Tom "Bear River" Smith rarely wore a gun, but that never stopped him from enforcing the law in Abilene, Kansas. Smith implemented a firearms ban. Although cattle-driving cowboys openly flaun… Read More

In early May of 1881, a gang of masked bandits charged out of a thicket alongside the road and ambushed a stagecoach carrying $125,000. To this day, the only man who may have discovered the… Read More

When "Russian Bill" Tattenbaum arrived in Tombstone in 1880, he claimed a bloodline of nobility but had the urge to ride the outlaw trail. He did. And then fate intervened. "SWIFT AND DEADLY… Read More

Mary Fields never missed a day of work while delivering the mail for Wells Fargo. Tough and boastful, cigar-smoking “Stagecoach Mary” had no fear of outlaws, Indians, or rugged M… Read More

The schooner ranked among the preferred vessels of pirates because of its speed, efficiency, and agility. [...] Continue reading “CREAMSICLE SUNRISE” Read More

Pinkerton detective Charles Siringo spent four years tracing Butch Cassidy's gang. But he spent much of his career battling his employer. [...] Continue reading “THE MAVERICK DETECTI… Read More

— GREED DOOMS OUTLAW GANG — On a cold Wednesday morning in February 1888, a man walked into the Bank of Cisco, Texas,  just before closing time and asked engaged the cashier… Read More

Bounty hunters wielded broad power and authority in the Old West. It was a dangerous career, but one that was potentially profitable for the independent type. [...] Continue reading “… Read More

Nostalgia is the thing that drives the classic car market--memories that make us think of times spent with friends and family, perhaps the romantic interests of our youth. [...] Continue re… Read More

A sudden winter storm gathered over the three prospectors who sought refuge inside a mountain cavern. Little did they realize the gruesome find they would uncover. [...] Continue reading … Read More

Stuart's Stranglers swept across central Montana executing cattle rustlers and horse thieves. [...] Continue reading “STUART’S STRANGLERS” Read More

TRACKING AN OUTLAW Stories of the 19th-century American cowboy usually feature individuals who were tough, independent, and self-reliant. The times and the land demanded those kinds of quali… Read More

—FACT, FICTION & CRYPTOZOOLOGY— Author Michael Newton, a prolific novelist, passed away this week. When I first interviewed him for the StoryTeller 7 series in 2013, he had w… Read More

— never too late to mend — In early 1887, inmate Lew P. Schoonmaker of Minnesota State Prison at Stillwater decided to explore publishing a newspaper.  The former bookkeepe… Read More

— VIBRANT & BREATHTAKING — If you’re in the market for a little more happiness, watch a sunset. Studies at the University of California at Berkley conclude the natural… Read More

— THE DARK CORNERS OF CRIME FICTION —  Patricia Highsmith wrote suspense and crime fiction. Much of it focused on the psychological underpinnings her characters brought to t… Read More

— THE EXECUTIONER — The group waiting to witness the execution grew restless but fell silent when they saw a small, thin man with dark eyes walk across the creaky planks of the g… Read More

– WRITER OF THE PAST – Ross Macdonald wrote complicated plots about the idle rich and their wayward, self-destructive children. Many of his stories touched on family secrets and… Read More

– WRITER OF THE PAST – In his debut novel, Fletch, Gregory Mcdonald introduced an investigative reporter by the name of Irwin M. Fletcher—a witty and irreverent sort of Sou… Read More

— WRITER OF THE PAST — Fredric Brown never met a genre he didn’t like. The Ohio-born writer wrote hard-boiled mysteries, black comedies, sci-fi, and even fantasies during a… Read More

— WRITER OF THE PAST — Donald Westlake ranked among the best crime writers of the 20th century, but some praise him as one of the greatest writers—regardless of genre… Read More

— TEENAGER GUNNED DOWN IN BANK HEIST — An early morning chill settled across Courthouse Square in Liberty, Missouri, on a Tuesday in February 1866—a rude welcome for about… Read More

— WRITER FROM THE PAST — Choosing a book title is important and, hopefully, it will be compelling and marketable. Novelist John D. MacDonald seemed to hit all the right notes. He… Read More

WRITER FROM THE PAST A short story—It Had To Be Murder (1942)—written by Cornell George  Hopely-Woolrich served as inspiration for Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954… Read More

— THE GUNMAN NO ONE KNEW — On January 22, 1880, four drunken cowboys spent the day throwing back shots of liquor in saloons around Las Vegas, New Mexico.  After a few hours… Read More

