Wild West Magazine presents the great American frontier from its beginnings to today. America’s western frontier has been a vital part of the country’s myths and reality, from the earliest exploration beyond the territory of the first colonies, to the wide expanses of the western prairies and deserts. Experience the old west and cowboys and Indians from top historical writers. Wild West brings to life the fascinating history, lore and culture of the great American frontier.

NEW MEXICO’S KID

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Wild West • DECEMBER 2020 / VOL. 33, NO. 4

LETTERS

TOP 10 REASONS BILLY WAS MORE ‘OUTLAW’ THAN JESSE

EVENTS OF THE WEST

SHE KNOWS BROWN’S PARK • DIANA KOURIS GREW UP IN THE COLORADO MOUNTAIN VALLEY AND HAS WRITTEN A BIOGRAPHY OF LOCAL RANCHER ‘QUEEN ANN’ BASSETT

CALL HER ‘CAPTAIN JACK’

HANDS UP! DON’T SHOOT! • DID DEPUTY U.S. MARSHAL WILLIAM THOMPSON JR. GUN DOWN A UTAH TERRITORY FUGITIVE BECAUSE HE WAS A MORMON?

ALWAYS BIGGER IN THE RETELLING • THE EPHEMERAL SILVER CAMP OF KINGSTON WAS NEVER THE ‘LARGEST TOWN IN NEW MEXICO TERRITORY’

RIM SIDE WITH THE VERKAMPS • JOHN GEORGE VERKAMP’S GRAND CANYON CURIO STORE WAS THE OLDEST PRIVATELY LICENSED VENTURE IN A NATIONAL PARK

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

THE MURAL ART OF ‘LIGHTNING HEART’ • FRED HABERLEIN PRODUCED 140 MURALS, SOME HISTORICAL AND SOME RELIGIOUS, OVER HIS SIX-DECADE CAREER

SAVING MOUNTAIN CHIEF • A PLOT TO SPARE THE BLACKFEET CHIEF AND INNOCENT FOLLOWERS FROM ATTACK WORKED, BUT AT GREAT COST TO ANOTHER BLACKFEET CAMP

STYLE • We marvel at Teresa Elliott’s realistic paintings of iconic Western livestock and the prized pottery at Scottsdale’s King Gallery

THEY CALLED HIM BILITO • To the Hispanos who knew him best, Billy the Kid was a brave, fun-loving young man loyal to his friends

HOMBRES VALIENTES IN THE LINCOLN COUNTY WAR • Long overshadowed by such Anglo notables as Billy the Kid, Nuevoméxicanos played key roles in the 1878 factional war

TROUBLE IN CHINATOWN • When rioters began killing Chinese Los Angelenos, teacher turned sheriff James Franklin Burns acted to stop the carnage

FIRST WESTERN GUNFIGHTER? • Accounts of the violent life of Ferd Patterson are piecemeal, but he appears a rival of Cullen Baker for that dubious honor

SCOURGE OF THE SOONERS • Attorney William F. Harn doggedly pursued the notorious claim jumpers in the aftermath of the 1889 Oklahoma land rush

SOME DAISEY!

A VERY BRADY CHRISTMAS • Itinerant reverend and Western author Cyrus Townsend Brady related Christmas tales not necessarily for children

A STOP IN A SECLUDED VALLEY • THE LITTLE SNAKE RIVER VALLEY MUSEUM, IN SAVERY, WYOMING, MAKES VISITORS FEEL AT HOME

SPENCERS PROVE THEIR WORTH • IN 1868 MAJOR GEORGE FORSYTH’S SCOUTS AVOIDED DISASTER AT BEECHER ISLAND, THANKS TO THESE SEVEN-SHOT CARBINES

SETTLER’S SPENCER

BARKER AND HUGHESVILLE, MONTANA • THESE TWIN TOWNS IN THE BARKER MINING DISTRICT SAW PLENTY OF UPS AND DOWNS OVER THE DECADES

MUST SEE, MUST READ • JAMES B. MILLS RECOMMENDS BILLY THE KID–RELATED BOOKS AND VIDEOS

GRUENE, NEW BRAUNFELS, TEXAS