The Wild West Extravaganza

Latest Episodes:

Clay Allison vs Wyatt Earp (Part 2) Jul 16, 2025

Show notes

Clay Allison was one of the lesser-known yet deadlier of the Old West gunslingers. Join me today as we follow Allison on his adventures in Dodge City, his encounters with Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, and finally his tragic demise in Pecos, Texas.

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Clay Allison by Chuck Parsons – https://www.abebooks.com/9780933512368/Clay-Allison-Portrait-Shootist-Parsons-0933512368/plp

The Colfax County War by Corey Recko – https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-colfax-county-war-violence-and-corruption-in-territorial-new-mexico-volume-22-ac-greene-series_corey-recko/51761961/#isbn=1574419323

Tall Tales and Half Truths of Clay Allison by Donna Blake Birchell – https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/tall-tales-and-half-truths-of-clay-allison/37921850/#isbn=1467151033

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The Reign of Terror: Osage Nation Murders w/ Crimes of the Centuries Jul 11, 2025

Show notes

This is a special bonus episode from the excellent Crimes of the Centuries podcast. When members of the incredibly wealthy Osage Nation started dropping dead of mysterious ailments in 1920s Oklahoma, few people in state power paid it much mind. After all, many of those who could do something about it were benefiting from the deaths. Eventually, with the help of a still-evolving agency called the FBI, federal authorities uncovered an unthinkable conspiracy known today as the Reign of Terror. "Crimes of the Centuries" is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history. Crimes of the Centuries - https://www.centuriespod.com/

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Clay Allison & the Colfax County War (Part 1) Jul 09, 2025

Show notes

Clay Allison might not be as famous as Billy the Kid or Jesse James, but he was every bit as deadly. He was also just a tad bit insane. Clay got his start riding for Nathan Bedford Forrest during the Civil War. Then, after a brief career as a Texas Cowboy, Clay drifted west and found himself knee-deep in the Colfax County War. From New Mexico to Colorado and beyond, Allison left a trail of bodies in his wake. But unlike many of the other notable gunmen of the time, Clay was not an outlaw. He just refused to back down. Who was the real Clay Allison? How’d the son of a preacher become one of the most feared gunfighters of the Old West? And are the stories of him tying a ribbon around his Johnson and severing the heads of his enemies true?

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Clay Allison by Chuck Parsons – https://www.abebooks.com/9780933512368/Clay-Allison-Portrait-Shootist-Parsons-0933512368/plp

Tall Tales and Half Truths of Clay Allison by Donna Blake Birchell – https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/tall-tales-and-half-truths-of-clay-allison/37921850/#isbn=1467151033

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Stagecoach Mary Jul 02, 2025

Show notes

Stagecoach Mary Fields worked hard, she drank hard, and if the situation called for it, she fought hard. And despite being born a slave, Mary lived to become one of the freest souls ever to draw a breath. Or a .38 revolver.

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Stagecoach Mary | Black Cowboys - https://open.spotify.com/episode/5PLVtMGwyLGnm7MLBtdcrT?si=92XhBIToT22kOAS7alGWPQ

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The Mountain Meadows Massacre Jun 25, 2025

Show notes

On September 11th, 1857, over a hundred men, women, and children were brutally slaughtered. The victims belonged to a wagon train that had left Arkansas months prior, bound for California. They followed the Cherokee Trail before cutting north till they reached Fort Bridger. Up until then, things had gone relatively well. They were making good time and figured they’d reach their destination by late fall. Little did they know they were headed straight to their deaths. You see, to get to California from Fort Bridger, they’d need to first pass through Utah. Where, as fate would have it, a war was brewing between the United States government and the Church of Latter-day Saints. A conflict that would ultimately lead to Mormon militiamen and their Paiute allies committing one of the most horrendous atrocities in all of American history. But why? What could have possibly motivated such an attack against a peaceful wagon train? And who gave the command? Was it just a militia leader gone rogue, an attempted robbery gone wrong, or did the orders come from the top dog himself, Brigham Young? And just how accurate was the massacre’s portrayal on the Netflix series American Primeval?

