The American West
The American West is a place of cultural significance, dominant landscapes, and stories that transcend time. In this series learn about the people, the myths, legends, and reality of a place that is unique in American History.
Contributors
The American West: Medicine Water Leader of the Cheyenne Dog Soldiers
Medicine Water became the leader of the Cheyenne Bowstring Warrior Society, commonly known as the Dog Soldiers. With his wife Mo-chi and the Dog Soldiers he set out to preserve the culture and traditions, and the territory for the Cheyenne people.
Linda WommackApril 23, 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, thus 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, when Texas cowboys would herd their cattle north to Kansas railhead towns.
James A. CrutchfieldApril 22, 2025
The American West: Doc Peirce Prepared Wild Bill Hickok For Burial
Known as the man who laid out Wild Bill Hickok for burial, Doc Peirce had a storied life and his brief time in Deadwood made him famous. Of Hickok Peirce said, “he was the prettiest corpse I ever saw — the blood having run out of him so quickly, he looked just as if he was a wax figure.”
Peggy SandersApril 21, 2025
The American West: The Texian For Texas Independence, 1836
When Texian delegates declared independence from Mexico in 1836 José Antonio Navarro of San Antonio was one of the signers. He would later sign the Constitution of the Republic of Texas, the only Texas native whose name was affixed to both the Texian Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
R.B. MillerApril 20, 2025
The American West: The Birth Of The Rough Riders
Each recruit had to be a good shot be able to ride anything in the line of horseflesh, a rough and ready fighter, and above all must absolutely have no understanding of the word fear.
James A. CrutchfieldApril 19, 2025
The American West: A Case Of Gold Fever In Colorado
The story of westward expansion includes several episodes of mineral discoveries setting off national and even international gold rushes including one that brought John D. Young to Colorado.
Terry A. Del BeneApril 18, 2025
The American West: Buffalo Bill’s Little Known Business Partner
Evelyn Booth, a wealthy young English sportsman tumbled into a shooting match with Buffalo Bill Cody before a crowd of 3,000 spectators. That chance encounter gave Booth an opportunity to partner in one of the most profitable and renowned Western enterprises ever.
Kellen CutsforthApril 17, 2025
The American West: Cripple Creek’s Sweet Treat – The Black Cow
Who doesn't love a rich, creamy Root Beer Float? The simple and oh, so sweet refreshing treat was originally called the “Black Cow” and the sweet concoction was created in the mountain mining camp of Cripple Creek, Colorado.
Linda WommackApril 16, 2025
The American West: David Thompson And The North West Company
David Thompson became one of the first fur traders to cross the Canadian Rockies into the interior valley of the Columbia River source west of the Continental Divide. He also became the first white explorer to travel the full course of the Columbia River.
Candy MoultonApril 15, 2025
The American West: Elkhorn Ranch — Cowboys Saved By Sage Hens And Seed Peas
It did not take long for the cowhands in Cache Valley to realize their cattle would starve to death before spring as there was not enough hay for them all. And the cowboys also needed food for themselves, which came from unlikely sources.
R.B. MillerApril 14, 2025
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
The American West: Badger Clark And “The Cowboy’s Prayer”
Although his travels took him afar, Badger Clark always returned to the Black Hills. He licked tuberculosis then became a cowboy poet and author who wrote one of the most recognized poems in the West.
Peggy SandersMarch 16, 2025
The American West: Susan Magoffin on the Santa Fe Trail
Samuel Magoffin was an experienced trader who used the Santa Fe trail when he set off in June of 1846 with fourteen big wagons, each one pulled by six yoke of oxen. His young wife, on the other hand, had no clue what was in store for her on the trail.
March 15, 2025
The American West: The Arikara Campaign Of 1823
As fur trader William Ashley and his two boatloads of men and supplies neared the Arikara villages in 1823 he had no way of determining whether the Indians would be friendly or not.
James A. CrutchfieldMarch 14, 2025
The American West: Pegleg Smith, Mountain Man
Pegleg Smith reportedly trapped and traded among the Sioux and Osage Indians for a few years, then worked as a free trapper in New Mexico, but he lost his leg in Colorado and became a horse thief in California.
R.B. MillerMarch 12, 2025
The American West: The Manassa Mauler Jack Dempsey
From meager beginnings in southwest Colorado, Jack Dempsey fought literally for everything he had, including the world championship boxing title in 1919. It was a time when America needed a hero and Jack Dempsey delivered.
Linda WommackMarch 11, 2025
The American West: U.S. Presidents And The Alamo
The Alamo garrison celebrated George Washington’s birthday in San Antonio on the night of February 22, 1836. It was their last party. There are many other Alamo connections to the presidents.
William GronemanMarch 10, 2025
American West: The Kidnapped Doctor And Wounded Outlaw
In 1904, two masked men kidnapped a Thermopolis doctor to save the life of an outlaw at their remote ranch. The horse thief had been shot in a shoot-out with lawmen and his true identity remains a mystery to this day.
