'Wildcat' Kitty Leroy By western author Nick Brumby “Kitty had five husbands, seven revolvers, a dozen Bowie knives, and always went armed to the teeth.” — A Deadwood newspaper reporting Kitty Leroy’s death She was dancing professionally by the age of ten. By fourteen she was performing in dance halls and saloons and was a crack shot with a rifle. Kitty Leroy (1850
Chuckwagons and feeding cowboys By western author Nick Brumby "A cowboy is a person who would rather throw a bull than eat beans with his knife." – Charles Dorian Cowboys are tougher than rawhide, but after a long day in the saddle even the toughest cowpoke needs a good meal. Food was one of the few comforts a cowboy had when driving cattle north.
Acme ‘Iron Horse’ Perambulating Steam Locomotive By western author Nick Brumby "Don’t need rail to deliver your mail. " —Slogan from an ACME ‘Cloud City Express’ poster advertising its Perambulating Steam Locomotive service *** Dateline: April 1, 2025 DID YOU KNOW?: Kansas’ mythical ‘Iron Horse’ Perambulating Steam Locomotive Service was launched on this day in 1866, striding its way into history as America’s
Colt Single Action Army revolver By western author Nick Brumby “God created men—Sam Colt made them equal.” —Old West wisdom It was carried by Custer’s men at Little Big Horn, was favored by generations of outlaws and lawmen alike, is Arizona’s official firearm, and is still being produced more than 150 years after its introduction. It’s fair to say that no gun in
The Red Ghost of Arizona Territory By western author Nick Brumby "When the rancher went out to examine the dead beast, he found strips of rawhide wound and twisted all over his back, his shoulders, and even under his tail." — New York Sun, early 1890s Courtesy: True West Magazine For decades after the Civil War a legend terrorized the Arizona
Belle Starr - the Outlaw Queen By western author Nick Brumby "I am a friend to any brave and gallant outlaw." — ‘Outlaw Queen’ Belle Starr She was known as the ‘Bandit Queen’ and the ‘Petticoat Terror of the Plains’. She married three different outlaws, spent time in jail for horse rustling, was friends with legendary outlaws Cole Younger and Frank and Jesse
Chief Touch the Clouds By western author Nick Brumby "An honorable and peaceable Indian, a man of good character, a very fine man, deprecated hostilities and was a peacemaker." — Interpreter Louis Bordeaux He was 6’9”, weighed 280 pounds, and was first cousin to Native American warrior legend Crazy Horse. Yet Minneconjou Teton Lakota Chief Touch the Clouds was also a legend in his
Scalping in the Old West By western author Nick Brumby “While no pain was perceptible, the removing of [my] scalp sounded like the ominous roar and peal of distant thunder.” — Josiah Wilbarger, scalped by Comanches It was the stuff of nightmares – having your scalp torn from your skull for it to be displayed as a trophy of war. Thousands of settlers,
Annie ‘Little Sure Shot’ Oakley By western author Nick Brumby “I ain’t afraid to love a man. I ain’t afraid to shoot him either.” — Annie ‘Little Sure Shot’ Oakley She was America's first female superstar and a global legend, shining bright in a male-dominated sport. A once in a lifetime crack shot who thought nothing of amazing millions of people with her
1861 Armored Prairie Schooner By western author Nick Brumby "Two horses should git 'er there in half the time of one." —Missouri inventor Zeke Mycarsarustbucket peers out of the window of his revolutionary 1861 armored prairie schooner. Zeke, a blacksmith, designed the vehicle in a blinding fit of rage after his own prairie schooner burned to a pile of ashes following an incident
