Episodes

When Felipe Espinosa and his younger brother Vivian were feeling bloody, the bodies were sure to follow. And in the spring and summer of 1863, there was certainly no shortage of bodies. Some victims were shot at long distances while others were casualties of more close-in work with blades or axe. And most were mutilated; beheaded, disemboweled, desecrated, or otherwise molested. After several failed attempts, the U.S. Army finally hired mountain man Tom Tobin to hunt down Felipe Espinosa. Tobin ...

This is a Podcast Swap, hosted by my friend Michael from the podcast Texas History Lessons! After you give this a listen make sure you check out his website for the latest episode of Texas History Lessons - hosted by yours truly - on the 1919 Texas Ranger Investigation! https://www.texashistorylessons.com/jose-canales-and-the-texas-rangers-investigation-of-1919/ Any mention of the Wild West brings up many images that books and film have ingrained in the American mind over decades. Cowboys trail...

In 1864 famed frontiersman Kit Carson took a force of several hundred soldiers into the heart of the Llano Estacado in an attempt to punish the Comanche for their recent raids. What followed was a bloody fight now known as the first Battle of Adobe Walls, as Carson and his men kicked the hornet’s nest and quickly found themselves outnumbered 10 to 1. This episodes got something for everyone! We’re gonna talk Kit Carson, we’re gonna talk army tactics, Billy the Kid, the Navajo, the Apache, and -...

Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid, Doc Holliday, Jesse James, Wild Bill Hickok - These are the names of legends. Names I think most people – even those with no interest in old west history – will find familiar. But for every one of these guys, there were a dozen others who were every bit as deadly and capable with a firearm, if not more so. Men who didn’t flinch in the face of death. Men who knew the smell of the black powder smoke and the crack of a bullet snapping past their heads; men who for whateve...

“I will show you that I can kill men with as much skill and rapidity as anybody. From this time on I ask no quarter and I will give none” – these were the words spoken by Bloody Bill Anderson, shortly before he executed and scalped over twenty men. According to those who rode with Anderson he was “a desperate man and a reckless fighter, the worst devil in the bunch. Human life meant nothing to him. He could shoot a man who was on his knees begging for mercy as easy as most men kill a chicken. He...

Frontiersman Hugh Glass was mauled by a grizzly bear in 1823. Left for dead, stripped of his belongs, and covered in maggots, he defied all odds and made a 250-mile journey on foot through hostile territory. But that’s only half the story. On this episode we’re going to talk pirates, we’re going to talk about mountain men and the fur trade, we’re going to talk a whole bunch about Native Americans. And - most importantly – we’re going to talk some Leonardo DiCaprio. Who was Hugh Glass? Where’d h...

On May 6th, 1877, just ten months after the battle of Little Big Horn, the legendary Crazy Horse led nearly 900 Lakota & Cheyenne to Fort Robinson, Nebraska. It was time to surrender. Five months later in October of 1877 Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce...

This is Part 2! If you have not already done so, give Part 1 a listen! As the Liver-Eater's reputation grew he began working as a guide for prospectors and a scout for General Miles, against the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Nez Perce. Later he'd take jobs in...

Liver Eating Johnson was blood kin to the grizzly that bit Jim Bridger’s ass and YOU are molesting my podcast! The man known to some as the Crow Killer was many things. Fur trapper, scout, "Indian fighter", a guide, a hunter, a soldier, possibly a...

Sergeant Luther James Dorsey was a member of the buffalo soldiers, the all-black cavalry regiments who served on America’s frontier. From the Indian Wars to the Korean war, these men bravely – and against all odds and prejudice – cemented their legacy into the fabric of American History. Check out my website! Check out my patreon for exclusive content! Seattle Times article – Complicated and Controversial Role Buffalo Soldier Links! Buffalo Soldier Museum Conroe Community Cemetery Restoration ...

In the summer of 1868 Major George A. Forsyth, under orders from General Sheridan, raised a company of fifty "first-class hardy frontiersmen" to seek out and engage hostile Native Americans. These scouts soon found themselves outnumbered and surrounded by hundreds of Cheyenne warriors as they took refuge on a little sandbar in the middle of the Arikaree river. What followed is now known as the battle of Beecher Island. Check out my website for more true stories from the wild west! Subscribe to...

