The Wild West Extravaganza

Did Doc Holliday say, “I’m your huckleberry” or “I’m your huckle bearer?” Or is the whole debate built on nothing more than an internet myth? Join me today as we break down the famous line from Tombstone to hopefully separate fact from fiction. We’ll examine the original Tombstone script written by Kevin Jarre, Val Kilmer’s 2020 memoir I’m Your Huckleberry, and Tombstone: An Iliad of the Southwest...

Should Billy the Kid’s body be exhumed? In today’s episode, we break down the evidence surrounding Billy’s death at Fort Sumner, as well as the two failed attempts to dig up the Kid: the 1961 court fight between Lincoln and Fort Sumner, and the 2003 official investigation led by Sheriff Tom Sullivan, Deputy Steve Sederwall, and Sheriff Gary Graves. Finally, we address the DNA question itself and w...

In late January 1882, Doc Holliday and Johnny Ringo came within mere seconds of turning the streets of Tombstone into a slaughterhouse. Luckily, cooler heads prevailed, and both men were arrested before a shot was fired; a near catastrophe that historian Mark Lee Gardner described as “the greatest gunfight that never was.” Join me today as we take a closer look at this infamous standoff. We’ll exa...

What really caused the gunfight at the OK Corral? Most people chalk it up to a simple showdown between good and evil, with Wyatt Earp, his brothers, and Doc Holliday on one side and the Clantons and McLaury brothers on the other. Thirty seconds, roughly thirty shots fired at point-blank range, and three men left dead in the street. But contrary to popular belief, the violence in Tombstone didn't j...

Doc Holliday arrived in Dodge City in 1878, fresh from Texas and already tied to the hip to Big Nose Kate. He advertised as a dentist, gambled heavily, and quietly built a reputation in one of the most dangerous towns in the Old West before moving on, first to Colorado, then New Mexico, and finally, Tombstone, Arizona. Join me today as we examine Doc’s road to the O.K. Corral. Also discussed are C...

Doc Holliday was a gambler, a consumptive, a deadly shootist, and an educated Southern gentleman. He was feared across the frontier, respected by some, hated by many, and remembered as one of the most complicated figures in all of the Old West history. Join me today as we explore Holliday’s early life. We’ll examine the pivotal experience that caused him to head West, his relationship with Big Nos...

Did PTSD exist in the Old West, and if so, did it contribute to the violence of the frontier? Join me as we explore how trauma affected soldiers and civilians alike long before the condition had a name, from Civil War veterans suffering from what was once called soldiers’ heart or Da Costa’s syndrome to rising rates of alcoholism, domestic violence, and institutionalization across the United State...

We’ve all seen Tombstone, but how much do you really know about the origins of the Clantons? Or to be more specific, how much do you know about the family patriarch, Newman “Old Man” Clanton? Is it true he was really the meanest of the Cochise County Cowboys? Join me today as we trace Old Man Clanton from Tennessee to Arizona. We’ll discuss his association with other bandits like Curly Bill Brociu...

Rube Burrow began as an honest cowboy and farmer with every intention of living a simple life. Born in Alabama in 1855, he built a family and worked the land until sickness, failed crops, and tragic loss pushed him past the breaking point. From his early train robberies in Texas to long months hiding in the Alabama backwoods, this is the complete story of Burrow’s rise and fall. His robberies, esc...

When did the Old West truly begin, and when did it finally come to an end? Some trace the Wild West’s start to the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, while others think it was much late,r as cowboys started trailing herds out of Texas. As for the end, many point to 1890, when the U.S. Census Bureau declared the frontier closed and Wounded Knee marked the last big clash between the Indigenous and the U.S....

When most folks think about the Old West, they almost immediately envision daring lawmen and bloodthirsty outlaws. But did you know that the frontier was filled with ordinary people who also lived truly extraordinary lives? Today, we’ll shine a light on four such characters. First up is the legendary fur trapper, James Beckwourth. Born a slave, Beckwourth trapped beaver with Kit Carson and Jim Bri...

At just 21 years old, Dan Bogan was already facing a death sentence. After a drunken rampage in Texas ended in murder, he and his partner were found guilty and ordered to hang, but Dan wasn’t the type to go quietly. In a chaotic courtroom escape, he grabbed a guard’s pistol, fired wildly, and leapt to freedom out of a second‑story window. From there, his life turned into pure frontier legend. Usin...

Did Bounty Hunters really exist in the Old West, or is that just another invention of Hollywood? The truth is a lot more complicated than the movies make it seem. Law enforcement in the Old West was patchwork at best, often made up of part-time sheriffs, underpaid marshals, and ramshackle jails. With courts just as unreliable, ordinary citizens and private companies like Wells Fargo began offering...