Jackie DorothyMarch 09, 2025
The American West: The Pleasant Valley War Erupts in Arizona
One of the most famous gunfights in the history of the Old West took less than one minute. It was only one battle in what would become known as the Pleasant Valley War.
James A. CrutchfieldMarch 08, 2025
The American West: Jedediah Smith Mountain Man Trailblazer
One of Jedediah Smith’s goals was to "be the first to view a country on which the eyes of a white man had never gazed and to follow the course of rivers that run through a new land." He would break trails to California, Oregon, and Washington.
March 07, 2025
The American West: POWs, Timber Dominated Headlines During WWII
One Saratoga resident’s brother was in Europe fighting Germans during World War II, while his father was working in the timber industry with German prisoners from a POW Camp at Ryan Park, treating one of them as if he was one of our neighbors.
Dick PerueMarch 06, 2025
The American West: Mountain Man Extraordinaire - Mariano Medina
Mountain Man Mariano Medina built a post near present Loveland, Colorado that was “a known location for the ‘pony trade,’ ‘Whites,’ ‘Mexicans’ and ‘Indians’ who traded on a regular schedule in the Big Thompson Valley."
Linda WommackMarch 06, 2025
The American West: Geronimo - Master Guerrilla Fighter
The fierce Chiricahua Apache fighter Geronimo had an all-out war that spanned the American-Mexican border as he defended his people and their way of life, eluding the army for decades.
Bill MarkleyMarch 05, 2025
The American West: Charlie Siringo’s Cowboy Days
Charlie Siringo is best remembered for his years as a detective, undercover agent, and manhunter with the Pinkerton Agency, including his pursuit of Butch Cassidy and his accomplices in robbing trains. But Siringo was a cowboy before he was a Pinkerton detective.
R.B. MillerMarch 03, 2025
The American West – Writing Advice From John Steinbeck
People often lose sight of John Steinbeck as a Western writer. Born in California, half of his published books take place in his native state or in Mexico. Some feature the theme of Westering – traveling toward the goal of California.
William GronemanMarch 02, 2025
The American West: How A Wyoming Outlaw Won A Gunfight With A Coffee Mug
When outlaw Tom O’Day was ambushed in a Thermopolis café back in 1903, a coffee cup was his only defense. Although O'Day was injured, he was declared the winner of the gunfight by newspapers all across Wyoming. The media lampooned the gunman for losing to a coffee cup.
Jackie DorothyMarch 01, 2025
The American West: The Doomed Gold Rush Of Wyoming’s Wind River Canyon
In 1906, a gold rush erupted in Wyoming’s Copper Mountains above the Wind River Canyon. Asmus Boysen’s dream to build a dam and power for these mines was destined for ruin.
Jackie DorothyFebruary 28, 2025
The American West: The First Settlement Of Pueblo, Colorado
For many years, the first official, permanent settlement of today’s city of Pueblo, Colorado, has been credited to the noted mountain man, James P. Beckwourth. But Major Jacob Fowler may have been there twenty years earlier.
James A. CrutchfieldFebruary 27, 2025
The American West: Was Frank James in Wyoming?
One puzzling historical question remains unanswered: Was Frank James (Jesse James' brother) part of the Big Nose George Parott gang that killed two law enforcement officers near Elk Mountain in Wyoming on August 19, 1878?
Mark E. MillerFebruary 26, 2025
The American West: Termespheres -- A Unique Universe Of Art In South Dakota
Each of Dick Terme’s painted spheres are unbelievably complex, painted by a masterful artist whose imagination and multifaceted techniques are beyond compare.
Quackgrass SallyFebruary 25, 2025
The American West: Solomon Butcher – Nebraska’s Prairie Photographer
Solomon Butcher didn’t want to be a homesteader, but he clearly admired those with the grit and gumption to build a home of sod and a life on the land so he made a career traveling the prairie and making photographs.
Candy MoultonFebruary 24, 2025
The American West: The Wild Bunch Moves On - The 1896 Montpelier Bank Robbery
When notorious outlaw Matt Warner was arrested and put on trial for murder in Utah in 1896, he lacked the means to pay for legal assistance. So, his friend Butch Cassidy put a team together and robbed a bank to help him out.
R.B. MillerFebruary 23, 2025
The American West: The McCarty Brothers - Criminals Who Made Butch Cassidy Famous
As the bank robbers raced out of Telluride in 1889, Butch Cassidy entered the history books for his first hold-up that would lead to the formation of the Wild Bunch. Butch Cassidy is the best known of Wild Bunch outlaws, but behind his prominence were the McCarty Brothers.
Linda WommackFebruary 22, 2025
The American West: Murder And Mayhem In Old Deadwood
After the killing of Wild Bill Hickok on August 2, 1876, another feud in Deadwood broke out. This time it was between Laughing Sam and Harry Young. Speculation is that it was over a woman. Unfortunately, the feud led to the death of Bummer Dan in a case of mistaken identity.
