cowboy

You may know the names of Jesse James, Billy the Kid, or Pat Garrett. But what about Buss Luckey, the Rufus Buck Gang, the Lighthorsemen, or Zeke Miller? Although whites dominate popular depictions of the lawless west, Black, Red and Deadly presents the sagas of African-American and American Indian outlaws and bona fide law enforcers in Indian Territory. Luckey was an African American convicted bandit who dynamited a train carrying $60,000 in gold bullion.

This book from the Armed Forces History collection at the National Museum of American History Library provides an overview of firearms used by the military, lawmen, outlaws, settlers, and others on America’s westward-pushing frontier. It features descriptions, drawings, and photographs of weapons from long-barrel flintlocks to Winchester rifles to the famous Deringer pocket pistols. One chapter focuses on guns manufactured by Colt, including the Colt Single-Action Army Revolver – a.k.a. the Peacemaker – which is the state firearm of Arizona.

In October 1881, Doc Holliday and the three Earp brothers had a shoot-out with the Clanton and McLaury brothers on a street in Tombstone, Arizona. The gunfight at the O.K. Corral has become the stuff of legends and the subject of numerous books and movies. This detailed history provides context and information not only about the gunfight itself but also about the booming town of Tombstone and its place in the overall history of the violent Western frontier. It includes photographs of the participants as well as of the site where it took place.

There has not been much scholarship published on the history of African Americans in the American West and this may be one of the reasons the average person may have misconceptions about that history. This is why titles such as Hoo-Doo Cowboys and Bronze Buckaroos are such a welcome addition to research collections.

Zane Grey, the American author famous for his popular Western adventure novels, published this non-fiction work in 1919. In addition to being a dentist and writer, Grey was an avid fisherman. This title is full of zesty and manly fishing adventures of watching and wrestling with big game fish off the coast of southern California and is tastefully illustrated with photos taken by the author.

In 1890, Arizona Territory had its own Commissioner of Immigration, John A. Black, who wrote this piece to extol the virtues and resources of the territory.