Life in the Old West

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True West Magazine

a man standing on top of a pile of hay next to a horse and buggy

Nevada 1940

Loading Hay for Cattle, Dangberg Ranch, Douglas County, Nevada, 1940 Arthur Rothstein, Courtesy NYPL Digital Collections

a turkey standing on the ground with its feathers spread out and it's head turned to the side

Magnolia Pearl Clothing

Lumber Jack

Textured Paper Art

Turkey Art

Turkey

A mention of wild turkey often takes one’s thoughts to a bottle of whiskey, but not this time. This is all about the actual bird itself and the pioneers’ experiences with it. Most people had good experiences with the wild bird, but some did not.

three men are working on a large piece of wood in the dirt and rock field

South Dakota 1889

Old Timers Spriggs, Lamb and Dillon Placer Mining, Rockerville, South Dakota, 1889

an old black and white photo of people on horses in a field with cattle behind them

The Frontier Characters of South Dakota

On July 2, 1874, George Armstrong Custer led a surveying expedition of around 1,000 men, 110 wagons and hundreds of head of mules, horses and cattle from Fort Abraham Lincoln into the Black Hills of western South Dakota. He had orders to explore and locate a potential site for a fort in the Black Hills and to establish a route to Fort Laramie. Unofficially, Custer’s expedition was tasked with determining whether there was truth to the rumors of gold in the Black Hills.

Lewis & Clark-Inspired Whiskey

After explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark found limestone springs in 1804 that later generations used to fill water barrels on their way west, Ben Holladay understood that the tasty limestone-based water would be ideal to make whiskey. During the mid-1850s, the famed early Mormon trader and overland stagecoach mogul founded his distillery near Weston, Missouri. Today, the Holladay distillery has returned to its roots.

an old photo of people standing in front of a large white building with the word merchants on it

Abilene, Kansas

Top 10 True Western Towns 2025 #7: Abilene, Kansas If you love Old West history, cowboys and cattle drives, President Dwight D. Eisenhower and the very best of small-town Midwestern America, then you will love Abilene, Kansas.

The Kindled Flame 1835

Sam Houston wrote to Isaac Parker in San Augustine on October 5: “… war in defense of our rights, our oaths, and our constitution is inevitable, in Texas!… If volunteers from the United States will join their brethren in this section, they will receive liberal bounties of land… Let each man come with a good rifle, and one hundred rounds of ammunition, and to come soon… Our war-cry is “Liberty or death… Our principles are to support the constitution, and down with the Usurper!!!”

Charlie Goodnight Legendary Texas Cowboy - He almost single- handedly created the cattle industry, invented the chuck wagon, was an innovator for modern irrigation, helped save the buffalo from potential extinction, fought Indians, befriended Indians, scouted the plains, hauled freight, hanged rustlers, saved lives, kept his promises, founded the first ranch on the Texas Panhandle, is considered by some to have been the first Landman. Western Drawings, Cowboys From Hell, Weird West, West Art, Western Life, Cowboy Art, Cow Boy, Western Art

Frontier Colossus

Charlie Goodnight Legendary Texas Cowboy - He almost single- handedly created the cattle industry, invented the chuck wagon, was an innovator for modern irrigation, helped save the buffalo from potential extinction, fought Indians, befriended Indians, scouted the plains, hauled freight, hanged rustlers, saved lives, kept his promises, founded the first ranch on the Texas Panhandle, is considered by some to have been the first Landman.

an old time photo of a man with a hat on his lap sitting in a chair

Days Before Christmas

Cave Creek Ambush

Legendary scout Al Sieber A few days before Christmas, Schuyler, Sieber and the Apache scouts quietly creep up alongside Cave Creek until they are opposite the Apache camp. Once the first rays of morning break across the sky, the ambush party opens fire from its rocky concealment, killing nine Tontos. An untold number of Indians flee in panic and escape, as the soldiers burn several tons of food.

Camp Figtree Mountain Safari Lodge - Addo, South Africa

The Bowie knife is an iconic symbol of American toughness and independence. Yet, its true origins are often misunderstood. The knife became famous after Jim Bowie’s involvement in the Vidalia Sandbar Fight, in which he used a large knife described as “a big butcher knife.”

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Buffalo Bill's Saddle Pals

William F. Cody’s exploits as a scout and buffalo hunter were legendary on the plains and he found himself guiding “gentlemen’s hunts” for a number of dignitaries including European noblemen like Ireland’s Earl of Dunraven and most notably, Grand Duke Alexis of Russia. In this photo, Cody, cradling Lucretia Borgia, poses with a group of hunters, probably Army officers at Fort Hays, Kansas. — Courtesy Buffalo Bill Center of the West —

an old black and white drawing of a town

Mexican Independence Day

Tubac

Tubac was for a spell, the Capital of Sonora. While the USA was preoccupied with the Civil War, the French empire of Napoleon III, wanting to renew the French influence in North America, saw an opportunity to invade Mexico.

an old black and white photo of a group of people

Olive Johnson

Hired by the Castle Valley Coal Company, which owned the town, Olive Johnson (back row, second from the right) stood proudly with her class in front of the Mohrland schoolhouse. Utah’s Cedar Creek Canyon coal towns drew workers from many countries, and multiple languages would lilt around the schoolroom throughout the day.

an old fashioned slot machine on display in a glass case

Vintage Slot Machines

The Birth of Slots

Sittman and Pitt of Brooklyn, New York developed a gambling machine in 1891 that was a precursor to the modern slot machine. It contained five drums holding a total of 50 card faces and was based on poker.