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 who once entertained kings and queens, now reduced to petty thievery. Wasn’t long before newspapers throughout the country began to report on this fall from grace. Enter in William Randolph Hearst, son of mining tycoon George Hearst, who ruled a media empire and had his eye ...
Feb 02, 2022•25 min
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 taken captive. The subsequent rescue mission was led by none other than Kit Carson. But this time could the hero save the girl? Also, I rant about history! Check out my website for more true tales from the wild and woolly west: https://www.wildwestextra.com/ Email me: https://www...
Jan 19, 2022•23 min
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, ain’t that what they say? But what happens when it’s also a woman doing the scorning? And what happens if that hell is just El Paso, Texas? One helluva girl fight, that’s what! Join me as we take a look at Old West madam Fat Alice Abbot and the fight she got into with rival brothel owner, Etta Clark. This episode has a little bit of everything. Listener discretion advised! Check out my website for more true tales from the wild and woolly west: https://www....
Jan 05, 2022•29 min
George Parrot - aka Big Nose George – was a basic run-of-the-mill road agent. Trains, stagecoaches, general stores – they were all fair game for Big Nose and the boys. Sometimes he was successful and sometimes he wasn’t, but he was always down to try. Unfortunately for George the long arm of the law eventually caught up with the man; permanently and prematurely ending his outlaw career. And that’s only HALF the story! How many times did George have a noose placed around his neck before it finall...
Jan 03, 2022•27 min
Jim Clyman is a name that pops up consistently in all the books I’ve read on mountain men and fur trappers, but I never really dived into the guy until now. Veteran of the War of 1812, General Ashley’s 1824 Expedition, AND the Black Hawk War, as well as friend and contemporary to guys like Jedediah Smith, Broken Hand Fitzpatrick, Hugh Glass, and Jim Bridger. From the shinning mountains to the great plains to the high desert, from the wild and woolly days till the twilight of the west, Jim Clyman...
Oct 18, 2021•19 min
There's just no denying that Texas produced its fair share of stone-cold killers in the latter part of the 19th century. Men like John Wesley Hardin, King Fisher, Clay Allison, and of course the notorious Deacon Jim Miller. And then there’s Bill Longley, considered by some to be one of the deadliest gunmen of the west. A tall brooding shootist credited with 32 kills once described as the worst man in Texas. “I still alone tread the living land destitute of friends but damn the world and every so...
Aug 16, 2021•53 min
In the summer of 1877 Chief Joseph and the peaceful Nez Perce went to war with the U.S. Government in a running fight that spanned four states and 1,170 miles. Who was Chief Joseph? Why’d Buffalo Bill call him “the greatest Indian ever produced?” And why did the Nez Perce go to war? I’ve been looking forward to this episode for a long time so without further ado, let’s dive into Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce War! Check out my website! https://www.wildwestextra.com/ Contact me! Wildwestextra@gma...
Jul 25, 2021•1 hr 52 min
Discovered sometime prior to 1952 in the Florida Mountains of Southwestern New Mexico, the “Last Stand Note” - written on a piece of tobacco paper and stuffed inside an empty shell case - reads as follows: This is our last shell and about 10 Indians left so our chances look slim, but we are going to take a chance. Yours truly, Wm Bonney. Did Billy the Kid REALLY write this note? Did he ever have any close encounters with the Apache? Find out all of this and more on this newest episode of the Wil...
Jul 05, 2021•24 min
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 ...
Jun 20, 2021•36 min
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 traili...
Jun 14, 2021•49 min
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 - ...
May 31, 2021•32 min
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...
May 17, 2021•48 min
“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...
Apr 26, 2021•1 hr 10 min
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 he...
Apr 05, 2021•1 hr 5 min
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 Pr...
Feb 08, 2021•30 min
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 P...
Jan 25, 2021•1 hr 18 min
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 vs K...
Jan 04, 2021•18 min
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...
Dec 27, 2020•1 hr 12 min
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 10...
Nov 29, 2020•12 min
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 Henry Starr. And I don’t think I’m the only person out there with this misconception. Back in the 1970’s Time Life put out a series of books on the old west. And I personally have – in my possession - a copy of the one titled Gunfighters. I’ve had it si...
Nov 12, 2020•1 hr 4 min
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 ga...
Oct 24, 2020•1 hr 11 min
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...
Sep 30, 2020•53 min
"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 ...
Aug 25, 2020•57 min
