Tularosa: Last of the Frontier West (1960, CL Sonnichsen): Here is the powerful opening sentence that promises gritty frontier tales: “The Tularosa country is a parched desert where everything, from cactus to cowman, carries a weapon of some sort, and the only creatures who sleep with both eyes closed are dead. ” Charles Leland Sonnichsen … Read more
Among aficionados of Old West firearms the handgun that first pops to mind is the .45-caliber Colt Single Action Army (aka “Peacemaker”), or perhaps the Colt 1851 Navy, followed by a host of percussion and cartridge revolvers from a score of American manufacturers. By the turn of the 20th century, however, foreign-made revolvers had also … Read more
Got something stuck in your craw, or do youjust feel like jawing? Shoot us an email at wildwest@historynet.com.Be sure to includeyour name and hometown. VinatierisAs a longtime fan of the New England Patriots and a student of the Little Bighorn, I was delighted to read the piece “Custer Connection” on Adam and Felix Vinatieri in … Read more
A Wild West town without a saloon would be like a high-noon sky without a blazing sun. One with only one saloon would be like a night sky with but a single star — and not even a shooting one. In even the smallest, remotest of frontier settlements drinking establishments were integral to the landscape. … Read more
Race and the Wild West: Sarah Bickford, the Montana Vigilantes and the Tourism of Decline, 1870–1930, by Laura J. Arata, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 2020, $ 24.95 When it comes to Montana Vigilantes, nothing is ever clear-cut. They have been both lionized and condemned for hanging (or “lynching”) road agent after road agent in … Read more
Quanah ParkerI really enjoyed “Picturing Quanah Parker,” by Richard F. Selcer and Clara Wallace Holmes, in the October 2021 issue. Some of the photos were new to me. Fort Parker is 50 miles from my home, and when I visit I always think of Cynthia Ann Parker and her capture. When I read about old … Read more