— WRITERS FROM THE PAST — In a bit of irony, American crime fiction writer Jim Thompson was born in a second-floor room just above the Anadarko, Oklahoma, jail. His father was th… Read More

— GUNS OF JUSTICE — U.S. Marshal Evett Dumas Nix knew from the moment he walked into the chambers of the Territorial Supreme Court of Oklahoma Territory that Chief Justice Frank… Read More

Dear Members of the Readers Posse A brief note to send you all my deepest thanks and best wishes for the holidays. These are challenging times. With everything we’re all dealing with… Read More

Time proved the best ally of con men who roamed the wide-open spaces of the Old West ready to spin their creative schemes on all gullible segments of society. [...] Continue reading “… Read More

— REQUIEM FOR THE OPEN RANGE — Sitting atop the big roan, the rancher pushed back his hat and scanned the open range of tall grasses, once a place where wild buffalo and cattle g… Read More

— FROM OUTLAW TO LAWMAN — Sheriff Frank Canton of Pawnee, Oklahoma, finished dinner and walked out of the restaurant into the chilled air of early November 1896. Unknown to Canto… Read More

— ALONE AND OUTNUMBERED — In the soft glow of twilight, Alameda County Sheriff Harry N. Morse guided a small posse into the Sausalito Valley in the Panoche Mountains in early 187… Read More

— A MAN OF RESULTS — The only light in the hotel hallway came from a flicking candle carried by a determined detective named David J. Cook. Accompanied by several others, Co… Read More

— LAW AND DISORDER —  In late summer 1895, a man with a gun waited in the shadows of Telluride, Colorado’s main street. At about midnight, a gunshot exploded from the… Read More

— SHOOT FIRST, ASK QUESTIONS LATER — Lawman Dan Tucker tightened his gun belt, retrieved a double-barrelled shotgun from beside the desk, and left the office to patrol the shadow… Read More

 — LAST SURVIVOR — The self-employed seamstress in the small apartment at 278 Cossitt Place in Memphis, Tennessee, maintained a modest lifestyle and kept mostly to herself… Read More

— “HE FEARED NO ONE” — Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves closed his eyes and listened to one of his men read an arrest warrant aloud so the lawman could remember it lat… Read More

— RETRIBUTION — On the morning of August 2, 1867, a soldier in the observation post at a woodcutter’s camp felt the ground tremble and heard the thunder of hoofbeats. … Read More

— PLAYING DEAD — Wells Fargo agent Jeff Milton pulled open the door of the Southern Pacific Railroad Express car just before the train rolled to a stop in Fairbank, Arizona Terri… Read More

— GIGGLE JUICE AND GAVEL —  Like any business owner, Roy Bean wanted to find a way to boost the profits of his milk delivery business in San Antonio, Texas. So, he came up w… Read More

— ONE-MAN STAND — High in the cold Sierra Nevada Mountains in the winter of 1854, three men cautiously navigated an isolated, uneven trail in Rocky Canyon, unaware of the real da… Read More

Shooting the Loop had nothing to do with speed. Cops never worried about anyone speeding. The pace was parade-slow, so folks along the street could admire your ride, watch you preen, and lis… Read More

— KILLER OVERPOWERS LAWMEN —   Five men on horseback—three deputies and two prisoners—came across a deserted cabin near Muskogee, Oklahoma Territory, in 187… Read More

— IN HARM’S WAY — On an early fall morning in 1884, three lawmen rode through the darkness and arrived at ta farm outside Caldwell, Kansas, about 3 a.m. Sumner County Sheri… Read More

— SCOURGE OF LAWBREAKERS — In the withering heat of late June 1888, Deputy U.S. Marshal Henry “Heck” Thomas and his posse tracked members of the Aaron Purdy Gang into… Read More

— MAN OF DISORDER AND DECEPTION —  The big man smiled and slid one of his six-shooters from the double-rig holster strapped around his waist. The only sounds from the crowd… Read More

— AMERICA’S FIRST TRAIN ROBBERY — The engineer of the Ohio & Mississippi Express train from Cincinnati to St. Louis squinted into the on-rushing darkness of May 5, 1865… Read More

WAIT-AND-SEE ROBBERY — Each afternoon for a week, two men rode their unsaddled horses to the train depot at Castle Gate, Utah, to await the arrival of the Denver & Rio Grande Weste… Read More

