The Wild West Extravaganza

Latest Episodes:

Billy the Kid's Last Stand Jul 05, 2021

Show notes

Discovered sometime prior to 1952 in the Florida Mountains of Southwestern New Mexico, the “Last Stand Note” - written on a piece of tobacco paper and stuffed inside an empty shell case - reads as follows: This is our last shell and about 10 Indians left so our chances look slim, but we are going to take a chance. Yours truly, Wm Bonney. Did Billy the Kid REALLY write this note? Did he ever have any close encounters with the Apache? Find out all of this and more on this newest episode of the Wild West Extravaganza!

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Billy the Kid and the Apaches – True West Magazine https://truewestmagazine.com/article/billy-the-kid-and-the-apaches/

The Last Stand Note https://www.oldwestevents.com/highlights/2019/1/18/last-stand-note-on-cigarette-paper-signed-wm-bonney

Cooke’s Canyon https://www.desertusa.com/desert-new-mexico/cookes-canyon.html

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Tom Tobin & The Bloody Espinosas Jun 20, 2021

Show notes

When Felipe Espinosa and his younger brother Vivian were feeling bloody, the bodies were sure to follow. And in the spring and summer of 1863, there was certainly no shortage of bodies. Some victims were shot at long distances while others were casualties of more close-in work with blades or axe. And most were mutilated; beheaded, disemboweled, desecrated, or otherwise molested. After several failed attempts, the U.S. Army finally hired mountain man Tom Tobin to hunt down Felipe Espinosa. Tobin had been out west since he was a 14-year-old and had a unique set of skills that made him invaluable when it came to being a manhunter.

Who were the Bloody Espinosa brothers? What caused their murderous tirade? Who was Tom Tobin and was he successful? My name’s Josh and your listening to the Wild West Extravaganza!

Check out my website for more true tales from the wild and woolly west! https://www.wildwestextra.com/

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Listen to my episode of Texas History Lessons!!! https://www.texashistorylessons.com/jose-canales-and-the-texas-rangers-investigation-of-1919/

The Bloody Espinosas by Adam James Jones https://adamjamesjones.com/2010/12/14/the-real-story/

Out of Vengeance or Just Plain Madness, another great article by Adam James Jones https://www.historynet.com/vengeance-plain-madness-felipe-espinosa-led-murder-spree.htm

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Commodore Perry Owens & The Pleasant Valley War Jun 14, 2021

Show notes

This is a Podcast Swap, hosted by my friend Michael from the podcast Texas History Lessons! After you give this a listen make sure you check out his website for the latest episode of Texas History Lessons - hosted by yours truly - on the 1919 Texas Ranger Investigation!

https://www.texashistorylessons.com/jose-canales-and-the-texas-rangers-investigation-of-1919/

Any mention of the Wild West brings up many images that books and film have ingrained in the American mind over decades. Cowboys trailing cattle up the trail. Bold Native American warriors fighting to preserve their way of life. Settlers and soldiers determined to fight back and take the land that they felt they, somehow, deserved. Surely many more can be listed but there are two that will definitely pop up. The confident gunman that had a steady hand and a sure shot that would lay his opponent or opponents in the dust and the feuding families or associations of cattlemen that resorted to bloody violence to establish their control over the use of water and land. In this episode of the Wild West Extravaganza we are taking a look at one of the steadiest and best shots of all gunmen, Commodore Perry Owens, and his role in the bloodiest range feud in American history, Arizona’s Pleasant Valley War.

Don't forget to check out Texas History Lessons Podcast!

https://www.texashistorylessons.com/

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The First Battle of Adobe Walls May 31, 2021

Show notes

In 1864 famed frontiersman Kit Carson took a force of several hundred soldiers into the heart of the Llano Estacado in an attempt to punish the Comanche for their recent raids. What followed was a bloody fight now known as the first Battle of Adobe Walls, as Carson and his men kicked the hornet’s nest and quickly found themselves outnumbered 10 to 1.

This episodes got something for everyone! We’re gonna talk Kit Carson, we’re gonna talk army tactics, Billy the Kid, the Navajo, the Apache, and - of course - the Comanche.

For further reading check out Blood and Thunder by Hampton Sides.

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Elfego Baca & The Frisco Gunfight May 17, 2021

Show notes

Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid, Doc Holliday, Jesse James, Wild Bill Hickok - These are the names of legends. Names I think most people – even those with no interest in old west history – will find familiar. But for every one of these guys, there were a dozen others who were every bit as deadly and capable with a firearm, if not more so. Men who didn’t flinch in the face of death. Men who knew the smell of the black powder smoke and the crack of a bullet snapping past their heads; men who for whatever reason are largely lost to history. Or at the very least just not that well known. Men like Elfego Baca. The young store clerk pinned on a fake mail order badge and single-handedly took on an overwhelming force of gunmen. The over 30-hour gunfight that ensued is considered, by some, to be the most lopsided of the wild west. All at the tender age of 19! And don’t you worry your pretty little head, the rest of Elfego’s life was chock full of excitement as well, including a run-in with Pancho Vila.

