In November of 1864, famed frontiersman Kit Carson picked a fight with the Lords of the Southern Plains – the Comanche. The bloody engagement that followed, known as the first Battle of Adobe Walls, saw Carson and his men outnumbered 10 to 1 against the Comanche and their allies, the Kiowa. But why? Why did Carson pick a fight with the Comanche on …

In 1824, Jedediah Smith undertakes the journey of a lifetime. He travels across more of the West than any other explorer of the age. He battles starvation and Native American war parties, and ascends to co-owner of the Ashley-Henry fur company before retiring from the life of a trapper in the Rocky Mountains. Then, on his final adventure, his story…

During the summer of 1863, the U.S. Government sent the legendary Kit Carson to reign in the Navajo. As such, the former Mountain Man adopted a scorched earth policy, burning crops and villages, restricting access to water, and pretty much annihilating everything he could find that belonged to the Navajo. What resulted is an incredibly dark chapter…

In 1822, Jedediah Smith answers an advertisement to join a new fur trading company led by William Ashley and Andrew Henry. Smith and the rest of the company head into the wilds of the Upper Missouri River country and find themselves tested by the weather, the terrain, the animals, and the Native American warriors who want to stop encroachment on th…

Following the Mexican-American War, Kit Carson returned home and attempted to start a ranch. The former Mountain Man had been out west with the Pathfinder – John C. Fremont – for several years as they tried to conquer California. This was followed by a series of transcontinental trips that saw Kit ferrying dispatches overland from the west coast to…

By 1845, tensions were high in the Mexican territory of California. Not only were the U.S. and Mexico on the brink of war, but even the native Hispanic Californios were looking to separate themselves from the official government down in Mexico. Into this social and political turmoil came the Pathfinder – John C. Fremont. At his helm was a small bat…

Kit Carson ventured west as a teenager, looking to escape the drudgery of civilization. And in the years to come, he’d find all the excitement a youngster could hope for in the life of a mountain man. For over a decade, Carson would embark on a series of fur-trapping expeditions from New Mexico and Arizona up to present-day Montana and as far west …

When it comes to the Old West, they don’t get much more legendary than Kit Carson. Although soft-spoken and physically small, this larger-than-life mountain man would go on – during his own life – to become a national hero, and in death, he’d be immortalized in bronze. But who was Kit Carson? What sort of a man was he? What was his childhood like, …

Music from the Legends of the Old West podcast. Western-themed songs: 0:00 – Legends of the Old West Opening Cue 0:12 – Legends of the Old West Theme (Full Version) 1:36 – “Dust” 4:18 – “Riding West” 6:40 – “Providence” 8:54 – “Water Grave” 11:19 – “Dirt” 13:44 – “Desperado” 15:50 – “At The Frontier” 18:00 – “Coyote” 20:28 – “Meanwhile” 23:29 – “Lo…

“It makes no difference what men think of war. War endures. As well ask men what they think of stone. War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner.” – Blood Meridian Blood Meridian, set mainly in the American Southwest during the late 1840s, tells of an unnamed protagonist known only…

In November 1875, Captain Leander McNelly makes his most famous and controversial move: he leads his militia company into Mexico and attacks two villages to recover stolen cattle. His actions provoke a standoff with Mexican officials and consternation from his superiors, but his men love his bold strategy. After the events known as the Las Cuevas W…

Dangerous Dan Tucker would arrive in the southwest in the mid-1870s, pin on the badge of a Sheriff’s Deputy, and, in a very short amount of time, tally up a body count surpassed only by the likes of John Wesley Hardin and Deacon Jim Miller. To quote historian Leon Metz, Tucker was a better lawman and more dangerous than high-profile figures like Wy…

In South Texas, in an area known as the Nueces Strip, cattle rustling is a huge problem and it comes with an additional layer of complication: many of the rustlers are from Mexico. They ride across the border, steal Texas cattle, and drive the cattle to Mexico. In 1875, Captain Leander McNelly and his militia company are dispatched to the Rio Grand…

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In November of 1868 – at just the tender age of fifteen – John Wesley Hardin killed his first man. And, a few weeks later, he’d kill yet again; this time, three soldiers who came looking for him. Fearing a hangman’s noose, Wes struck first, dispatching two troopers with a shotgun and finishing the third with an old cap and ball colt. And you better…

In the early 1870s, the Horrell brothers were involved in the murder of a sheriff, the murders of State Police officers, a jailbreak, and a bloody episode known as the Horrell War in New Mexico before the infamous Lincoln County War. In 1877, they become embroiled in a deadly feud with the Higgins clan until Major John B. Jones dreams up a creative…

In 1875, Major John B. Jones leads the gradual transition of the Texas Rangers from frontier fighters to law enforcement officers. As Texas becomes the heart of the cattle ranching industry in America, cattle rustling becomes a serious problem. In Mason County, two factions battle each other. And as the murder rate rises, Jones leads the Rangers to…

How wild or violent was the Wild West? Were gunfights a daily occurrence, or is that just a byproduct of Hollywood and dime novels? Also discussed are the murder rates for Deadwood and Dodge City, Red Dead Redemption, cowboys sharing toenail clippers, the mysterious Last Stand note, and fighting grizzly bears with a tomahawk! Check out the website …

During and immediately after the Civil War, the Texas frontier suffers from renewed attacks by the Comanche and Kiowa. One of the most notable is the devastating Elm Creek Raid. After the war, Texas briefly reconstitutes the Texas Rangers, but they’re not fully resurrected until the creation of the Frontier Battalion in 1874. Major John B. Jones be…

In the spring of 1861, it becomes clear America is headed for civil war. Texas Rangers Ben McCulloch, Henry McCulloch, John S. “Rip” Ford, and Lawrence Sullivan Ross join the Confederate army. They have four vastly different experiences, highlighted by the second major battle of the war, Sherman’s capture of Atlanta, and the final battle of the war…

There is a lot of misinformation about Billy the Kid's death. This is your comprehensive guide to cut through the noise and determine fact from fiction. Thank you to all of the historians whose research I rely upon. (1:15) – Did Pat Garrett receive the bounty? (8:13) – Did Pat Garrett’s deputy say that he shot the wrong man? (10.33) – Did Garrett b…

On Change Agents, find out what it takes to solve some of the world's seemingly impossible problems. In each episode, SEAL Team 6 veteran and "Cleared Hot" podcast host Andy Stumpf interviews a new "agent of change" who is enacting real change to understand the scope of their work, how it can be replicated, and the unimaginable stakes of their ever…

Although John Bull remains relatively unknown today, the English-born gambler is considered one of the deadliest gunmen of the Old West. Check out the website for more true tales from the Old West https://www.wildwestextra.com/ Email me! https://www.wildwestextra.com/contact/ Buy me a coffee! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wildwest Free Newsletter! h…

On the night of July 14th, 1881, Sheriff Pat Garrett killed Billy the Kid. In doing so, he helped create a legend and ensured that his legacy would forever be intertwined with the notorious outlaws. And let’s be honest – it isn’t that great of a legacy. Many consider Garrett a coward, at best, a no-good backstabbing Old West Judas who betrayed his …

In July of 1901, 14-year-old Willie Nickell was shot dead in an ambush. He had been less than a mile away from home attempting to open a gate when two bullets struck him in the back. A little over two years later, noted assassin Tom Horn was executed for Willie’s murder. In years prior, Tom had been an enforcer for various cattle barons throughout …