 — HELLO BOB — On the morning of April 28, 1881, Deputy U.S. Marshal Bob Olinger carried his ten-gauge double-barreled shotgun to the top floor of the Lincoln County, New Me… Read More

— ONE TOUGH HOMBRE — Scanning the horizon, Marshal Orlando “Rube” Robbins adjusted his bandana on the back of his neck, hoping for relief from the scorching sun. The… Read More

— MINIMIZING RISK — Everyone today understands (or should) “physical distancing.” But back in 2005, I knew someone who introduced me to the concept way before it beca… Read More

On April 12, 1894, Deacon Jim Miller stood face-to-face with Sheriff Bud Frazer. Miller always wore a long black frock and Frazer would soon learn why. [...] Continue reading ” HAIR… Read More

— FROM SHAKESPEARE TO THE HIGH PLAINS — Actor James Drury, the famous star of The Virginian, one of the longest-running Western on TV, died this week at the age of 85. Drury died… Read More

 — LAWMAN BOB PAUL FEARED NO ONE — Four bandits crouched in the darkness and watched the Tombstone-to-Benson stagecoach negotiate the steep incline outside Contention City… Read More

— BATTLE OF WALKER’S CREEK —  Captain John Coffee Hays rode point, guiding fourteen Texas Rangers along the banks of the meandering Pedernales River. Small splashes of… Read More

— WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?  — The folks who helped develop settlements throughout the Old West had a knack for branding their frontier towns with unique, creative, and visua… Read More

— PAYBACK — Texas Ranger Scott Cooley shook his head and stared in disbelief at the message he received—words that moved him to tears. A brutal mob near Mason, Texas, had g… Read More

— SECOND CHANCES — Dave Kemp, convict number 959, stood at the door of his cell at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville, waiting for the guard to complete his early morning… Read More

— THE WINNING HAND — On a snowy night in January 1903, pioneer Arizona Territory lawman George C. Ruffner walked out of the Palace Saloon on Whiskey Row in Prescott, where he had… Read More

 — THE STRANGER IN BLACK — On a midsummer night in 1899, several men sat talking on the porch of the former sutler’s store in Camp Verde, Arizona Territory. A stranger… Read More

— FRONTIER CRIME LORD — Vincente Silva waited in the cold and dark on the second floor of his Imperial Saloon in Las Vegas, New Mexico, while members of his gang filed into the r… Read More

 — A VOW NEVER BROKEN — John Wallace Crawford sat beside the bed where his mother lay dying. She had dealt with more than her share of hardships after her alcoholic husband… Read More

— FIRST CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTS — Years ago, I accepted an invitation to dinner from the couple next door. When I walked into the apartment, I noticed the Christmas tree aglow. But… Read More

— A SPECIAL BREW — Morning java still ranks as an excellent way to kick-start a day—much the same way it was in Frontier America. The process of brewing coffee back then, h… Read More

— AMBUSH AT CANYON SPRINGS —  Five gunmen hid inside the relay station at Canyon Springs, about 35 miles southwest of Deadwood. The outlaws awaited the arrival of the M… Read More

— A SENSELESS BETRAYAL — On a cold winter morning, November 29, 1864, Colonel John Chivington led 700 members of the Colorado Territorial Militia on a mission of death and destru… Read More

— FIRST TO ARREST BILLY THE KID — The eastbound Southern Pacific rolled into the railroad siding at Gage, New Mexico Territory, late in the afternoon of November 24, 1883. … Read More

— STEALING LINCOLN’S CORPSE— On a moonlit night in November 1876, a band of counterfeiters slipped unnoticed into a cemetery outside Springfield, Illinois. They crossed the… Read More

— RIDING THE PULP TRAIL — During the first half of the 20th century, the public demonstrated an insatiable appetite for so-called Dime Westerns—a vital segment of the Amer… Read More

— SHOWDOWN AT BLAZER’S MILL — Buffalo hunter Andrew L. “Buckshot” Roberts sold his ranch in Lincoln County, New Mexico. He rode his mule into Blazer’s Mil… Read More

— BORDER TOWN HEIST — On a sleepy Tuesday afternoon, August 6, 1895, five men on horseback entered the border town of Nogales, Arizona Territory. They followed the railroad track… Read More

 — WILD BILL’S QUICK GUN — On the night of September 27, 1869, troublemaker Samuel Strawhun and a band of boozed-up teamsters stormed through the doors of a Hays City… Read More

