True West Magazine
Taylor Ealy thought he had a simple assignment: go to Lincoln County, New Mexico to serve as a doctor, Protestant pastor and to run a school for local children. But he got there right in the middle of the Lincoln County War and found himself siding with Alexander McSween and The Regulators of Billy the Kid.
When the Battle of Lincoln ended on July 19, 1878, Ealy found himself without a friend in the area. He left to minister to Zuni Indians in western New Mexico and never returned to Lincoln. Post Views: 122
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True West Magazine
The 1832 battle set the stage for the Texas Revolution.
The names are spoken with reverence in Texas: The Alamo. Goliad. San Jacinto. The great battles of the Texas Revolution, a conflict that lasted just under seven months. But the seeds of the war were planted years before that; the first real bloodshed came in June 1832.
Mexico was in the middle of one of its myriad civil wars. That made military officials in the northern provinces, specifically Texas, very nervous. They feared the Texians would take advantage of the disorder to seek independence for the region. To head things off, the officials arrested a number of potential revolutionaries, including William Barret Travis, who would later command The Alamo.
True West Magazine
Their Courage Shaped a Nation
“Resting here until day breaks and shadows fall and darkness disappears is Quanah Parker, the last chief of the Comanches” – Epitaph on Quanah Parker’s gravestone
On March 4, 1905, Comanche Chief Quanah Parker paraded down Pennsylvania Avenue in President Theodore Roosevelt’s inaugural parade. With him in the parade of 35,000 were five other Indian leaders: Geronimo, Little Plume, American Horse, Hollow Horn Bear and Buckskin Charlie, representing the Apache, Blackfeet, Oglala, Brulé and Ute people, respectively.
Despite criticism from politicians and the press that six Indian leaders who once fought against the United States would be in the parade, the befeathered leaders rode with dignity and pride, and were greeted along the parade route with applause.
True West Magazine
The exploits of Old West notables usually obscure the stories of their loved ones. Case in point: John Wesley Hardin. When he started a 25-year prison term in 1878, left behind his wife Jane and three young children. They were left destitute, so they had to live with a family friend. In return for her room and board Jane worked by cooking, cleaning and sewing for the host family. The children also helped with chores.
Jane’s health faded in the 1890s and she died of TB in 1892. Newspapers said she was well-respected in the community. Post Views:
True West Magazine
Bat Masterson and Otto Floto had much in common. They were sportswriters in Denver. Each promoted boxing matches. Each had a pretty good opinion of his own talents and efforts. They were partners for a time, but in the late 1890s, a business deal went bad.
In July 1900, they confronted one another on a Denver street. Things got heated until Masterson started using his cane on Floto, who ran away. Masterson followed, swinging his cane until Floto put distance between the two. The fight made all the Denver papers the next day. Post Views: 26
Jesse Evans and his gang acted like they were headed to Mexico in early July…