate con about the discovery of a mother lode of diamonds in Carbon County.
Terry A. Del BeneAugust 03, 2024
The American West: The Death of Buffalo Bill
When the doctor announced that Buffalo Bill Cody had no more than thirty-six hours to live, the old performer called his brother-in-law to his bedside to play cards.
James A. CrutchfieldAugust 03, 2024
The American West: John C. Fremont - The Pathfinder Fights Indians, Encounters Grizzly Bear In Carbon County
John C. Fremont first came into Carbon County in August of 1843, traveling west and camping on the principal fork of the Medicine Bow River near “an isolated mountain called the Medicine Butte.” This of course, was Elk Mountain.
Candy MoultonJuly 27, 2024
The American West: Bicycles and Buffalo Soldiers
To folks not familiar with the village of Missoula, Montana, or of the United States army post aptly named Fort Missoula located about four miles southwest of town, the sight which presented itself during the early morning of June 14, 1897, might have seemed strange indeed.
James A. CrutchfieldJuly 27, 2024
The American West: Smokey Bear, America’s Most Iconic Forest Ranger
How a scared little 5-pound bear cub who survived a devastating wildfire in 1950 became a national icon. Smokey Bear remains America’s most iconic and recognizable forest ranger.
James A. CrutchfieldJuly 21, 2024
The American West: Steamboat Embodies Wyoming’s Cowboy Legacy
Wyoming’s most enduring symbol is our cowboy license plate. It's an old argument across Wyoming as to the rider depicted on the license plate. In Pinedale, old timers may tell you it’s Guy Holt. In Lander, sentiment leans toward Stub Farlow. In Laramie, the name most often mentioned is Jake Maring.
Candy MoultonJuly 20, 2024
The American West: The Battle of Granby -- 2004
Marvin Heemeyer climbed into his improvised tank-bulldozer, cranked up the engine, and proceeded to drive through the wall of his rented building onto the parking lot of business neighbor Cody Docheff’s newly constructed concrete plant.
James A. CrutchfieldJuly 14, 2024
The American West: Fort Laramie Attacked
Though one of the most important military forts in the West, Fort Laramie lacked fortifications. It was an open assemblage of buildings that one might usually expect to find within protective walls of any U.S. Army fort in the Nineteenth Century.
Terry A. Del BeneJuly 14, 2024
The American West: How Calamity Jane Earned Her Stripes As An Army Scout
Sporting buckskin and a rifle, Calamity Jane looked every bit the part of a Western frontierswoman. She didn’t take kindly to the word “no" and quickly proved herself as an invaluable Army scout for troops in the Black Hills region.
Candy MoultonJuly 07, 2024
The American West: Transcontinental Railroad Challenge No. 1 — Where To Put It
Before the first transcontinental railroad could open the untamed West to the rest of the nation, a crucial decision had to be made — where to put it.
James A. CrutchfieldJuly 06, 2024
The American West: Fr. Pierre De Smet, The Jesuit Priest Who Baptized The West
Jesuit priest Fr. Pierre-Jean De Smet was born in Belgium, but found his life’s calling establishing Catholic missions throughout the early settlement of the West, including holding the first Catholic mass in Wyoming.
Candy MoultonJune 30, 2024