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 shooting
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
John Wesley Hardin By western author Nick Brumby “They say I killed six or seven men for snoring. Well, it ain’t true. I only killed one man for snoring.” —John Wesley Hardin, Texas’ most deadly gunman He gunned down lawmen, former slaves, Federal troops, cowboys, Mexican herders and drunken gamblers. Yet for all his killings, enemies and showdowns, John Wesley Hardin’s most dangerous
Charley Parkhurst By western author Nick Brumby “She out-swore, out-drank, and out-chewed even the Monterey whalers.” –Unknown companion of Charley Parker The West was a land of big stories and bigger personalities. However Charley Parkhurst possibly had the biggest story of them all. Charley was a tough tobacco-chewing, whiskey drinking, cursing, gambling, California stage driving gun killer. Oh, and did I mention that
Old West lariats By western author Nick Brumby “When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.” —Cowboy wisdom The lariat is like a cowboy’s Swiss army knife – a seemingly simple tool with a million different uses. No self-respecting cowboy would be caught out on the range without a strong rope near to hand. A
