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Articles by Bill Markley
Isle of Books Presents: "When Montana Outraced the East," "The Life and Times of Jim Bridger," and "A History of Montana in 101 Places"
When Montana Outraced the East: The Reign of Western Thoroughbreds, 1886–1900 by Catharine Melin-Moser In the late 19th century, Montana's leisured classes used their gains from mining, logging and ranching to invest in their newest passion: horse racing.
Isle of Books Presents: Last Best Books Fall 2025
When Montana Outraced the East: The Reign of Western Thoroughbreds, 1886–1900 by Catharine Melin-Moser In the late 19th century, Montana's leisured classes used their gains from mining, logging and ranching to invest in their newest passion: horse racing.
The Original War Wagon
A photo labeled “Treasure Coach at Canyon Springs 1878” shows an open side door, barely revealing a man seated inside. The open door prevents us from seeing the porthole. The coach looks to have no windows though. Author Bill Markley thought this could be a photo of the Monitor, but stagecoach builder Doug Hansen dug up the truth: this photo was taken during a re-enactment of the Monitor holdup at the Wyoming State Fair in 1914.
Fur, Defeat and Pluck
Deserted by her husband, a determined teenage mother is left to raise her young son in France’s colonial outpost, New Orleans. Not an auspicious beginning for what would become one of the most influential families on the American frontier. At the start of the 18th century, Europe demanded furs for its latest fashions as France, Spain and Great Britain vied with each other to dominate the North American fur trade.
All Roads Lead to Chaco Canyon
Where will the road to ruins lead you? “This is the best place on the planet. If you don’t come back, there’s something wrong with you.” These words spoken by G.B. Cornucopia, a 20-year veteran U.S. Park Ranger, echo in my head as I gaze down into New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon. Desert winds tugging at my hat threaten to hurl it over the canyon rim. One thousand years ago Ancient Puebloans were building an inter-connected community, the sacred heart of which now lies in ruins at the Chaco Canyon floor.
Black Hills Gold
Frontier photographer John C. H. Grabill chronicled daily life in South Dakota’s Black Hills in the 1880s and 1890s, including three veteran gold miners panning for gold from the flume near the Rockerville mining district. Today, visitors to the gold-rich mountains can visit a small town near the famous mine. – Courtesy Library of Congress – “GOLD!” proclaimed Dakota Territory’s Bismarck Tribune on the front page of its August 12, 1874, edition.
Black Hills Gold
“GOLD!” proclaimed Dakota Territory’s Bismarck Tribune on the front page of its August 12, 1874, edition. The newspaper was exuberant about the discovery of gold by Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer’s Black Hills expedition. It didn’t matter that the federal government recognized that the Black Hills belonged to the Lakota people, the rush was on.
The Legendary West
Visitors to Western Wyoming can make Jackson their headquarters to explore Grand Teton National Park (above) and Yellowstone National Park, just a little more than an hour north. – All Photos by Chad Coppess Unless Otherwise Noted – The West conjures images: sky-touching-earth horizons, uncharted wilderness, turbulent rivers, an unbounded Milky Way flung across the heavens. Howling coyotes, thundering bison herds, ferocious grizzly bears and ghostly antelope.
Deadwood’s Lost Chinatown
A Chinese man enters a barn followed by Doc Cochran and Johnny Burns, a thug working for the infamous saloon owner, Al Swearengen. The Chinese man carries a body slung over his shoulder. As he reaches a hog pen, he tosses the body over the fence and into the mud. Ravenous hogs rush to the body and begin to tear it apart.
Guarding Custer's Guidon - True West Magazine
They were all dead; most were stripped of clothing, weapons and gear—including flags. Lieutenant Col. George Armstrong Custer, along with five companies of the 7th Cavalry totaling about 210 men, had been wiped out by the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne along the Little Big Horn River in southeastern Montana. On June 25, 1876, Custer had approached this village of thousands of Indians with about 700 men organized into 12 companies. Each company had a swallowtail flag, or guidon, carried by a corporal.
Deadwood’s Lost Chinatown
A Chinese man enters a barn followed by Doc Cochran and Johnny Burns, a thug working for the infamous saloon owner, Al Swearengen. The Chinese man carries a body slung over his shoulder. As he reaches a hog pen, he tosses the body over the fence and into the mud. Ravenous hogs rush to the body and begin to tear it apart.
