The Wild West Extravaganza

Today we hear from the legendary Wyatt Earp, in his own words, as he dispenses sage advice on the art of gunfighting. We’ll also examine the legitimacy of these statements. The passages quoted are from Stuart Lake's biography Wyatt Earp Frontier Marshal, a work deemed by historians as mostly fiction. Examine Lake's admission of embellishment and invention and consider the impact of his storytellin...

Uncover the dark history of the Yuma Crossing and the infamous John Joel Glanton's reign of terror. Learn how Glanton's brutality led to a massacre that sparked the Yuma War and a tense standoff on Christmas Day 1851. Lieutenant Amiel Whipple and his men find themselves outnumbered and facing certain death at the hands of the Quechan people, still angry at Glanton's many abuses. What happens next...

On June 25th, 1876, George Armstrong Custer rode into battle for the last time. He and his troops faced an overwhelming force of Lakota and Cheyenne along the banks of the Little Bighorn, and before the sun sank into the horizon, every man in his command was dead. When General Terry arrived two days later, the victorious warriors were already gone. The soldiers on Reno Hill had watched in awe as t...

“All around, the Indians began jumping up, running forward, dodging down, jumping up again, down again, all the time going toward the soldiers. Right away, all of the white men went crazy. Instead of fighting us, they turned their guns upon themselves. Almost before we could get to them, every one of them was dead. They killed themselves.” - Wooden Leg, a Northern Cheyenne who faced off against Cu...

“It’s just as easy to make big money as little money. In my profession, a hundred dollars is just chicken feed. We think in thousands, not tens. Experience has taught me that it is as easy to separate a sucker – the right sucker – from five thousand dollars as from fifty. We always offered our services to well-to-do men, holding out the promise that their investments were certain to net them profi...

This is Part 2 and the final installment in the series on Harry Tracy. In the previous episode we discussed Tracy's early life, his various scrapes with the law, and his dramatic prison escape. On today's episode we'll follow Tracy as he eludes the authorities, culminating in his ultimate showdown.  Miss Part 1? Listen here - Harry Tracy | The Last of the Wild Bunch (Part 1) - https://www.wildwest...

In the summer of 1881, Billy the Kid was shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett. The lawman had been on the hunt ever since Billy broke out of jail in Lincoln and finally caught up to the bandit at Old Fort Sumner. It was around midnight, and Pat was waiting inside Pete Maxwell’s darkened bedroom when the Kid stepped in. “Quien es?” Billy asked, noticing the large shape looming in the shadows. “Wh...

Considered by some to be the last of Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch, Harry Tracy blasted his way out of prison in the summer of 1902. What followed was one of the most desperate man hunts in all of U.S. history. Over the course of the next two months, Tracy would lead hundreds of lawmen, including the National Guard, on a deadly game of chase that would see at least 7 men gunned down. According to the...

Make no mistake about it, the exploits of escaped slave-turned-lawman Bass Reeves are legendary.  Described in the papers of his day as a holy terror and one of the greatest manhunters to ever grace Indian Territory, Bass Reeves served as a deputy U.S. Marshal for over three decades; routinely traveling into no man’s land and returning with wagonloads of prisoners. With over 3,000 arrests and over...

Make no mistake about it, the exploits of escaped slave-turned-lawman Bass Reeves are legendary.  Described in the papers of his day as a holy terror and one of the greatest manhunters to ever grace Indian Territory, Bass Reeves served as a deputy U.S. Marshal for over three decades; routinely traveling into no man’s land and returning with wagonloads of prisoners. With over 3,000 arrests and over...

There are many purported photos of the legendary Doc Holliday but only two are authenticated. This is a VISUALY DEPENDENT episode. Check the video out here: https://youtu.be/FvIDvi5NdMo?si=P1mn9Byw4Lte9Vun   Check out the website for more true tales from the Old West https://www.wildwestextra.com/   Email me! https://www.wildwestextra.com/contact/   Buy me a coffee! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wi...

There’s just something about uncontacted tribes that’s always piqued my curiosity. Perhaps you’ve heard of Ishi, who, as the last of his people, emerged from California’s Sierra foothills in the summer of 1911. It’s estimated that Ishi was around 50 years of age and spent the vast majority of his life completely cut off from modern society. And for good reason, after all his tribe was literally sl...

James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok was the epitome of the Wild West. Soldier, spy, scout, gambler, lawman, and yes – gunfighter. Friends with other Old West legends like Buffalo Bill Cody, Kit Carson, Calamity Jane, and George Armstrong Custer, Hickok also brushed shoulders with his fair share of notorious outlaws like John Wesley Hardin. This is a comprehensive look at Wild Bill’s life, from his ear...