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Pierre Delacote! https://www.delacote.ca/

American Massacre | Sally Denton – https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/american-massacre-the-tragedy-at-mountain-meadows-september-1857_sally-denton/442012/#isbn=0375412085

Blood of the Prophets | Will Bagley – https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/blood-of-the-prophets-brigham-young-and-the-massacre-at-mountain-meadows_will-bagley/338626/#isbn=0806136391

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The Battle of Beecher Island Jun 18, 2025

Show notes

The late summer of 1868 found Major George Forsythe and his scouts fighting for survival. For nine long days, they hunkered down on a little sand bar as they faced off against an overwhelming force of Cheyenne Dog soldiers. Fierce warriors who were joined on the battlefield by none other than the legendary Roman Nose. But why? Why did Major Forsythe go kicking a hornet’s nest deep in the heart of Cheyenne territory? And who exactly was Roman Nose? What made him such a formidable opponent? And what’s horse meat taste like anyway?

This is an encore presentation. This episode originally aired January 25, 2021.

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John Riley & the San Patricios Jun 11, 2025

Show notes

The Saint Patrick’s Battalion, also known as the San Patricios, was a hard-fighting unit of foreign soldiers, mostly Irish, who deserted the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War. From the Siege of Fort Texas to the Battles of Monterey, Buena Vista, Cera Gordo, and beyond, these Irishmen served with valor and distinction. Surrounded, outgunned, far from their homeland, and branded as traitors, the men of the Saint Patrick’s Battalion had nothing to lose. But why? Why’d they turn their backs on their adopted country and join forces with the enemy? What would become of the San Patricios who were ultimately captured? And who exactly was their leader, John Riley?

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Street Dogs | San Patricios - https://youtu.be/1asy-BWEaAM?si=V7s4M49Yf7kdP7Zc

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Whisperin' Jim Smith | Avenging Nemesis Jun 04, 2025

Show notes

Whisperin’ Jim Smith was a deputy and railroad detective who was said to have written more red history with his pistol than any two men of his time, who had enough dead outlaws to his credit to start a fair-sized graveyard. Despite having a bestselling novel and several movies bearing his name, Whisperin’ Jim remains a relatively unknown figure. Join me today as we discuss a man who a contemporary described as the “very incarnation of a relentless, inexorable, indomitable, avenging Nemesis.” Also discussed are Bat Masterson, Pat Garrett, and horse thief extraordinaire Doc Middleton.

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Deadly Dozen Vol 3 by Robert K. DeArment - https://www.abebooks.com/9780806140766/Deadly-Dozen-Forgotten-Gunfighters-Old-0806140763/plp

Whispering Jim Smith by Allen P. Bristow - https://books.google.com/books?id=m1okARB4qCgC

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Mart Duggan | Leadville's Deadly Marshal May 28, 2025

Show notes

For a brief period in the 1870s, Mart Duggan served as the lone vestige of law and order in the violent boomtown of Leadville, Colorado. Originally from Ireland, Duggan got his start out West prospecting for gold. He quickly garnered a deadly reputation, and by the time he arrived in Leadville, he had a total of 7 notches already on his gun. And when the town marshal was shot dead in April of 1878, it was Duggan who took his place. Despite being fearless, Duggan just couldn’t adjust to an ever-changing landscape. As the West became more and more civilized, Dugan failed to adapt. And it was this failure, along with his somewhat heavy-handed tactics, that would ultimately lead him to an early grave.

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Seth Bullock | Deadwood's Sheriff May 21, 2025

Show notes

Seth Bullock first pinned a badge in Montana, where he presided over the territory’s very first legal execution. That’s in addition to serving as a territorial senator and establishing Yellowstone National Park. Bullock then drifted east to the Black Hills and helped tame the lawless boom town of Deadwood. And let’s be honest, Bullock’s time in Deadwood is what he’s mostly known for, thanks to the HBO drama of the same name. But how accurate was that portrayal? What was Bullock’s life like before Deadwood? How’d he go from being a frontier Sheriff to serving as a bodyguard for the President of the United States? And is it true he raised an entire regiment of cowboys to fight in World War I? Join me today as we discuss the real-life Seth Bullock, a man Teddy Roosevelt once described as a true westerner and the finest type of frontiersman. And yes, we’ll also take a look at whether or not Bullock had any run-ins with the notorious Al Swearengen.

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Al Swearengen - https://youtu.be/ISZ32OkTP6Q?si=trcioIggdHSp9dvf

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