Legends of the Old West

After the Civil War, Buntline heads west to California in a short-lived effort to support the temperance movement. He makes new friends, and lots of enemies, and meets the scout who becomes the basis for his most successful literary creation. He permanently shapes the image of the American West when he turns a shy frontiersman named William Cody into a legendary celebrity called Buffalo Bill. Join...

Buntline wears out his welcome in New York and heads west to St. Louis. He finds a city primed to explode, and he leads another whiskey-fueled riot. He moves to upstate New York in an attempt to quit drinking, but it’s an uphill battle. He marries, divorces or abandons several wives. And in 1861, he feels the pull of the ultimate adventure: war. Join Black Barrel+ for bingeable seasons with no com...

Buntline leads a mob to the Astor Place Opera House and ignites the bloodiest episode in New York City since the Revolutionary War. Fueled by anger and alcohol, Buntline starts a riot that claims more than 20 lives and injures more than 100, and it lands him in prison. But the event only serves as a blueprint for another riot to come. Join Black Barrel+ for bingeable seasons with no commercials: b...

Edward Judson becomes famous — and infamous — under the pen name Ned Buntline. He raises hell in Nashville; marries multiple women; suffers humiliation at the hands of a brothel owner; and begins a slanderous rivalry with a New York publisher. And all the while, he writes dozens of adventure stories that earn him legions of fans. Join Black Barrel+ for bingeable seasons with no commercials: blackb...

Geronimo finally takes his place as a leader during the final years of the Apache Wars. To avenge the murder of his family, he wreaks havoc on northern Mexico. As his raids on Arizona and New Mexico intensify, the U.S. Army sends nearly a quarter of its force to stop him. When the fighting finally ends, the legend of Geronimo begins. Join Black Barrel+ for bingeable seasons with no commercials: bl...

Apache chief Victorio leads his people off the San Carlos Reservation in search of a better home. The search leads to two years of desperate fighting across the American southwest and northern Mexico. And the end of the campaign opens the door for the last great Apache leader to step forward. Join Black Barrel+ for bingeable seasons with no commercials: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join For more...

When an American boy goes missing in Arizona, the U.S. military accuses Cochise of kidnapping and tries to hold him hostage until the boy is returned. The event launches 25 years of fighting between the Apache and the Americans. Join Black Barrel+ for bingeable seasons with no commercials: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join For more details, visit our website www.blackbarrelmedia.com and check out...

Over the course of two centuries, the Apache rise to become the dominant raiding society in the land that will soon become the American states of Arizona and New Mexico. The Apache battle the Spanish empire, and then the new nation of Mexico, and finally begin a decades-long conflict with the United States. In the process, the first great Apache leader of the 1800s gains fame: Mangas Coloradas. Jo...

Black Barrel+ premium listening experience is now live. Subscription plans that offer bingeable seasons, early access, and exclusive bonus episodes are now available for both Legends of the Old West and Infamous America. Thank you in advance for your support! Subscribe here: https://blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Exciting new things are on the horizon. Here are the quick hits: Apache Wars has been delayed. It will now begin May 27. Explanation in the episode. Bonus content is on the way! We've partnered with a company to create a premium listening experience. Hear about some of the features in the episode. The back catalogue is on its way to YouTube... Thanks Legends Family. Learn more about your ad choice...

Weeks of firefights and arrests lead to the Battle of Grapevine. A party of McCoy supporters led by “Bad” Frank Phillips clashes with a party of Hatfield supporters. The consequences push the states of Kentucky and West Virginia to the Supreme Court. The last fight of the feud happens in a courtroom, but it claims one more life. Join Black Barrel+ for bingeable seasons with no commercials: blackba...

A deadly raid on New Year’s Day launches the bloodiest month of the feud. The Hatfields inflict more casualties on the McCoys, but then the McCoys unleash “Bad” Frank Phillips to hunt down the Hatfields. While raiding parties race across the Tug River, the governors of Kentucky and West Virginia spar over extradition. Join Black Barrel+ for bingeable seasons with no commercials: blackbarrel.suppor...

