The Wild West Extravaganza

April 1874. Present day Colorado. A half-starved weather-beaten Alfred Packer came limping into the Los Pinos Indian Agency seeking refuge. Feet covered in rags he claimed he had a harrowing story to tell. The man was ushered in and given food which he vomited up almost as soon as he got it down. Too long without he explained, asking instead for whiskey. Anything that would calm his stomach and ho...

When future General George S. Patton saw his first taste of combat, he was a young officer on the Mexican border. But was this REALLY his first fight?   Email me! https://www.wildwestextra.com/contact/   Check out my website! https://www.wildwestextra.com/   Buy me a coffee! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wildwest Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are two things you just don’t discuss in a beer joint: politics and religion. The reason being these topics tend to be a bit divisive. You add alcohol to the mix and things could get downright ugly. As was the case one sweltering August evening in Newton, Kansas. 1871. Two lawmen named Mike McCluskie and Billy Bailey got into a heated argument that turned physical and – ultimately – deadly....

In a remote corner of Oregon’s northeastern territory exists a mysterious and foreboding village. This is the legend of Sammyville. Listen and subscribe to Obscure History wherever you get your podcasts! Obscure History - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/obscure-history/id1496667775 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 1919 Texas Ranger Investigation - and the Canales Hearing that followed - shed light on misconduct and atrocities committed by one of the most legendary branches of law enforcement between the years 1910 and 1920. An era known to some as La Mantanza - The Slaughter. What events unfolded to cause the darkest hour of the Texas Rangers? And who was Jose Canales, the man brave enough to stand up a...

In October of 1864 Britton Johnson’s son was murdered and his wife and two surviving children were taken captive by a Kiowa War Party. Not willing to just sit back and hope for the best, Britt took matters into his own hands. Set out, alone, into Indian Territory. Determined to get his family back, one way or another. And believe it or not, he was successful. Unfortunately he made some enemies alo...

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 Wi...

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 f...

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 disc...

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...

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 grea...

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 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 t...

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 a...

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 fail...

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...

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...

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 smel...

“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...

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....

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 Contr...

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 bat...

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: T...

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 H...

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 whi...