Page 31 - Mark Boardman News Today

In the early 1900s, the U.S. Army had a problem.

True West Magazine Lincoln County (NM) lawmen had no idea what they were getting themselves into when they chased after rustler Nicholas Aragon in the fall of 1894. He didn’t go quietly. Instead, Aragon shot and killed two of Sheriff John Poe’s (photo) deputies—Jasper Corn and John Hurley. Poe and a posse finally trapped the outlaw. Aragon was convicted in Hurley’s death and sentenced to life in prison but was paroled after 10 years. He reportedly moved back to his ranch and stayed on t...

True West Magazine Jim Miller Hanging The Corner Saloon was located just outside of Ada, Oklahoma in the 1890s.  Owned by Joe Allen and Jesse West, it was a bad place. There were claims that 50 killings took place there in the 17 years it was in operation. In the early 1900s, they sold the saloon to Jim McCarty (they later tried a hostile takeover). The three would meet again. McCarty served as a guard at the Ada jail when vigilantes took Allen, West, Barry Burrell and Jim Miller and lynched t...

The story behind “20 Mule Team Borax.”

Lt. Bennett Young drew the blueprint for Old West bank robberies—far from the West.  In October 1864, he and 20 Confederate soldiers snuck into St. Albans, Vermont (in civilian clothes).

True West Magazine Bret Harte On February 26, 1860 a large group of white settlers attacked Wiyot Indian camps in Humboldt County, California.  Hundreds of the Indians were killed—mostly old men, women and children since the younger men were away at the time.  The reason: allegedly the Wiyot had been rustling cattle, although that claim was never proven.  Nobody was ever arrested in connection with the incident. Newspaperman Bret Harte, later known for his short stories, deplored the massa...

True West Magazine January 18, 1863–US troops torture and murder Apache war chief Mangas Coloradas in southwest New Mexico. He had come to them under a flag of truce, but General Joseph Rodman West betrayed the Apache. After Mangas’ death, the soldiers removed his head and sent it east for examination (illustration). But it was lost. To the Apache, that meant that the great warrior could not enter the afterlife. The bitter feelings made the upcoming Apache wars even worse. Post Views: ...

True West Magazine Vasquez grave Outlaw Tiburcio Vasquez was hanged in San Jose, California on March 19, 1875.  Afterwards, his body was buried at the Santa Clara Mission Cemetery, where his grave is still something of a tourist attraction today. And it stands out.  The other markers are in uniform rows, nicely and neatly aligned.  Vasquez’ granite monument is set at an angle to all the rest.  It’s not clear why that’s the case, although some say it’s because he was at odds with his...

True West Magazine Gen. Sherman Bell. Sherman Bell was a gung-ho type who got noticed. After service as a lawman and a Rough Rider, he was put in charge of the Colorado National Guard.  In that position, he basically declared martial law during the Colorado Labor Wars of the early 1900s.  He had union members deported, arrested without charges, beaten and generally harassed.  When Bell was served with a writ for four miners unlawfully in jail, he replied, “Habeas corpus be damned! We’ll ...

True West Magazine Gov. James Peabody. Colorado Governor James Peabody was a target—literally—during the labor wars that wracked that state in the early 1900s.  Leaders of the Western Federation of Miners saw him as an enemy who was determined to crush the labor movement (basically true).  So they hired Harry Orchard to get Peabody out of the way. Orchard and at least one compatriot scouted the governor’s mansion, waiting for Peabody to emerge so that they could shotgun him.  An opport...