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Book Recommendations! https://www.amazon.com/shop/wildwestextravaganza/list/YEHGNY7KFAU7?ref_=aip_sf_list_spv_ofs_mixed_d

The Life and Truth of Elfego Baca by Richard Duree - http://www.phantomranch.net/bwestern/DureeArticles/life_truth_elfego_baca_duree.htm

The Legend of Elfego Baca | True West Magazine - https://truewestmagazine.com/legend-elfego-baca/

Following Elfego Baca | True West Magazine - https://truewestmagazine.com/article/following-elfego-baca/

The Frisco War | Legends of America - https://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-elfegobaca/

Elfego Baca: A Very Brave Man by Dr. Joe Sweeney - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av85NzYZhms

The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca | Disney TV - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0BZhIraAmE

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Bloody Bill Anderson & the Missouri Bushwhackers Apr 26, 2021

Show notes

“I will show you that I can kill men with as much skill and rapidity as anybody. From this time on I ask no quarter and I will give none” – these were the words spoken by Bloody Bill Anderson, shortly before he executed and scalped over twenty men. According to those who rode with Anderson he was “a desperate man and a reckless fighter, the worst devil in the bunch. Human life meant nothing to him. He could shoot a man who was on his knees begging for mercy as easy as most men kill a chicken. He feared no man alive and believed heart and soul in the southern cause.”

Who was Bloody Bill Anderson? What events transpired that caused him to devote his entire life to war? A life that he once spoke of saying “If I cared for my life I would have lost it long ago. Wanting to lose it, I cannot throw it away.” Was Bill Anderson a reluctant hero caught up in the passions of civil war or just a bloodthirsty villain, using any excuse he could to terrorize the countryside?

Find out all of this and more on this you gonna pull those pistols or whistle dixie episode of The Wild West Extravaganza!

Check out the website for more true tales from the Old West https://www.wildwestextra.com/

Email me! https://www.wildwestextra.com/contact/

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Free Newsletter! https://wildwestjosh.substack.com/

Join Patreon for ad-free and bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/wildwestextra

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Book Recommendations! https://www.amazon.com/shop/wildwestextravaganza/list/YEHGNY7KFAU7?ref_=aip_sf_list_spv_ofs_mixed_d

The Tactical Genius of Bloody Bill Anderson by Sean McLachlan - https://www.historynet.com/tactical-genius-bloody-bill-anderson.htm

Bloody Bill Anderson bio by Mathew C. Hullbert - https://www.essentialcivilwarcurriculum.com/assets/files/pdf/ECWC TOPIC Anderson Bloody Bill Essay 2.pdf

Bloody Bill: The Infamous Symbol of a Savage Time - https://www.columbiatribune.com/article/20140706/News/307069871

Paul R. Peterson’s version of the death of Bloody Bill’s father - https://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-bloodybill/

Quantrillsguerillas.com - http://www.quantrillsguerrillas.com/en/articles/178-welcome-to-quantrillsguerrillas-com.html

The Bush Smith rabbit hole of speculation - http://www.history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs62x/mocwmb/arch_config.pl?md=read;id=6281

Did Bloody Bill Anderson escape the ambush and settle in Brown County, Texas? - https://www.brownwoodnews.com/2017/12/27/bloody-bill-anderson-escape-ambush-missouri-settle-brown-county/

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Hugh Glass | Frontiersman Apr 05, 2021

Show notes

Frontiersman Hugh Glass was mauled by a grizzly bear in 1823. Left for dead, stripped of his belongs, and covered in maggots, he defied all odds and made a 250-mile journey on foot through hostile territory. But that’s only half the story. On this episode we’re going to talk pirates, we’re going to talk about mountain men and the fur trade, we’re going to talk a whole bunch about Native Americans. And - most importantly – we’re going to talk some Leonardo DiCaprio.

Who was Hugh Glass? Where’d he come from? Was he born with the bark on, or did he have to work at it? How many pirate jokes can I fit into one episode? Find out all of this and more on this newest if any of this sounds familiar then you’ve been listening to this podcast for a long time edition of The Wild West Extravaganza!

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Bonus Content Available at Patreon!!!

The MeatEater Podcast Ep. 86 – The Meat Tree Part 1

The MeatEater Podcast Ep. 87 – The Meat Tree Part 2

The MeatEater Podcast Ep. 236 – Crawling Back From the Dead with Michael Punke

HughGlass.org

Arikara Language in The Revenant

Leonardo DiCaprio and the Bear???

Who Started The Leonardo DiCaprio Bear Rumor?

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Luther James Dorsey & The Buffalo Soldiers Feb 08, 2021

Show notes

Sergeant Luther James Dorsey was a member of the buffalo soldiers, the all-black cavalry regiments who served on America’s frontier. From the Indian Wars to the Korean war, these men bravely – and against all odds and prejudice – cemented their legacy into the fabric of American History.

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Seattle Times article – Complicated and Controversial Role

Buffalo Soldier Links!

Buffalo Soldier Museum

Conroe Community Cemetery Restoration Project

Cemetery Dedication Ceremony - KPRC 2

Luther James Dorsey Bridge Dedication - CW39

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The Battle of Beecher Island Jan 25, 2021

Show notes

In the summer of 1868 Major George A. Forsyth, under orders from General Sheridan, raised a company of fifty "first-class hardy frontiersmen" to seek out and engage hostile Native Americans. These scouts soon found themselves outnumbered and surrounded by hundreds of Cheyenne warriors as they took refuge on a little sandbar in the middle of the Arikaree river. What followed is now known as the battle of Beecher Island.

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Contrary - Little Big Man

List of Forsyth's Scouts

Excerpt from Indian Yell, by Michael Blake - True West Mag

Indian Yell: The Heart of an American Insurgency by Michael Blake

The Battle of Beecher Island, by George A. Forsyth

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Frank Hamer's First Fight Jan 04, 2021

Show notes

It’s not every day that your boss offers you a hundred and fifty dollars to murder somebody. I think we can all agree that’s not a normal occurrence.

But then again, the tough kid wasn’t normal.