A brutal attack pushes Devil Anse Hatfield to an extreme act of revenge. The feud enters its bloodiest phase, and the consequences force the governors of Kentucky and West Virginia into a showdown. Join Black Barrel+ for bingeable seasons with no commercials: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join For more details, visit our website www.blackbarrelmedia.com and check out our social media pages. We’re...

A trial leads to murder. A relationship between a Hatfield young man and a McCoy young woman deepens the divide between the two families. And Devil Anse Hatfield makes new enemies who join the McCoy side of the feud. Join Black Barrel+ for bingeable seasons with no commercials: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join For more details, visit our website www.blackbarrelmedia.com and check out our social...

The most iconic family feud in American history begins in the heart of southern Appalachia. Tensions rise during the years before the Civil War, and then an attack near the end of the war raises the stakes to a fatal level. At that point, there is no turning back. Join Black Barrel+ for bingeable seasons with no commercials: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join For more details, visit our website ww...

In the Season Finale, Jesse and Frank rob one final train. One by one, the members of Jesse's gang disappear or die. The governor of Missouri announces unprecedented bounties for the capture of the James boys, and the money tempts Charley and Robert Ford to take drastic action. Join Black Barrel+ for bingeable seasons with no commercials: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join For more details, visit...

With the Northfield ordeal done, Frank and Jesse rebuild their lives. Frank gives up his criminal past; Jesse wants to continue robbing. Jesse starts a new gang but it quickly crumbles and drives him downward into a dark state of paranoia. Forces are in motion that will bring about the end of his life. Join Black Barrel+ for bingeable seasons with no commercials: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join...

After the Northfield shootout, the surviving members of the James-Younger gang flee the area. Posses scour the land in pursuit. The outlaws are plagued by terrible weather, rough terrain, and hundreds of manhunters. After a week on the run, the gang is forced to make a difficult choice. Some men will make it out of Minnesota and some won't. Join Black Barrel+ for bingeable seasons with no commerci...

The Northfield raid begins badly and ends in disaster. A shootout engulfs the town as the James-Younger gang battles the citizenry in Old West urban combat. Both sides suffer losses and grievous injuries. Afterward, the town and the gang will never be the same. Join Black Barrel+ for bingeable seasons with no commercials: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join For more details, visit our website www.b...

Pinkerton detectives attack the James family farm and the results are deadly. The James-Younger gang robs a train in Missouri, but suffers a setback. The actions of a traitor push the gang to make the fateful decision to go north. Two weeks later, the gang settles on a target for its next robbery: the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota. Join Black Barrel+ for bingeable seasons with no co...

A train robbery brings the Pinkerton Detective Agency back into the lives of the James-Younger gang. Undercover detectives attempt to infiltrate the gang but produce disastrous results. In the aftermath, the agency begins a long campaign that is designed to wipe out the gang once and for all. Join Black Barrel+ for bingeable seasons with no commercials: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join For more...

A bank robbery Iowa jumpstarts the career of the James-Younger gang. A train robbery -- also in Iowa -- cements the gang as the premier outlaw group in America. The bandits' rise to stardom is fueled by their biggest fan: an aggressive newspaper editor in Kansas City. Join Black Barrel+ for bingeable seasons with no commercials: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join For more details, visit our websit...

Bank robberies pile up fast in the years after the Civil War. Frank and Jesse learn the tricks of the trade from their old guerilla comrades and then strike out on their own. But in their first solo action, Jesse murders a man in cold blood and earns the wrath of an angry posse. Join Black Barrel+ for early access and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join For more details, visit ou...

Frank and Jesse James grow into young men amid the chaos of the Civil War. They learn the skills and tactics of guerilla warfare in their home state of Missouri. And when the war is finished, they must decide on a new path. When the first daylight bank robbery in peacetime America happens in their home county, the men of their former guerilla outfit become the chief suspects. Join Black Barrel+ fo...

Beau L'Amour is the son of legendary author Louis L'Amour and he joins the show to discuss a project called, "Louis L'Amour's Lost Treasures." Beau helped produce two volumes of stories from his father's vast collection of unfinished and unpublished works. He gives some insight into those stories, and the Lost Treasures project as a whole, and many other things in this unique interview. Learn more...