Tag Archives: American Old West

July 14, 2013 · 11:28 pm

FOUR COOL BUT FORGOTTEN GUNSLINGERS FOR FRONTIERADO

Bear River Tom Smith

Bear River Tom Smith

The Frontierado holiday is coming up on Friday, August 2nd and Balladeer’s Blog continues presenting holiday- themed articles. I know that in reality the gunfighters of the old west were thugs and worse but Frontierado is about the myth of the American west, not the grinding reality. 

As the glorious day approaches and we are all making our holiday preparations enjoy a sampling of this group of colorful characters who don’t get the attention – or movies – they deserve.

1. BEAR RIVER TOM – That’s our top-ranked figure in the photo to your left. One of the few actual gunmen to wear a fancy two-gun holster, Bear River Tom Smith’s myth begins with his birth in 1838 in New York City. He either did or did not serve in the Union Army in 1861 (accounts vary) but was definitely part of the NYC police force by 1862. In 1867 he headed west, working as a laborer laying track for the Union Pacific Railroad  in Nebraska.

By 1868 the crew he was with had reached Wyoming, where the Hell On Wheels town of Bear River sprang up around their work camp. Bear River was to wild, lawless railroad towns what Dodge City, Kansas was to wild, lawless cattletowns. Bear River Tom put his guns, fists and law enforcement experience to Continue reading →

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September 25, 2012 · 12:01 am

THE TOP “DEITIES” IN WILD WEST MYTHOLOGY

 The exaggerated stories that surround the figures of the American West appeal to me as a classic example of the human tendency toward embellishment. In my non-believer’s heart I genuinely feel this tendency lies at the core of nearly all the superstitious nonsense in each of the world’s “holy” books and in all of ancient mythology.

After all, these figures of the Wild West were in action less than 200 years ago, yet look at all the superhuman deeds  that are ascribed to them and the outrageous drama that we’re told their lives were filled with. These real-life characters who were often just thugs and criminals have been  posthumously transformed into icons whose sagas now bear little resemblance to their actual lives.

I feel that serves as a blueprint for how all mythic belief systems operate. When you magnify the distortions of just 200 years by 10 times or more you can see what tiny little kernels of truth may actually lie buried in the accounts of gods and demigods who are said to have roamed the world ages ago.

All of which Continue reading →

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July 24, 2012 · 9:12 pm

THE TOP GUNSLINGERS FROM FRONTIERADO SAGAS

 The Frontierado holiday is coming up on Friday, August 3rd! What would that holiday be without those Wild West figures who blazed their way into the Frontierado Pantheon of Gunslingers? Here are the women and men who earned a spot in Balladeer’s Blog’s Valhalla with their gunplay, courage and resourcefulness. Included are links to the custom Sagas I wrote for each of them:

1. THE BLACKWATER KID – A Civil War veteran from the Union side who went on to be a bounty hunter – https://glitternight.com/2011/05/21/frontierado-saga-the-blackwater-kid/

2. AMARILLO ROSE – The cattle queen whose skill with a rifle helped her faction win the Amarillo Range War – https://glitternight.com/2011/05/23/frontierado-saga-amarillo-rose/

3. DUSTY MURTAUGH – The first female Wells Fargo shotgun rider, who Continue reading →

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July 15, 2012 · 10:05 pm

FOUR FORGOTTEN GUNSLINGERS WITH COOL NICKNAMES

Bear River Tom Smith

Bear River Tom Smith

The Frontierado holiday is coming up on Friday, August 3rd and Balladeer’s Blog continues presenting holiday- themed articles. I know that in reality the gunfighters of the old west were thugs and worse but Frontierado is about the myth of the American west, not the grinding reality. 

As the glorious day approaches and we are all making our holiday preparations enjoy a sampling of this group of colorful characters who don’t get the attention – or movies – they deserve.

1. BEAR RIVER TOM – That’s our top-ranked figure in the photo to your left. One of the few actual gunmen to wear a fancy two-gun holster, Bear River Tom Smith’s myth begins with his birth in 1838 in New York City. He either did or did not serve in the Union Army in 1861 (accounts vary) but was definitely part of the NYC police force by 1862. In 1867 he headed west, working as a laborer laying track for the Union Pacific Railroad  in Nebraska.

By 1868 the crew he was with had reached Wyoming, where the Hell On Wheels town of Bear River sprang up around their work camp. Bear River was to wild, lawless railroad towns what Dodge City, Kansas was to wild, lawless cattletowns. Bear River Tom put his guns, fists and law enforcement experience to work protecting the Continue reading →

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July 7, 2012 · 7:00 pm

THE SHOCKING ORIGIN OF FRONTIERADO!

 With Frontierado rapidly approaching this August 3rd you’re running out of shopping days!

What is Frontierado?  Frontierado is a holiday my Continue reading →

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June 18, 2012 · 12:12 am

SIX NEGLECTED WILD WEST FIGURES

 The big names in Wild West mythology get smothered with attention but with Frontierado coming up on August 3rd it’s the perfect time of year to shed a little light on the myths of some of the American West’s neglected figures. Here are six individuals who never seem to get the attention they deserve.

6. THE MORMON KID – No, that’s not a joke, Matt Warner really was known as the Mormon Kid for the religion he left to pursue a wild life as an outlaw. Some traditions still hold that the Mormon Kid got his first experience with gunplay as a Danite, the “Old West Knights” of the Mormon faith. (For a Danite as a good guy see the Tom Berenger western The Avenging Angel. For a Danite as a Continue reading →

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August 5, 2011 · 1:17 am

HAPPY FRONTIERADO!!! CELEBRATE WITH 6 MORE NEGLECTED WILD WEST FIGURES

 All through the year we waited, and now it is here in all its glory! HAPPY FRONTIERADO to one and all! This is the first multi-continent celebration of this major holiday, with Buckshot Bryant, Doc Robyn and Kid Equus observing it in New Zealand and with Lady London and her faithful steed Gentleman George leading the festivities in Merry Old England! Six-Gun Sara, Cactus Cathy, Palmetto Bill, Kid Crimson, Bison Bloodworth, Amarillo Rose, Dusty Murtaugh, Doc Albany and Casino Bill and others are helping me, the Blackwater Kid, celebrate Frontierado right here in the USA!  To help mark this holiday I will offer up six more quick looks at neglected real-life western figures whose lives had as much drama as the better-known names from the American frontier. 

6. THE MORMON KID – No, that’s not a joke, Matt Warner really was known as the Mormon Kid for the religion he left to pursue a wild life as an outlaw. Some traditions still hold that the Mormon Kid got his first experience with gunplay as a Continue reading →

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