Cattleman Philip Was a Bison King
One-time freighter and scout Scotty Philip built a cattle ranching empire in South Dakota and then, because of his love of the vanishing American bison, became a buffalo king. During his rise to prominence, he made himself known along the southern international border thanks to several cattle-buying trips to Texas and Mexico. In 1907 this man of action with a curiosity to match sent two of his buffalo by train to Juarez, Mexico, to test their mettle in the ring against Spanish fighting bulls.
Cattleman Philip Was a Bison King
He tested buffalo against bulls. One-time freighter and scout Scotty Philip built a cattle ranching empire in South Dakota and then, because of his love of the vanishing American bison, became a buffalo king. During his rise to prominence, he made himself known along the southern international border thanks to several cattle-buying trips to Texas and Mexico.
American Fur Company’s McKenzie Was King of the Upper Missouri
From Fort Union, the Scot ruled an economic empire. The so-called king was ensconced at the head of a long table where well-dressed men sat down according to rank. Servants set before them the finest wild game and culinary delights. Raising glasses of iced wines and liqueurs, the jolly company proposed toasts. This 1830s feast did not occur in a European kingdom or even on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States.
American Fur Company’s McKenzie Was King of the Upper Missouri
From Fort Union, the Scot ruled an economic empire. The so-called king was ensconced at the head of a long table where well-dressed men sat down according to rank. Servants set before them the finest wild game and culinary delights. Raising glasses of iced wines and liqueurs, the jolly company proposed toasts. This 1830s feast did not occur in a European kingdom or even on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States.
Joe Mundy Rides Again
When I Die: The Legend of Joe Mundy, the second in Monty McCord’s The Legend of Joe Mundy series, is one of those action-packed books that when you pick it up, you won’t want to put it down. It’s 1876, Mundy is marshal of the new frontier town Taylorsville in Nebraska’s Sandhills. Mundy must thwart the efforts of lowlife desperados as he attempts to save his friends from their roads to ruin—one from the despair of prostitution and the other from the depths of alcoholism.
All Roads Lead to Chaco Canyon
“This is the best place on the planet. If you don’t come back, there’s something wrong with you.” These words spoken by G.B. Cornucopia, a 20-year veteran U.S. Park Ranger, echo in my head as I gaze down into New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon. Desert winds tugging at my hat threaten to hurl it over the canyon rim. One thousand years ago Ancient Puebloans were building an inter-connected community, the sacred heart of which now lies in ruins at the Chaco Canyon floor.
Theodore Roosevelt’s Embellishments
Did Theodore Roosevelt embellish or, heaven forbid, concoct some of his exploits while ranching in North Dakota’s badlands during the 1880s?
Sitting Bull Rests, But Is He at Peace?
The debate continues over where his bones belong. The 16-year-old boy caught the horse for his father along the Grand River and was bringing it home on the frosty morning of December 15, 1890, before the first glimmer of daylight. As he passed the cabin of his famous uncle, a large party of Standing Rock Agency Indian police rode up to the cabin. The boy hid in some bushes.
Sitting Bull Rests, But Is He at Peace?
The debate continues over where his bones belong. The 16-year-old boy caught the horse for his father along the Grand River and was bringing it home on the frosty morning of December 15, 1890, before the first glimmer of daylight. As he passed the cabin of his famous uncle, a large party of Standing Rock Agency Indian police rode up to the cabin. The boy hid in some bushes.
Theodore Roosevelt, That Damned Cowboy
“Now we’ve got that damned cowboy as President!” Senator Mark Hanna exclaimed referring to Vice President Theodore Roosevelt after President William McKinley’s death in September 1901. Bully for Michel Blake’s The Cowboy President: The American West and the Making of Theodore Roosevelt (TwoDot, $16.95). As a young man TR (don’t call him Teddy) was skinny and sickly.
Bear Butte, Sacred to Cheyennes and Lakotas, Looms Near the Black Hills
Humans have gathered at the formation for four millennia. Crossing the South Dakota plains from the east, the traveler first sees the purplish Black Hills stretching across the western horizon. A singular massive peak stands apart, looming over the prairie as if placed there, a sentinel guarding the approaches to the hills. Bear Butte, which served as a landmark to early white explorers, is sacred to the Cheyenne and Lakota Indians.