— THE LEGEND OF EL MUERTO, THE DEAD ONE  — The sound of hoofbeats echoed through the remote hills of the south Texas brush country. Several men gathered around a campfire lo… Read More

— A MOST-HUNTED MAN — In early December 1886, the Denver & Fort Worth Express rolled into the train station in Bellevue, Texas, and stopped next to the water tower. Several a… Read More

— MISTAKEN IDENTITY? — On the afternoon of March 20, 1868, several men believed to be members of the James-Younger gang walked into the Nimrod Long Banking Co. of Russellvil… Read More

 — MAN ON THE RUN — Despite a slight chill in the air, Town Marshal Milton Yarberry strolled along an Albuquerque, New Mexico, street in the spring of 1881, unaware this qui… Read More

— THE CURE FOR ANYTHING — Clark Stanley looked into the eyes of the crowd gathered in front of him and spun a captivating tale about the benefits of snake oil. Stanley, wearing W… Read More

 — HEART OF A COWARD — Badman Sam Brown rode into Nevada Territory in the 1860s wearing an Indian-made buckskin coat with double fringes around the bottom edge.  He bra… Read More

 — SHARPSHOOTERS IN BLUE AND GRAY — The young soldier, his face damp with sweat, blinked a couple of times to clear his vision. He braced the rifle against his shoulder, squ… Read More

— AN UNJUST LYNCHING — On the morning of July 20, 1889, a man with gray hair and silver Van Dyke beard sat in the saddle alongside the Sweetwater River in Wyoming Territory. He w… Read More

— COAL OIL JIMMY — Two men forced the Santa Fe mail-coach to a stop near Vermejo Stage Station in Colfax County, New Mexico, in October 1871. The gunmen took the treasure box and… Read More

— LYNCHING OUTLAW DOC” — On a fall afternoon in 1856, members of a sheriff’s posse and a group of citizen vigilantes lynched a man considered the first outlaw to rob… Read More

— A THOUSAND PARDONS — Guns blazing, two gunmen pushed their horses hard until they flanked the Wells Fargo Express stagecoach and forced it to stop. They ordered the passengers… Read More

— THE LAST OUTLAW — Deputy U.S. Marshal Floyd Wilson spotted outlaw Henry Starr on the banks of Wolf Creek in Oklahoma Territory. He dropped from the saddle, rifle in hand, and f… Read More

— THAT LAST OLD TIME SHERIFF — Deputy Sheriff William Tilghman strapped on a gun belt and stepped out of his office on the morning of July 5, 1888. He crossed the street and went… Read More

— THE  ART OF GUERRILLA WARFARE — A bullet shattered the window of a Southern home in late 1864 and struck a Confederate officer having dinner. Struggling against the pain i… Read More

— THE SIEGE —  A glimmer of sunlight settled across the horizon in a remote area of the Cherokee Nation on an early morning in November 1892. A sixteen-man posse waited in t… Read More

— BRAZEN BILL —  A lone gunman, face and head wrapped in black gauze to hide his features, stepped out of the shadows and ordered the driver of a California-bound stagecoach… Read More

— BULLETS AND BLOOD — Flickering candlelight danced across the faces of the three men playing poker in the military barracks at Prescott in Arizona Territory in 1877. But one cav… Read More

— RUFE CANNON: MANHUNTER — Deputy U.S. Marshals Rufe Cannon and J.P. Hunter escorted Creek Indian fugitive Captain John Willie into Fort Smith, Oklahoma Territory, in late 1892… Read More

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— PROLIFIC WORDSMITH — Writer Charles T.  Whipple died this past week after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Charlie wrote nonfiction under his own name and Western fiction… Read More

— MAN WITH A SQUEAKY VOICE — “Suckers have no business with money…” said Canada Bill Jones, one of the most capable card sharps in history.  Born in York… Read More

— BLOODY TRAIL OF TERROR —  On an early morning in June 1902, two inmates at the Oregon State Penitentiary sneaked away from a work detail and made their way to the boiler r… Read More

 — THE GUNFIGHTER — Gunman Clay Allison and his brother helped drive a herd of cattle into Los Animas, Colorado, in late 1876.  Cold, tired, and thirsty, the two brothe… Read More

— COLE YOUNGER: FOREVER IN DENIAL — Nursing bullets wounds from the failed bank robbery in Northfield, Minnesota, Cole Younger made a rare admission of guilt. “We tried a d… Read More