Bill MarkleyFebruary 21, 2025
The American West: Butch Cassidy’s Banker, Eugene Amoretti Sr.
Eugene Amoretti Sr. was the founder of Lander, Wyoming, and known friend of both outlaw Butch Cassidy and Fremont County Sheriff Charles Stough, who pursued the outlaws. Amoretti came to America to seek his fortune and died a millionaire.
Jackie DorothyFebruary 21, 2025
The American West: Vernal, Utah’s Parcel Post Bank
The Bank of Vernal, built in 1916, looks like any bank, but it's pretty unique. Freight rates for shipping there were prohibitive, so an alternative was devised. The bank is built from bricks shipped to the community via parcel post through the United States Post Office.
R.B. MillerFebruary 19, 2025
The American West: Tracking Early Humans in Montana
The Anzick site excavation and aftermath should be a model of the cooperation that can exist between the scientific world and American Indians who want to preserve the reverence, respect, and solemnity for their ancient ancestors' remains.
James A. CrutchfieldFebruary 19, 2025
Recalling United Flight 409 Which Crashed Into Medicine Bow Peak in 1955
With today's news of airplane wrecks dominating the news for the past couple of weeks, I’ve been experiencing flashbacks to 70 years ago when I helped report on the worst airline disaster at that time.
Dick PerueFebruary 17, 2025
The American West: Is This The Alamo’s Commander William Barret Travis?
Without the sketch attributed to Wiley Martin we have no verified authentic likeness of the commander at the Alamo, and therein lies its greatest value. But it takes a history sleuth to determine if the sketch is authentic.
William GronemanFebruary 16, 2025
The American West: Following Custer’s Guidon
George Armstrong Custer finished last in his class at West Point, but served admirably in the Civil War before coming to the West and commanding the 7th Cavalry. Along the way he met a gal who followed him from one Army post to another.
Candy MoultonFebruary 16, 2025
The American West: The Love Saga of Josie Bassett and the Brown’s Park Wild Bunch
Josie Bassett lived most of her life on her father's ranch, the center of the outlaw hideout known as Brown’s Park. She had five husbands - divorced four of them, running one off at gunpoint, and one husband died of natural causes … unless he was poisoned.
Linda WommackFebruary 14, 2025
The American West: The Failed Texan - Santa Fe Expedition
The Republic of Texas’ grand scheme to tap the markets of New Mexico and reap huge profits from the trade between Cuba and Santa Fe by placing Texans in a “middleman” position failed miserably.
James A. CrutchfieldFebruary 13, 2025
The American West: Oliver T. Jackson's Black Colony Of Dearfield In Northeastern Colorado
Oliver T. Jackson’s land thirty miles east of Greeley, Colorado, became the nucleus for the black colony of Dearfield, organized in 1910. The community was inspired by a book written by Booker T. Washington.
Linda WommackFebruary 13, 2025
The American West: Bill Carlisle – The Lone Bandit Strikes Again (Part 2)
PART 2: Bill Carlisle, who had brazenly robbed Union Pacific Trains in 1916, and escaped through his own elusive efforts – and with some aid provided by ranchers – would hide in plain sight for several weeks. But his crime spree wasn’t over.
Terry A. Del BeneFebruary 11, 2025
The American West: Bill Carlisle – Wyoming’s Most Affable Train Robber
Bill Carlisle managed four solo robberies (three in a few months) in his extensive life of crime without injuring anyone. The train robberies promoted him from a common criminal to a newsworthy commodity.
Terry A. Del BeneFebruary 11, 2025
The American West: Wild Bill Hickok Invents the Old West Showdown
The walk-down, faceoff, quickdraw, showdown gunfight in the street has become an iconic image of the Old West. As far as history can tell us, the whole idea started with one of the Old West’s most famous gunfighters — Wild Bill Hickok.
R.B. MillerFebruary 09, 2025
The American West: American David Meriwether Taken Prisoner And Marched To Santa Fe
Anxious to make a trip to New Mexico to investigate stories of abundant gold there, David Meriwether headed West only to be captured by Spanish soldiers and marched to Santa Fe in 1820. When freed, he promised never to return—but he broke the promise thirty years later.
James A. CrutchfieldFebruary 09, 2025
The American West: Tip Vincent And The 1878 Elk Mountain Murders
Henry H. “Tip” Vincent, a detective and tracker for the Union Pacific Railroad, carried a Sharps rifle loaned to him by Otto Franc as he pursued George Parott and a group of train robbers to the west side of Elk Mountain, where he was gunned down and the Sharps was stolen.
Mark E. MillerFebruary 07, 2025
The American West: Josiah Gregg - Documentarian of the Santa Fe Trail
Josiah Gregg, through the magic of the written word, brought the romance and mystery of the Santa Fe Trail to anyone who would take the time to read his wonderful book.
James A. CrutchfieldFebruary 07, 2025