SOME OF THE BEST FRONTIERADO SAGAS

The Frontierado Holiday is coming up this Friday, August 1st. The holiday celebrates the myth of the Old West, not the grinding reality. For newbies to Balladeer’s Blog here are some of the best Frontierado Sagas – examinations of assorted gunslingers and wild towns that often get overlooked.

X: THE REAL-LIFE VIGILANTE – John Xavier Beidler was better known as “X” for his distinctive middle initial. I have no idea how a figure this colorful and with such a memorable alias is still so underappreciated.

Beidler first made his name as a vigilante dealing with bandits, claim jumpers and corrupt lawmen during the Gold Rush in Montana. As the years went by, he became a legitimate lawman and a mounted guard for stage coaches. FOR HIS FULL ENTRY CLICK HERE.

DUSTY DELIA HASKETT – She was the first female stagecoach driver for the United States Mail Service. Delia was born in 1861 and built a reputation for herself during her adventurous career driving stagecoaches throughout California.

In later years she became something of a Grand Dame among the Golden State’s Pioneer Women. FOR HER FULL ENTRY CLICK HERE.

WHISPERING SMITH – James L. “Whispering” Smith had a long and eventful life which bore little resemblance to the squeaky-clean depiction of him by Audie Murphy. Smith started out as a dueling gambler-gunslinger on Mississippi Riverboats before joining the Union Army during the Civil War.

After the war he became a virtual Dirty Harry of the Old West while working as a New Orleans police detective, Railroad Detective for the Union Pacific Railroad, Indian Reservation Chief of Police and Stock Detective for ranchers. FOR HIS FULL ENTRY CLICK HERE.

CANYON DIABLO – The most lawless town of the Old West. No newspapers, schools, churches or law enforcement officials ever lasted long in Canyon Diablo due to its excessive violence. Even the U.S. Army would tread carefully where the untamed town was concerned.

Countless True Crime tales will go forever untold from the place’s history but the stories that are known are gritty and violent. FOR THE FULL ENTRY CLICK HERE.

PISTOL PETE – Frank Eaton, better known as Pistol Pete, lived what would become a trope of western literature. Years of his life were spent tracking down and killing all the men responsible for his father’s murder in 1868 Kansas.

In between, he spent his down time as a lawman in various jurisdictions and later took part in the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889. FOR HIS FULL ENTRY CLICK HERE.

SALLY SKULL – Born Sara Jane Newman, the future Sally Skull became a tough frontierswoman and hunter keeping her family and their ranch alive with her firearm talent. 

When Sally’s marriage to a Texas Ranger ended in one of the few divorces of the time period she married a man named George Skull or Scull, whose last name she kept through all her subsequent marriages. Horse trading and contraband smuggling were Sally’s sources of income for the rest of her life until her death in a gunfight. FOR HER FULL ENTRY CLICK HERE. 

RUSSIAN BILL – The son of a real-life Russian Countess, William Tatenbaum aka Waldemar Tethenborn aka Feador Telfrin served in the Tsarist Army before having to flee to America to escape powerful enemies.

Throughout his criminal career with Curly Bill Brocius and the Clanton-McLaury Gang, Russian Bill’s claims to royal descent were often scoffed at. After his lynching death in Shakespeare, NM the U.S. State Department verified that he was indeed the son of Countess Telfrin. FOR HIS FULL ENTRY CLICK HERE.

DANGEROUS DAN TUCKER – No relation to Old Dan Tucker, this man was a former mechanic turned gunslinger who worked to protect way stations in the Jornada del Muerto Desert before serving in assorted law enforcement positions.

Dangerous Dan became famous in wild towns like Silver City, NM as well as Shakespeare and Deming with time out for fighting in the El Paso Salt War alongside John Kenney himself. FOR HIS FULL ENTRY CLICK HERE.

SAM SIXKILLER – This Cherokee lawman had served on both sides of the U.S. Civil War before making his name throughout Indian Territory/ Oklahoma. Sam Sixkiller served as sheriff or marshal in towns like Tahlequah and Muscogee.

Sam took down more malefactors than did Wild Bill or Wyatt Earp during his career and was ultimately assassinated by two criminals while unarmed at Christmas Eve mass in 1886. FOR HIS FULL ENTRY CLICK HERE. 

FEMALE MARSHALS OF THE OLD WEST – Some contemporary newspaper accounts of the Wild West exploits of female U.S. Marshals during the late 1880s into the 1890s. The women are highly praised. 

Featured are ladies like Mrs. F.M. Miller, law enforcement’s answer to Belle Starr, plus Ada Curnutt, Mamie Fossett and S.M. Burche. FOR THEIR FULL ENTRY CLICK HERE.

JOHN BULL – “John Bull” was the nickname of this British gunslinger in the American west. His real name remains unknown. He started out as a gambler-gunslinger then became an enforcer for the Canada Bill Gang in Omaha, NE.

Bull was also known for his long association with fellow legend “Farmer” Peel, for owning assorted gambling halls in the Old West and for participating in the promotional activities for a crooked Heavyweight Boxing Match. FOR HIS FULL ENTRY CLICK HERE.

LUCKY BILL – A proficient gambler-gunslinger in the Old West. Bill Thorington, also called Bill Thornton, played cards and slung lead from Saint Joseph, MO to Sacramento and San Francisco.

Lucky Bill went on plenty of winning streaks and losing streaks before settling in as a virtual Organized Crime Boss in Genoa, NV. In the end, Bill was hanged by a lynch mob there. FOR HIS FULL ENTRY CLICK HERE.