The Wild West Extravaganza

Episodes

Oct. 29, 2022

Frank James - The Old Shoe Salesman

It’s safe to say that a career as an outlaw doesn’t lend itself to a long life. Billy the Kid was only twenty-one years old when he was killed. Cherokee Bill a year younger. The notorious Bloody Bill Anderson not yet twenty-…
Oct. 26, 2022

An Execution Gone Wrong - The Terrifying Story of Clemente Apolinar

Happy Halloween! Clemente Apolinar was the last person publicly hanged in Texas. Not only did his execution go horribly wrong but you won’t BELIEVE what the location is currently being used as.   Check out my website for mor…
Oct. 12, 2022

Captain Jack & the Modoc War | The Last Stand of Captain Jack (Part 3)

Fifty Modoc warriors defied the U.S. Army for nearly a year; outwitting and outfighting them on more than one occasion, & killing a General in the process. This is Part 3 of the series on Captain Jack and the Modoc War.   Ca…
Sept. 28, 2022

Captain Jack & the Modoc War | The Battle of the Stronghold (Part 2)

This is part 2 in the series on the Modoc war. If you haven’t already listened to part 1, you may want to do so. Captain Jack & the Modoc War | Part 1 - We’ve already discussed the Modoc people, a bit of their history, and …
Sept. 14, 2022

Captain Jack & the Modoc War | The Drums of War (Part 1)

In 1874 Kintpuash – better known as Captain Jack - led his small band of the Modoc people off of a reservation in southern Oregon and back to their homeland in Northern California. What occurred after would be one of the mos…
Aug. 31, 2022

Kit vs Goliath

What happens when a young Kit Carson faces off against a mountain of a man at the annual fur trapper’s rendezvous? What IS a rendezvous, anyway? And who gets the girl???   Check out my website for more true tales from the wi…
Aug. 17, 2022

Wild Bill Hickok | Death in Deadwood (Part 3)

This is part 3 and the final installment of this series on Wild Bill Hickok. If you have not already listened to the first two episodes, please do so. Links below. We’ve already pretty much covered Bill’s entire life; his ch…
Aug. 10, 2022

Wild Bill Hickok | Legendary Lawman (Part 2)

Wild Bill leaves Independence after killing Davis Tutt and pursues employment as a scout and U.S Deputy Marshal. As Hickok’s notoriety increases, he goes on to serve as Marshal in the rough Kansas towns of Hays and Abilene b…
Aug. 1, 2022

Wild Bill Hickok | Unveiling the Legend (Part 1)

Few names associated with the old west are as recognizable as Wild Bill Hickok. And for good reason. In many ways, Wild Bill was the quintessential Westerner of the later 19th century. Wagon master, scout, soldier, spy, lawm…
July 20, 2022

History Daily Presents - Jesse James & the Kid

Unfortunately due to technical difficulties there will be no new episode of The Wild West Extravaganza today. But don't you worry none, I'll be leaving you in the very capable hands of Lindsay Graham, the host of History Dai…
July 6, 2022

Cullen Baker | The West's First Fast Draw?

Said to have killed hundreds of people – although the true number is likely far less than that – Cullen Baker was one of the more deadly men of the old west; a guy who didn’t blink when it came to dropping that hammer, a man…
June 22, 2022

Joaquin Murrieta | California Bandit

Imagine for a second that you’re a young immigrant, lured to a foreign land with hopes of creating a better life for yourself and your family. Upon arrival, however, things don’t turn out quite like you dreamed and those in …
June 8, 2022

Dewey Beard - Veteran of Little Bighorn & survivor of Wounded Knee

This is a tale of two survivors. One, affectionately known as Comanche, was an 8-year veteran of the U.S. military. He was first wounded in battle against hostiles on the southern plains in 1868. And, when Custer led the cha…
May 25, 2022

The Brothers McCarty

The Gambler lived his life as did many of his kind, quietly and in the shadows. Never making a mark nor desiring to do so. His long life spanned from the wild and rough days of Tombstone and Silver City to a modern era of ai…
May 10, 2022

Rube Burrow | The Robinhood of Alabama

Rube Burrow got his start as an honest man. A simple cowboy and farmer with a wife and children. But when his wife died and the farm went belly up, Rube took to earning a living in anyway he could. And that way led him to be…
April 22, 2022

Brushy Bill is a Lying Liar

The outlaw Billy the Kid was allegedly killed at the age of 21 by Sheriff Pat Garrett in the year 1881. Skip ahead another 70 years and you have an elderly man known as Brushy Bill Roberts coming forward shattering the commo…
April 6, 2022

Alfred Packer | Colorado Cannibal

April 1874. Present day Colorado. A half-starved weather-beaten Alfred Packer came limping into the Los Pinos Indian Agency seeking refuge. Feet covered in rags he claimed he had a harrowing story to tell. The man was ushere…
March 31, 2022

The Bandit Killer

When future General George S. Patton saw his first taste of combat, he was a young officer on the Mexican border. But was this REALLY his first fight?   Email me!   Check out my website!   Buy me a coffee!
March 16, 2022

The Shootout at Hide Park

There are two things you just don’t discuss in a beer joint: politics and religion. The reason being these topics tend to be a bit divisive. You add alcohol to the mix and things could get downright ugly. As was the case one…
March 9, 2022

BONUS - Obscure History | The Lawless Horrel Brothers

In a remote corner of Oregon’s northeastern territory exists a mysterious and foreboding village. This is the legend of Sammyville. Listen and subscribe to Obscure History wherever you get your podcasts! Obscure History -
March 3, 2022

La Matanza - The Slaughter

The 1919 Texas Ranger Investigation - and the Canales Hearing that followed - shed light on misconduct and atrocities committed by one of the most legendary branches of law enforcement between the years 1910 and 1920. An era…
Feb. 17, 2022

Britt Johnson & the Searchers

In October of 1864 Britton Johnson’s son was murdered and his wife and two surviving children were taken captive by a Kiowa War Party. Not willing to just sit back and hope for the best, Britt took matters into his own hands…
Feb. 2, 2022

The Arrest of Annie Oakley

August 1903. The famous Annie Oakley is arrested in Chicago for theft, a crime committed in order to obtain money to fuel her cocaine habit. And what a headline that made. America’s original sweetheart, the tiny sharpshooter…
Jan. 19, 2022

Kit Carson's Failure

In 1849 a trader named James White decided to break from his wagon train and push on ahead with just his family and a few men. The outcome was about as bad as anything you could imagine; the men were dead, and the women take…