It’s not every day that your boss offers you a hundred and fifty dollars to murder somebody. I think we can all agree that’s not a normal occurrence. But then again, the tough kid wasn’t normal. The real story behind legendary Texas Ranger Frank Hamer's first gunfight, at the age of 16. Check out my website for more true tales from the wild west! Bonus content available on Patreon! Texas Ranger: The Epic Life of Frank Hamer by John Boessnecker Fact Checking Highwaymen: USA Today Frank Hamer v...

Bill Tilghman - the legendary lawman best known for hunting down bad guys in Indian Territory - got his start as a teenaged buffalo hunter on the Kansas frontier. After that he spent years patrolling the tough streets of Dodge City with the likes of Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and Charlie Bassett before moving on to Oklahoma where he did more of the same. Friends with guys like Luke Short and Doc Holliday. Rubbed shoulders with outlaws like Dave Rudabaugh and J.J. Webb, Tilghman wore many hats th...

The old shoe salesman wasn’t as spry as he used to be. A fact his aching and crackling joints made abundantly clear to him each and every morning when he climbed up out of bed. But he found that once he got a few cups of strong coffee in him, he...

Joe Medicine Crow was a mighty war chief amongst his people, the Crow. The Apsáalooke. The Children of the large beak bird. Joe was raised in the traditional way of the Crow and fulfilled all four requirements to become a War Chief of the Crow Nation. The last War Chief. But Joe Medicine Crow was much MUCH more. “With an education, you’re the white man’s equal. Without an education, you’re the white man’s victim” – Joe Medicine Crow Check out my website for more WILD WEST content! Celebrating...

Ned Christie: Ruthless Cherokee outlaw or courageous hero? Murderer or innocent man? If someone had asked me a year ago who Ned Christie was, I’d have probably said he was just another Indian Territory outlaw. In the same vein as Cherokee Bill or...

In the spring of 1883, a group of very dangerous men began gathering outside of Dodge City, Kansas. Men with names like Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Shotgun Collins, and Doc Holliday. Killers, all of ‘em. Men familiar with the weight of a revolver in hand and the smell of black powder smoke. They gathered to rally around one man, their compadre who had recently been forced out of town by a crooked mayor and a small army of vigilantes. That man’s name was Luke Short. A cowboy turned scout turned ...

When one thinks of the great judges of Yore, certain names stand out above the rest. Names like Judge Harold T. Stone. Judge Judith Sheindlin. Judges Wapner, Mathis, and Joe Brown. Judge Reinhold, Judge Dredd and Mike Judge all bear remembering. But towering over these colossal judicial minds stands one man, one legend so interwoven into the fabric of modern-day jurisprudence you’d be remise not to pay him homage. And that man’s name was Roy Damn Bean. That’s right - Judge Roy Bean - to be exact...

"I've labored long and hard for bread, For honor, and for riches, But on my corns too long you've tread, You fine-haired sons of bitches." These are the words of Black Bart, the gentleman bandit who preferred to leave poems at the scene of the crime rather than dead bodies. Black Bart wasn’t a killer and he never really hurt anyone, except maybe for Wells Fargo, who’s stagecoaches he robbed at least 28 times throughout his career, taking thousands of dollars in the process. Black Bart would pay...

A quick correction and new info pertaining to my most recent episode - #30 - on King Fisher. Check out Bob Boze Bell's wonderful article Forewarned And Forarmed for more information. And thank you all for listening! https://truewestmagazine.com/article/forewarned-forearmed/

King Fisher, the flashy Texas wild west gunfighter who once killed a circus tiger just so he could make chaps out of its hide, boasted that he killed 37 men, not counting Mexicans. During his time as an outlaw he had over 100 bandits riding for him as...

On the 19th of December 1854 Captain Jonathan R. Davis and two of his companions were ambushed by a gang of murderous thieves. During the short battle that ensued, Davis was able to single-handedly kill all 11 attackers. Carving the last four up with...

Arkansas Dave Rudabaugh was an old west outlaw who some say taught Doc Holliday how to shoot in addition to being the only man that Billy The Kid ever feared. He was hunted by Wyatt Earp and arrested by both Bat...