Train-robber Tom 'Blackjack' Ketchum By western author Nick Brumby "Good-bye. Please dig my grave very deep. All right; hurry up.” — The last words of train-robber Tom ‘Blackjack’ Ketchum, just before he was unintentionally decapitated when the hangman bungled his execution. Blackjack Ketchum started life as a Texas cowhand and ended up as one of the most notorious outlaws in Old West history, terrorizing
Barbed wire: 'the Devil's Rope' By western author Nick Brumby "Barbed wire is lighter than air, stronger than whiskey, cheaper than dust." — Barbed wire promoter John Warne ‘Bet-a-Million’ Gates The invention of barbed wire changed the Old West forever. Like the introduction of the six-shooter, the telegraph, the windmill, and the locomotive, barbed wire brought civilisation and ‘fancy society living’ further west than
The Transcontinental Railroad By western author Nick Brumby “D-O-N-E.” — W.N. Shilling, a telegraph operator for Western Union, tapped out this word in Morse Code on the telegraph, as soon as the final rail spike had been driven into the ground, to let the world know that the Transcontinental Railroad was finished. Seven years, 1,911-miles of track, and countless millions of railway sleepers, rail
Native American Plains Tipi By western author Nick Brumby “The white man goes into his church and talks about Jesus. The Indian goes into his tipi and talks with Jesus.” — Comanche leader Quanah Parker For more than 400 years, the Native American Plains Tipi has been regarded by many as amongst the finest of all movable shelters. The tipi's unique ventilation system
'Hanging Judge' Roy Bean By western author Nick Brumby "I find this corpse guilty of carrying a concealed weapon and I fine it $40." --'Judge’ Roy Bean He called himself "The Only Law West of the Pecos", had a reputation as a ‘hanging judge’ but knew nothing about the law, and held trials in the main bar of his own saloon. He survived
Western saddles By western author Nick Brumby Pictures: Time/Life: The Old West vol 1 “So indispensable is a saddle to a cowboy’s life and livelihood that the phrase ‘he’s sold his saddle’ came to mean of a cowboy he was finished in the profession.” --Old West wisdom The western saddle and the cowboy who rides in it are an inescapable part
Cheyenne Dog Soldiers By western author Nick Brumby “The awesome warriors were “armed to the teeth with revolvers and bows… proud, haughty, defiant as should become those who are to grant favors, not beg them.” — Ohio reporter upon seeing Cheyenne Dog Soldiers, 1867 Of all the typical Plains tribes, the Cheyenne were amongst the most feared. When settlers began heading West, they
Boot Hill By western author Nick Brumby “You see, in this world, there’s two kinds of people, my friend. Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig.” The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. Shoot-outs, showdowns, ambushes, gunfights, walkdowns, and face offs all helped put the ‘Wild’ in ‘Wild West’. These incidents could all send a man to an early grave
Deadwood, South Dakota By western author Nick Brumby "Praise the Lord and place your bets. I'll take your money with no regrets." ‘Poker Alice’, Deadwood gambling madame The city of Deadwood, South Dakota, grew from the promise of wealth. The discovery of gold in the southern Black Hills in 1874 set off one of the greatest gold rushes in American history. In 1876,
Calamity Jane By western author Nick Brumby “I figure if a girl wants to be a legend, she should go ahead and be one.” Marthy 'Calamity Jane' Canary. Better known as ‘Calamity Jane’, the legendary Martha Jane Canary knew fame as a sharp-shooting, tobacco-spitting, whisky-guzzling and foul-mouthed reprobate who regularly wore men’s clothes and engaged in fearsome gunfights across the Old West. However,
