by Patrick Lindsay | May 11, 2021 | Old West
Raymond Hatfield Gardner was captured by Comanche Indians as a one-year-old child while crossing Texas in a wagon train. At age nine, his captors traded him to the Sioux tribe. The trading price demanded by the Comanches? Nine ponies, eight blankets and two girls! He...
by Patrick Lindsay | Mar 7, 2021 | Old West
The name Nelson Story is synonymous with a famous cattle drive from Texas to Virginia City Montana, covering 1,400 miles and establishing the cattle industry in Montana. Story began his cattle drive in Texas in 1866 with 1,000 cows, though some say he had 3,000 cows....
by Patrick Lindsay | Dec 28, 2020 | Old West, Research
Mountain Charley was a colorful character from the pages of the American West who worked as a fur trader, railroad brakeman, opened and ran a saloon in Denver, worked on a riverboat steamer and served in the Civil War. Unusual fact about Mountain Charley: she was a...
by Patrick Lindsay | Oct 19, 2020 | Old West, Research
One of the most famous prisons from the days of the Old West is the Yuma Territorial Prison. The prison was in operation from 1876 until 1909. It is no longer in use, of course, but remains as a famous part of western history and can still be toured today. The prison...
by Patrick Lindsay | Sep 22, 2020 | Old West, Research
Pete Kitchen is said to have established the first ranch in Arizona, just north of Nogales, Mexico, in 1862. Pete served in the Mexican War, arriving in Tucson in 1854. He became very proficient with both pistol and rifle. He was especially good with his rifle, and...