The mysterious, oftentimes sullen gunfighter Johnny Ringo celebrated July 4th, 1882, by going on a bender. And judging by the liquor bottles stashed in his saddlebags he wasn’t planning on the festivities ending any time soon. Few days later Ringo shows up at a ranch about 20 miles to the north and he’s still drinking. Likewise even later when he runs into Cochise County Sheriff’s deputy Billy Bre...

In early 1858, John “RIP” Ford led a detachment of Texas Rangers, along with their Native American allies, on a punitive expedition deep in the heart of Comancheria. Their mission was to catch the Comanche unaware and prove that they could strike them in their own backyard. What followed is known as the Battle or Campaign of Antelope Hills aka the Battle of Little Robe Creek. Also discussed in thi...

In the summer of 1895 John Selman Sr gunned down John Wesley Hardin. Considered one of the deadliest shootists of the Old west, Hardin killed his first man at the tender age of fifteen. In the decade that followed dozens of others would fall to the young man’s guns, including – if the legend is true – a victim whose only crime was snoring too loud. Yet despite all this, Hardin’s killer with a badg...

In the spring of 1905, a couple of down-and-out cowboys robbed a dice game in Winslow, Arizona. What followed was a literal pursuit to hell, a bloody gunfight, and an Old West Lazurus rising from the grave for one final sip of whiskey.    Check out the website for more true tales from the Old West https://www.wildwestextra.com/   Email me! https://www.wildwestextra.com/contact/   David Lambert on...

Ed Scarborough cut his teeth chasing outlaws like Black Jack Ketchum when he was still a teenager. He’d go on to become a deputy sheriff, constable, Arizona Ranger, and according to those who knew him, Ed was born to a saddle, an excellent marksman, and did not know the meaning of the word fear. Make no mistake about it, Ed Scarborough took down many a sassy bandit over the course of his career. B...

Comanche Jack Stilwell worked as a teamster on the Santa Fe Trail, hunted buffalo on the southern plains, and participated in the famous Battle of Beecher Island – all before the age of 19 years of age. Jack continued scouting for the Army against the Cheyenne, Comanche, Apache, Kiowa, and Arapaho before pinning on a badge and chasing down outlaws in Indian Territory. Despite these accomplishments...

War is hell. I know that sounds cliché but there’s a simple, irrefutable truth in that short yet powerful statement, one that is unchanging through time. Although our modern weapons may not be the same now as they were in the past, the end result is the same. Death, dismemberment, chaos, and pain. Grieving families, survivor guilt, and, sometimes, an elation that borders on the euphoric. For tribe...

This bonus episode comes to us from Lori Davis and her excellent podcast Her Half of History. Brand new episode of The Wild West Extravaganza still scheduled for Wednesday but I thought I'd go ahead and share this as well. Enjoy! This woman is a superhero. She escaped herself and then put herself in danger many times to help others do the same. During the Civil War, she served as a nurse and educa...

How can we be so certain that Pat Garrett really killed Billy the Kid? Today we take a look at all of the evidence – the eyewitness accounts, official documentation, coroner’s jury report, etc. – all proving that Billy did indeed come to his demise at Fort Sumner in 1881. We also dispel a few myths, discuss why there was no reason for Garrett to take a photo of the Kid, define what the term anecdo...

From investigating the Fountain disappearance to working as Sheriff of Dona Ana County, and appointed as the Collector of Customs by Teddy Roosevelt himself, Pat Garrett seemed to be living up to the notoriety gained from killing Billy the Kid. Unfortunately it would all come crashing down. Just a few years after the turn of the century, an aging Garrett would find himself out of a job and deeply...

In February of 1896, Albert Jennings Fountain and his 8-year-old son Henry vanished off the face of the earth, never to be seen again. The pair had been travelling near the present day white sands missile range in New Mexico when disaster struck; an abandoned wagon and blood stains the only clues alluding to their fate. To this day no bodies have been discovered and, although suspects abound, ulti...

Pat Garrett, along with deputies John W. Poe and Kip McKinney, make one final push into Fort Sumner in search of Billy the Kid. In doing so, they immortalize themselves. Also discussed in this episode is whether or not Pat Garrett was a coward. Was Billy the Kid armed when he met his end? How do we know for sure that Billy was indeed killed that night at Fort Sumner? Why wasn’t a photograph taken...