The Wild West Extravaganza

Latest Episodes:

Deacon Jim Miller | Old West Hitman Nov 06, 2024

Show notes

Deacon Jim Miller, also known as Killin’ Jim Miller, was an Old West assassin-for-hire. Chances are, if you wanted someone gone, Jim Miller could make it happen…for the right price, that is. Also discussed are John Wesley Hardin, Pat Garrett, Sheriff Bud Frazer, and a bullet deflecting steel plate!

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Series on Pat Garrett – https://youtu.be/CMp1GayD4-4?si=qd21rAyKNgOTpjq0

Series on John Wesley Hardin – https://youtu.be/MiPA_9R2mys?si=98ktgNz6nStyo1Rg

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The Bloody Benders Oct 30, 2024

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The Bender family, often referred to as America’s first serial killer family, settled in Labette County, Kansas, in 1870. They built a cabin near the Osage Trail that served as an inn for weary travelers. And that’s when things got weird. Join me today as we discuss the Bloody Benders! We'll discuss their various crimes, their true identity, and their (probable) fate. Also discussed are another Old West family of serial killers known as the Kelly family.

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Dirty Dave Rudabaugh Oct 23, 2024

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They say the only man Billy the Kid ever truly feared was Dave Rudabaugh. They also say that Rudabaugh taught Doc Holliday how to use a gun. But how accurate are these stories? And just who was Dave Rudabaugh? Join me today as we attempt to separate fact from fiction. We’ll examine Dave’s short-lived career as a train robber and find out what caused Wyatt Earp to describe him as the "most notorious outlaw in the range country." While we’re at it, we’ll also discuss Rudabaugh’s time as a hired gun for the railroad, his association with Billy the Kid, what it was like being arrested both by Pat Garrett and Bat Masterson, his involvement in the shooting of Morgan and Virgil Earp, and a ton more! We’ll even take a look at his various nicknames. Was it Arkansas Dave or Dirty Dave? Did he REALLY kill sixty-five men? Whose gang was it anyway? And what became of Dave down in Old Mexico?

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Series on Billy the Kid – https://youtu.be/J3yBXIa7ZuQ?si=2E1NbfsfAkjwRbLK

Series on Pat Garrett – https://youtu.be/CMp1GayD4-4?si=zkdMOC9fu7H0qkRg

Dirty Dave Rudabaugh by David G. Thomas – https://a.co/d/4GZ0TFk

David G. Thomas Interview | Mankind Media – https://www.youtube.com/live/gF3o5lvrYE4?si=Jcp4wBX6mGe3dC2d

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John Wayne & Wyatt Earp Oct 16, 2024

Show notes

Did John Wayne learn his iconic onscreen persona from the legendary Wyatt Earp? Let’s discuss! We'll also examine Earp’s life after Tombstone!

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David Lambert Art Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/davidlambertart

David Lambert Original Thread on Wyatt & Hollywood - https://twitter.com/davidlambertart/status/1440606380860186629

David Lambert archives on the Wrong Reel Podcast - https://wrongreel.com/tag/david-lambert/

Wyatt on the Set by Allen Barra - https://truewestmagazine.com/article/wyatt-on-the-set/

The Fix by Garner A. Palenske - https://truewestmagazine.com/article/the-fix/

William S. Hart & Wyatt Earp Correspondence - https://scvhistory.com/scvhistory/hart-earpletters.htm

Scurrilous LA Times article from 1922 - https://scvhistory.com/scvhistory/hart-earpletters.htm

Alan Dwan & The Rise & Decline of the Hollywood Studios - https://www.amazon.com/Allan-Dwan-Decline-Hollywood-Studios-ebook/dp/B00C7C2EDK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=28EADZ4B8LD93&keywords=allan+dwan+and+the+rise+and+decline+of+the+hollywood+studios&qid=1672673971&sprefix=allan+dwan+and+the+ris%2Caps%2C158&sr=8-1

Helldorado – Bringing the Law to the Mesquite by William M. Breakenridge - https://www.amazon.com/Helldorado-Bringing-Mesquite-William-Breakenridge/dp/0803261004

Wyatt Earp Frontier Marshal by Stuart Lake - https://www.amazon.com/Wyatt-Earp-Frontier-Stuart-Lake/dp/0671885375

Law and Order (1932) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRFPBVG65LU

The Half Breed (1916) - https://www.cinematheque.fr/henri/film/32090-the-half-breed-allan-dwan-1916/

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Olive Oatman & the Blue Tattoo Oct 09, 2024

Show notes

When Olive Oatman was just 14 years old, she was forced to witness the slaughter of nearly every single member of her family. Only she and her 8-year-old sister were spared, and for the next several years, they’d be held as captives. When Olive finally emerged from the desert she was forever marked, both physically and mentally; a young lady not truly belonging to either culture, or as a friend would describe her, a “grieving, unsatisfied woman, who somehow shook one’s belief in civilization.” Who was Olive Oatman? Why did her family decide to head west? What was life like for her in captivity? What about afterward? What did her tattoos mean? Are the rumors about Olive marrying into the tribe true, and did she really leave children behind when she was rescued?

