Ed Fletcher, a former buffalo hunter and scout, from 1875 to 1890, ran the Fletcher and Donley Station, a stage station along the Dodge City-Mobeetie line.1 Edward Houston Fletcher, born August 30, 1848, in Augusta, Kennebec County, Maine, was the oldest child of...
Every few years the mystery of who was Etta (Ethel) Place comes around to Ann Bassett of Brown’s Park, Colorado. The supposition is Ann’s presence in Brown’s Park, one of the many hideouts for the Wild Bunch, as well as her claims to romantic involvements with members...
This was borne out in the spring of 1879 in the Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City when a hot-tempered buffalo hunter named Levi Richardson and a professional gambler named Cockeye Frank Loving got into a shootout at Dodge City’s Long Branch Saloon. They’d been...
Most people have heard of Calamity Jane, fewer have heard of Martha Jane Canary, her real name. It is sometimes difficult to separate fact from fiction, as the false narrative about her has been perpetuated by the internet, Hollywood and word of mouth. Martha Jane...
The classic image of the stagecoach might be the Concord model but for the crossing the rough western trails passengers were often switched to lighter, celerity or mud wagons. John Butterfield chose Abbot-Downing for his stages. It was because of their suspension...
Several years ago I came across an intriguing artifact at a museum that left me wanting to know more about it. After following my curiosity to information sources, I returned to view the artifact and found the experience of seeing it completely transformed. My...
