Tag Archives: The Mormon Kid

TEN NEGLECTED GUNSLINGERS OF THE OLD WEST

MASCOT COWBOY 2

“Hold it right there,” the gunslinger exclaimed, “We got us some apparent paradoxes and their effect upon contemporary philosophy to discuss … you savvy?”

JUST 30 DAYS UNTIL FRONTIERADO! As always Frontierado is about celebrating the myth of the Wild West and not the grinding reality. Part of the fun each year is an examination of neglected gunslingers from the 1800s. 

The likes of Billy the Kid, Doc Holliday, Calamity Jane and Jesse James have been the subject of a variety of movies and folk tales. Unfortunately some figures from the Wild West led lives at least as interesting as the big names did but have not gotten nearly as much attention. Here is a look at ten such men and women.

Rattlesnake Dick

Rattlesnake Dick

10. RATTLESNAKE DICK – No, he’s not a porn star. Dick Barton was originally from England but migrated with his family to the United States.In 1849 he joined the California Gold Rush but, having no luck at prospecting, formed an outlaw gang and took to robbing gold and payroll shipments instead. His second-in- command Cyrus Skinner was once shot down in a gunfight with Wells Fargo detectives and the stolen gold that Skinner had hidden before dying was fruitlessly sought after for years. Continue reading

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TEN NEGLECTED GUNSLINGERS: COUNTDOWN TO FRONTIERADO

western sceneryJUST 30 DAYS UNTIL FRONTIERADO! As always Frontierado is about celebrating the myth of the Wild West and not the grinding reality. Part of the fun each year is an examination of neglected gunslingers from the 1800’s. 

The likes of Billy the Kid, Doc Holliday, Calamity Jane and Jesse James have been the subject of a variety of movies and folk tales. Unfortunately some figures from the Wild West led lives at least as interesting as the big names did but have not gotten nearly as much attention. Here is a look at ten such men and women.

Rattlesnake Dick

Rattlesnake Dick

10. RATTLESNAKE DICK – No, he’s not a porn star. Dick Barton was originally from England but migrated with his family to the United States.In 1849 he joined the California Gold Rush but, having no luck at prospecting, formed an outlaw gang and took to robbing gold and payroll shipments instead. His second-in- command Cyrus Skinner was once shot down in a gunfight with Wells Fargo detectives and the stolen gold that Skinner had hidden before dying was fruitlessly sought after for years. Continue reading

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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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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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