Sharpshooters
December 3, 2019
Ad Toepperwein, probably the greatest marksman of all time, traveled the country putting on exhibitions with his wife, Plinky. His greatest achievement, shooting for ten days, 72,500 targets made of 2 1/4 inch wood blocks, 7 hours a day, 68 1/2 hours, missing only 9 targets.
The Sheepeaters
November 26, 2019
This isolated distinct tribe lived a peaceful happy life high in the Rocky Mountains. Expert arrow makers, they excelled at tanning hides and making clothes, they traded with other tribes and mountain men. Smallpox took it’s toll leaving few Sheepeaters.
Jesse and Frank James
November 19, 2019
After riding with Quantill’s guerrillas and Bloody Bill Anderson, it was an easy step for the brothers to start a life of crime. Were they heroes or cold blooded murderers? Jesse was killed, Frank became an honest citizen.
Baseball in the Old West
November 15, 2019
In 1869 the Cincinnati Red Stockings took the Transcontinental Railroad to California to play the local teams. By the mid-1880s baseball teams spread over much of the West.
Curse of the Lost Creek Mine
November 6, 2019
Peter Slumach, a Salish Indian, found gold worth millions, but was hung for murder. The curse claimed the lives of some who found the gold and many more who didn’t. According to Indian legend, only one with Indian blood can claim the gold.
Geronimo - The Later Years
October 30, 2019
The once proud leader of the Apaches was reduced to selling his autograph and at 76, being "displayed" as dangerous. He died from pneumonia in 1909, not living long enough to see his people return to their homelands.
Calamity Jane
October 22, 2019
Orphaned at age 14, Martha “Calamity Jane” Canary was left to care for five siblings. A dishwasher, cook, waitress, nurse, army scout, she dressed as a soldier, was compassionate to the sick and needy. Buried in Deadwood next to Wild Bill Hickok.
Pasteur and Three-Fingered Jack
October 15, 2019
Two stories: Bitten by a rattle snake, Jack chopped off two fingers. He continued mining and made but lost a fortune. Willie Chamberlain was attacked by a rabid wolf, his only chance, go to Paris and seek treatment from Louis Pasteur. It worked.
Greyson Welsh
October 8, 2019
Left an orphan, he herded cattle, was attacked by Indians, fractured legs and nursed back to health by Indians, nearly starved and frozen to death, his crew successfully brought the herd in after a 6,000 mile journey.
Jeffords and Cochise
October 1, 2019
He was a blood brother to Cochise and considered the only honest Indian agent. As treaties were made and broken, both Jeffords and Cochise could see the end of Indian life as they knew it.