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

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

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

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

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

Marshals, Sheriffs and Old West lawmen By western author Nick Brumby “What in heck you three boys think you're doin'? Hold it there and keep them hands away from them holsters. I've got a nose for trouble, and you three stink to high hell." The Old West had a reputation for being a lawless place and time. With

Old West gold prospector By western author Nick Brumby "You can keep your open vistas, your stinking cattle, your guns and high society. I’ll trade it all for a pickaxe, a shovel, a gold pan, an aching back, and the chance to strike it filthy rich.” Prospectors roamed the length and breadth of the American West from the

Stagecoach robberies By western author Nick Brumby “Whoa there pard, your money or your life. Don’t fuss now – you’ve only got one life to lose, and I’ve got a passel of rounds pointing your way.” Stagecoach robberies quickly became a popular way for Old West outlaws and bandits to get easy access to payrolls, bankrolls and pretty

Cowboy hats - a history By western author Nick Brumby "Son, let me give you a piece of advice. You can share my whiskey. You can have my coffee. Damn it, I'll even give you my last bullet. But remember this until the day you die - never EVER touch another man's hat." The image of the classic

John 'Liver-Eating' Johnson By western author Nick Brumby "I waved the knife with the liver on it in the air and I cried out, “Come on and have a piece! It’ll stay in your stomach ‘til dinner...” John "Liver-Eating" Johnson was a mountain man in the very best traditions of the Old West. Born John Jeremiah Johnston, Johnson

The Pony Express By western author Nick Brumby "Alrighty boys, mount up and ride. Get that mail where it's goin'. Oh, and one other thing - last one to Missouri has to stay there." Pony Express riders Billy Richardson, Johnny Fry, Charles Cliff, and Gus Cliff pose for a group shot in a rare spare moment from delivering

Wild West brothels By western author Nick Brumby "So help me Jane, step on my foot again and I'll shove that nightgown right where the sun don't shine." Jennies Place Brothel, Jerome Arizona - bar on the bottom and brothel on the top. Sporting ladies, scarlet women, dance hall girls, sweethearts of the night, soiled doves. It had

National Day of the American Cowboy By western author Nick Brumby Today is National Day of the American Cowboy. Whether you answer to cowboy, cowhand, cowpoke, buckaroo, or cowpuncher, today is for you. Let's give a huge thank you to cowboys everywhere, past and present. We all take our hats off to you. Today we celebrate cowboys for

The Old West - what things used to cost By western author Nick Brumby “Howdy, I’m Ma Harrison. You scoundrels watch yourselves. Questions are free. But steal as much as a toothpick, and you’ll get today’s special – a coffin.” With today’s inflation rates hitting eye-watering levels, I thought I’d remind myself of what things used to cost. Back

The Cowboy Code By western author Nick Brumby “Cowboys need nothin’ more than a hat, horse, and the will to ride.” Were there rules to being a cowboy? No. But every cowboy, ranch hand, range boss, and cowpuncher knew there were basic principles by which everyone lived by. Some were just common sense and courtesy, such as: When approaching

Wild West stagecoaches By western author Nick Brumby "Leroy, I swear if you don't move them stinkin' feet outta my face I'm gonna kick ya off this here stagecoach." Often braving terrible weather, pitted roads, treacherous terrain, and attacks from bandits and Native American warbands, stagecoaches were an integral part of the westward expansion of the rapidly growing

Wild West oxen By western author Nick Brumby "Martha, you can take yer iron horse and poke it where the sun don't shine. I'm trustin' these ladies to get us home." Horses are fine and good, but when you absolutely positively needed to pull a load of freight from Kansas to Colorado, oxen were overwhelmingly the most popular

Old West chuckwagons By western author Nick Brumby "Beans are ready, boys. Eat'em or don't, ain't no skin off my nose. Any more complainin' and you'll have skunk for supper." A cattle drive cook works his magic in front of his chuckwagon. One of his most important jobs was carried out in the early hours, before the cowhands

Texas Ranger James Hawkins By western author Nick Brumby "Don't mess with Texas, boy, it's the last mistake you'll ever make."* This is Texas Ranger James Hawkins, circa 1875. And that's a stare that would stop a bullet dead in its tracks. James Hawkins enlisted in Company D of the Rangers in Blanco in 1874 under Captain Rufus

Colonel George Custer By western author Nick Brumby "There are not enough Indians in the world to defeat the Seventh Cavalry." - Col. George Custer Custer and his chief scout, Bloody Knife, consult a map of Sioux country on their first campaign together in 1873. Custer's two Russian wolfhounds lay sprawled at his feet. Bloody Knife was half