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Did Olive Oatman Have Children While She Was A Captive? Bob Boz Bell -http://blog.truewestmagazine.com/2017/06/did-olive-oatman-have-children-while.html

Olive Oatman | True West Magazine - https://youtu.be/CNZ7qSJbgaY?si=jKZQy8iQ-vk2lM5T

The Blue Tattoo | Margot Mifflin - https://a.co/d/4myZxhN

The Oatman Massacre | Brian McGinty - https://a.co/d/8AxyTgo

Blood Meridian Christmas Miracle - https://open.spotify.com/episode/4jt8o8NKUNYoOnkgX233W8?si=_P7BGPi-RUS69Dg9y3PyGQ

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The Lewis & Clark Expedition (Compilation) Sep 25, 2024

Show notes

In the Spring of 1803, the United States acquired the Territory of Louisiana, a largely uncharted tract of wilderness stretching from Canada down to New Orleans. Over 800,000 square miles that, as far the maps were concerned, remained a mystery. President Thomas Jefferson then ordered an expedition to explore this newly purchased land all the way west to the Pacific Ocean. Tasked with leading this endeavor – officially known as the Corp of Discovery – were Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. The Corp of Discovery was to travel some 8,000 miles, navigating their way up the Missouri River before turning west and crossing the Rocky Mountains. From the Oto to the Mandan and from the Shoshone to the Clatsop, Lewis and Clark would encounter dozens of tribes along their way, navigate hostile rivers and mountain passes, and even a few unfriendly grizzlies. But what about the rumors of woolly mammoth and a lost tribe of Welshmen? What became of Lewis and Clark after the expedition? What about Sacagawea and Clark's slave York? This is a compilation of previously released material.

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Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose - https://www.amazon.com/Undaunted-Courage-Meriwether-Jefferson-American/dp/0684826976

Journals of Lewis & Clark - https://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/

Explorers Podcast - https://explorerspodcast.com/lewis-and-clark/

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Kit Carson | Adobe Walls (Part 6) Sep 18, 2024

Show notes

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 their own home turf? What exactly is Adobe Walls, and what did Kit Carson do with the rest of his limited time alive? How did Kit Carson die? What sort of legacy did he leave behind?

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Carson’s Autobiography - https://archive.org/details/kitcarsonsautobi0000cars/page/106/mode/2up

Blood and Thunder by Hampton Sides - https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Thunder-Carson-Conquest-American/dp/1400031109

Kit Carson Home Restoration - https://www.kitcarsonhouse.org/

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Kit Carson | Long Walk of the Navajo (Part 5) Sep 11, 2024

Show notes

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 American history known as the Long Walk, as thousands of refugees were marched from their homeland and forced to live in conditions more akin to a concentration camp than a reservation. But who were the Navajo? Why were they targeted? How much of a role did Kit Carson truly play in the Long Walk? Why’d he get involved in the first place? And how did the Navajo fare once they found themselves on the Bosque Redondo?

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Carson’s Autobiography - https://archive.org/details/kitcarsonsautobi0000cars/page/106/mode/2up

Blood and Thunder by Hampton Sides - https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Thunder-Carson-Conquest-American/dp/1400031109

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Kit Carson | The Apache (Part 4) Sep 04, 2024

Show notes

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 Washington D.C. and then back again. For the next decade, Kit would serve three stints as an Indian Agent while continuing to work his land and guide for the Army: his days of being gone for years at a time seemingly over, especially after a nasty fall with his horse that resulted in serious injuries. Ah, but duty called yet again. When the Civil War reached New Mexico, Carson enlisted with the Union Army. He’d face off with the Confederates at the Battle of Valverde before setting his sights on the Jicarilla and Mescalero Apache.

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Billy the Kid | Wild West Extravaganza - https://www.wildwestextra.com/billy-the-kid-compilation/

Carson’s Autobiography - https://archive.org/details/kitcarsonsautobi0000cars/page/106/mode/2up

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Kit Carson | Bear Flag Revolt (Part 3) Aug 28, 2024

Show notes

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 battalion of Mountain Men and Delaware scouts under the leadership of famed frontiersman Kit Carson. Join me today as we discuss Carson’s role in the Bear Flag Revolt, the Mexican-American War, the battle of San Pasqual, and his numerous transcontinental trips from the West Coast to Washington, D.C. Also, how do you pronounce Fremont’s name? Let's talk about acute accents!

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Carson’s Autobiography - https://archive.org/details/kitcarsonsautobi0000cars/page/106/mode/2up

Battle of San Pasqual | SD Reader - https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/1985/mar/07/cover-bloody-battle-san-pasqual/

Kit Carson | Photo Gallery - https://wildwestnewsletter.com/p/kit-carson

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