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.

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

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