Bear Butte, Sacred to Cheyennes and Lakotas, Looms Near the Black Hills
Humans have gathered at the formation for four millennia. Crossing the South Dakota plains from the east, the traveler first sees the purplish Black Hills stretching across the western horizon. A singular massive peak stands apart, looming over the prairie as if placed there, a sentinel guarding the approaches to the hills. Bear Butte, which served as a landmark to early white explorers, is sacred to the Cheyenne and Lakota Indians.
National Park Treasures
Treasures of the National Parks: Yesterday & Today (Golden Valley Press, $45) is a feast for the eyes. Paul Horsted takes you on a journey to twenty-four national parks through the lens of photographers 75 to 150 years ago to his own today. Horsted meticulously created his photographs from the same vantage points as those taken in the past. You’ll spend hours of enjoyment comparing 170-paired past and present images from the Grand Canyon’s depths to the Rocky Mountains’ heights.
After Crow Dog Shot Spotted Tail, Brulé Law Did Not End the Matter
Crow Dog’s attorney appealed all the way to the Supreme Court. Bad blood boiled between Brulé Sioux leaders Spotted Tail (Sinte Gleska) and Crow Dog (Kangi Sunka). On the afternoon of August 5, 1881, Crow Dog left a tribal council at the Rosebud Agency and—with wife Pretty Camp and a child—started by wagon on the nine-mile drive home. The meeting had not resolved the men’s long-running political and personal disputes.
After Crow Dog Shot Spotted Tail, Brulé Law Did Not End the Matter
Crow Dog’s attorney appealed all the way to the Supreme Court. Bad blood boiled between Brulé Sioux leaders Spotted Tail (Sinte Gleska) and Crow Dog (Kangi Sunka). On the afternoon of August 5, 1881, Crow Dog left a tribal council at the Rosebud Agency and—with wife Pretty Camp and a child—started by wagon on the nine-mile drive home. The meeting had not resolved the men’s long-running political and personal disputes.
Custer's Gold - True West Magazine
“GOLD!” proclaimed Dakota Territory’s Bismarck Tribune, August 12, 1874. Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer’s Black Hills expedition had discovered gold. The newspaper predicted the Black Hills would “become the El Dorado of America.” The 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty established Dakota Territory’s Black Hills as part of the Great Sioux Reservation prohibiting white access, but the government believed forts were needed in the Black Hills. General William T.
Laughing Sam, Harry Young and Bummer Dan Were Embroiled in a Deadwood Feud | HistoryNet
In July 1876 James Butler Hickok, better known as “Wild Bill,” was looking for a new start when he arrived in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, with a party of adventurers—among them, “Calamity Jane” Canary, Joe “White Eye” Anderson and brothers Steve and “Colorado Charlie” Utter. The new arrivals changed into their finest buckskins and paraded through Deadwood to celebrate the end of their long trail ride from Cheyenne, Wyoming. Wild Bill’s days, as even casual fans of the era know, were numbered.
The Legendary West - True West Magazine
Visitors to Western Wyoming can make Jackson their headquarters to explore Grand Teton National Park (above) and Yellowstone National Park, just a little more than an hour north. – All Photos by Chad Coppess Unless Otherwise Noted – The West conjures images: sky-touching-earth horizons, uncharted wilderness, turbulent rivers, an unbounded Milky Way flung across the heavens. Howling coyotes, thundering bison herds, ferocious grizzly bears and ghostly antelope.
Leader of Destiny: Sitting Bull
Since his murder 126 years ago, the legacy of Chief Sitting Bull’s life and leadership has defined the struggles between the Plains Indian tribes and the American settlement of the Northern Plains and Rocky Mountains. – True West Archives – Sitting Bull strived to retain Lakota lifestyle and lands. He belonged to the Hunkpapa tribe of the Lakota people, also known as the Sioux.
The Real and Imagined Life of Calamity Jane
Most people have heard of Calamity Jane, once promoted as The Famous Woman Scout of the Wild West. But do we really know who she was? After losing her parents as a young girl, Martha Canary had to fend for herself on the frontier and eventually became the legendary Calamity Jane. It’s hard to distinguish fact from fiction in Calamity’s life. Dime novelists invented tall tales about her and she fabricated many more yarns herself. In The Life and Legends of Calamity Jane, Richard W.
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