Dr. History's Tales of the Old West

Was Simpson a horse thief? A peculiar man with a reputation for being honest, yet evidence indicates he was a horse thief. A hasty trial with a rope around his neck, was this the end?

Nat Love and Bill Picket were among the most famous African American cowboys. They made their name by being the best when it came to riding, roping, branding and herding cattle. Pickett was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1971.

On a cattle drive, a stampede was feared the most. Usually at night, lightning, thunder, a horse falling, and sometimes for no reason, a herd could be thrown into a wild panic. Most herds stampeded at least once.

Cattle drives depended on a good foreman and cook. Coffee, sourdough biscuits, bacon, steak, beans, pot roast, short ribs and son-of-a-(gun) stew, cowboys were well fed. They also obeyed strict chuck wagon rules.

A cattle drive began with receiving cattle, in this case from Mexico. From receiving, swimming across the Rio Grande, counting the herd, picking your horses, all part of a six month trail ride.

1868, General George A. Custer led the 7th Cavalry in a surprise winter attack against Cheyenne Chief Black Kettle and his village. Custer reported a victory, yet there were only a dozen warriors killed and 23 soldiers killed. 1876, another attack along the Little Bighorn river, with much different results.

George Miller didn't like his neighbors cows eating his corn. He shot some cows and his neighbor, but partnering with Red Buck was his worst mistake.

Blonde, blue eyed, fair skinned Indians? Tall, powerful and courageous with their "skull crushers", they were feared by the Sioux. The 1362 Kensington Stone and Viking graves may hold the answer.

Dinah, the three-wheeled steam tractor, set out to replace the 20 mule teams hauling borax across the Mojave desert. When the dust cleared there was just one winner.

The winter of 1864 found the mining town of Alder Gulch with a serious lack of flour as supply trains were unable to make it through the deep snow. Flour, also called, “Dumpling Dust”, sold for as much as $110 a sack.

George W. Skinner discovered a huge treasure but disappeared. His skeletal remains were found, but not the treasure, even with written directions discovered by his brother.

Doc Middleton stole mules and horses from friends, neighbors and emigrants, but would turn around and give horses to poor stranded emigrants. A Robin Hood of sorts, but still ended up in jail.

Famous for a knife, he fought against General Santa Anna at the Alamo, with Davy Crockett and Colonel William Travis. These brave defenders died fighting for Texas independence.

A treasure hunters paradise, Mustang and Padre Islands. Miles of buried treasure, sunken ships, coins, artifacts, military relics waiting to be found, but watch out for snakes.

He carried 50 pounds of gear, marched 10 to 20 miles a day in all kinds of weather, often without enough food or clean water. At the end of a campaign, clothes were rags, boots worn out, hair and beards long and shaggy, yet they played an important role in protecting early pioneers.