The American West: Charles Goodnight His Trail & His Chuck Wagon
If there ever was a quintessential pioneer, it would be Charles Goodnight. By the age of 18, Goodnight had already earned a reputation as a noted scout and Indian fighter when he joined the Texas Rangers.
Linda WommackSeptember 27, 2024
The American West: Native Hawaiian Cowboys Invade Cheyenne Frontier Days
The arrival of three paniolos — native Hawaiian cowboys — to compete in the steer roping event at Cheyenne Frontier Days back in 1908 set off a minor firestorm. But it was short-lived when they quickly proved their cowboy credentials.
R.B. MillerSeptember 27, 2024
The American West: St. Joseph, Missouri – Founded by Joseph Robidoux
In 1860, the Pony Express established itself in St. Joseph, and connected the nation during a period of great unrest just prior to the Civil War. The stables have been turned into a museum as has the Patee House, which served as the Pony Express Headquarters.
Candy MoultonSeptember 22, 2024
The American West: The Art of David Wright
There are big goings-on these days at the Museum of the Mountain Man in Pinedale. It all started this past May when the museum presented one of the largest collections of original contemporary art of the mountain men. It is titled “One with the Land: The Mountain Man’s Journey into the Unknown” and includes 72 pieces of artwork from 38 individuals, including David Wright.
James A. CrutchfieldSeptember 22, 2024
The American West: Simpson’s Hollow, What Could Possibly Have Happened Here?
If you find yourself traveling Highway 28, this route places you among several National Historic Trails and expansion era roads. Roughly twelve miles west of Farson is a turnout at a stone monument and interpretive signs commemorating and educating visitors about one of the opening events of the “Utah War” of 1857.
Terry A. Del BeneSeptember 22, 2024
The American West: What happened to Reuben Van Ornum?
While not as well known as other tragedies on the emigrant trails, the Utter-Van Orman Massacre is one of the few recorded incidents that left the survivors so bereft they resorted to cannibalism to stay alive.
R.B. MillerSeptember 20, 2024
The American West: How The Sundance Kid Became A Notorious Outlaw
A young ranch hand and horseman in southwest Colorado met up with Butch Cassidy and a band of outlaws as a teenager. That partnership would make The Sundance Kid one of the most notorious western outlaws.
Linda WommackSeptember 15, 2024
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
The American West: The 1864 Attack On The Kelly-Larimer Wagon Train
All that’s left today of the July 12, 1864, attack on the Kelly-Larimer Wagon Train in what would later become Wyoming Territory are the harrowing accounts of women taken captive and a small graveyard.
Terry A. Del BeneJune 29, 2024
The American West: Fetterman’s Massacre Was High Drama On The High Plains
The bloody and ill-advised skirmish with Indian warriors at Fort Phil Kearny in 1866 that became known as Fetterman's Massacre didn’t have to happen. Capt. William J. Fetterman disregarded orders and got his troops wiped out.
James A. CrutchfieldJune 23, 2024
The American West: That Time Rudyard Kipling Came To Yellowstone And Wasn’t Impressed
Rudyard Kipling was in a foul and despicable mood when his editor sent him to visit America. He was not impressed with the American West. "Today I am in the Yellowstone Park, and I wish I were dead," he wrote.
Terry A. Del BeneJune 22, 2024
The American West: First Missionary Women At Rendezvous Were True Trailblazers
Eliza Spalding and Narcissa Whitman were the first white women to come west in 1836. Although riding in a wagon across the Kansas and Nebraska was not a smooth journey, they found it to be a great mode of transportation.
Candy MoultonJune 16, 2024
American West: The Rendezvous Was — And Still Is — One Hell Of A Party
In 1825, Gen. William Ashley introduced a system known as the rendezvous, a methodology that revolutionized, but also simplified, the entire concept of trading with the American Indians. A total of 15 annual rendezvous were held between 1825 and 1840 and 11 of them were in Wyoming.
James A. CrutchfieldJune 15, 2024