Barney Riggs was one of the Old West’s most notorious and controversial gunfighters. Born in Arkansas in 1856, Riggs moved to Texas as a child, where violence quickly became a family tradition. At just 18, he killed a friend in what was called an accidental shooting. By his twenties, Riggs was in Arizona, working as a cowboy, stealing horses, and allegedly committing multiple murders. After being...

Who was the deadliest gunfighter of the Old West? Legends like Wild Bill Hickok, Billy the Kid, and Jesse James all have larger-than-life reputations, but the truth is often a lot messier. Join me as we break down the facts and attempt to separate myth from reality on the West’s most notorious shootists. We’ll talk confirmed kills, unverified stories, and the wildest rumors around names like Johnn...

On June 27th, 1874, a handful of buffalo hunters found themselves surrounded by hundreds of Comanche at a place called Adobe Walls. Outnumbered more than twenty to one, the odds of survival looked slim. Nevertheless, it was here that Billy Dixon stepped forward and made what’s become known as the “shot of the century,” dropping a mounted warrior at nearly 1,500 yards. Join me as we examine the lif...

What really happened to Jesse Evans, the outlaw who once rode with Billy the Kid and helped ignite the Lincoln County War? He shot up dance halls, rustled cattle, and left a bloody trail from New Mexico to Texas, only to vanish without a trace. And to this day, nobody knows his true fate. Was Jesse Evans really a childhood friend of Billy the Kid? Did he spend his final years as Joseph Hines in Fl...

For generations, rumors have swirled that Old West outlaw Billy the Kid’s grave at Fort Sumner was swept away by a massive flood. But is there any truth to the legend, or does Billy still rest beneath his famous gravestone? Also discussed are fellow Lincoln County Regulators Charlie Bowdre and Tom Folliard. Chasing Billy YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@chasingbilly Billy the Kid’s Grave by Davi...

Was José Chavez y Chavez really part Navajo? And what about Billy the Kid’s famous escape from Lincoln? Was that Young Guns 2 scene with the pistol in the outhouse true, or did he overpower his guard? Who actually killed Deputy Carlyle at White Oaks? These are just a few of the questions I discussed with historian and author James B. Mills. His book, Billy the Kid: Bandido Simpatico, is one of the...

James Beckwourth lived one of the most extraordinary lives in American frontier history. Born the son of a white plantation owner and an enslaved Black woman, Beckwourth was freed by his father and set out to make his own way in the West. He trapped beaver alongside legendary mountain men like Jim Bridger and Kit Carson, fought in battles ranging from the swamps of Florida to the Pacific coast, an...

Did Pat Garrett receive the $500 bounty on Billy the Kid’s head? For years, rumors have spread that Garrett was denied payment because he failed to prove the Kid’s death. But how true are these claims? Buy Me A Coffee! https://buymeacoffee.com/wildwest   Check out the website! https://www.wildwestextra.com/   Email me! https://www.wildwestextra.com/contact/   Free Newsletter! https://wildwestjosh....

Bigfoot Wallace is one of those figures who looms so large in Texas history that it can be tough to separate the facts from the tall tales. Born in Virginia and hardened by tragedy, Wallace headed to Texas with vengeance on his mind. What followed was a life filled with brutal frontier battles, narrow escapes, and enough wild stories to fill volumes. As a Texas Ranger, Wallace faced down Comanche...

Did Pat Garrett’s widow really claim that her husband helped to fake the demise of Billy the Kid? What about Garrett’s daughter, Elizabeth? Did she really give an interview in the 1980s saying the same thing? Endless online debates and unreliable sources have fueled questions such as these. But what does the historical evidence actually say? Today, we’ll examine the affidavit of Homer Overton, the...

John Tornow, also known as the Wild Man of the Wynoochee, became one of the most feared and hunted men in the Pacific Northwest during the early 1900s. Born in Iowa in 1880, he grew up in Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, where he developed an unmatched skill with a rifle and a deep love for the wilderness. What began as the life of a quiet hermit spiraled into a story of family feuds, tragic deaths...

Frank “Pistol Pete” Eaton was more than a mascot. He was a real man who claimed to have lived one of the most violent and extraordinary lives of the Old West. Born in 1860 in Hartford, Connecticut, Eaton moved with his family to Kansas, where he witnessed his father’s murder at the hands of six vigilantes. From that moment on, young Frank dedicated his life to revenge. By the time he was fifteen,...