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Articles by John Boessenecker
This Madam Would Stop at Nothing to Save Her Man
“She was a voluptuous creature.” So said veteran San Francisco police detective Ben Bohen in 1890 when recalling Belle Cora (depicted at right), the most notorious woman of Gold Rush–era California. The beautiful and cultured Cora ran San Francisco’s preeminent bordello. Among her clients and friends were influential politicians, businessmen, lawyers and judges.
Book looks at stagecoach robber Black Bart
“Gentleman Bandit: The True Story of Black Bart, the Old West's Most Infamous Stagecoach Robber” by John Boessenecker c.2023, Hanover Square Press $32.99 376 pages Here, take this. It’s yours. You’ve always wanted it, you’ve always known somehow that you were going to have it and now’s the time. It’s not like you’ve ever passed on a chance to seize what you want, so go ahead — just take it. But as in the new book, “Gentleman Bandit” by John Boessenecker, remember your manners.
‘Gentleman Bandit’ leaves one smiling
“Gentleman Bandit: The True Story of Black Bart, the Old West’s Most Infamous Stagecoach Robber” by John Boessenecker c.2023, Hanover Square Press $32.99 376 pages Here, take this. Always know what your neighbor knows with a subscription to the Washington County Daily News. It’s yours. You’ve always wanted it, you’ve always known somehow that you were going to have it and now’s the time. It’s not like you’ve ever passed on a chance to seize what you want, so go ahead — just take it.
THE BOOKWORM SEZ: The true story of Black Bart
Here, take this. It’s yours. You’ve always wanted it, you’ve always known somehow that you were going to have it and now’s the time. It’s not like you’ve ever passed on a chance to seize what you want, so go ahead — just take it. But as in the new book, “Gentleman Bandit,” by John Boessenecker, remember your manners. kAm~? E96 >@C?:?8 @7 yF=J ae[ `gfd[ DE286 4@249 5C:G6C y@9? $9:?6 H2D DE@AA65 @? 2 D9@CE C@FE6 FA 2 >@F?E2:?
'Gentleman Bandit' for Civil War buffs, Old West fans
"Gentleman Bandit: The True Story of Black Bart, the Old West's Most Infamous Stagecoach Robber" By John Boessenecker c. 2023, Hanover Square Press $32.99, 376 pages Here, take this. It's yours. You've always wanted it, you've always known somehow that you were going to have it and now's the time. It's not like you've ever passed on a chance to seize what you want, so go ahead - just take it. But as in the new book, "Gentleman Bandit" by John Boessenecker, remember your manners.
Meet the Gentleman Bandit
GENTLEMAN BANDIT The True Story of Black Bart, the Old West’s Most Infamous Stagecoach Robber by John Boessenecker “Pure literary gold: Boessenecker delivers the most in-depth and thought-provoking biography of the iconic and over-fictionalized Western character ever published.
History of a Bad Man With Good Manners
Gentleman Bandit: The True Story of Black Bart, the Old West’s Most Infamous Stagecoach Robber By John Boessenecker (Hanover Square Press, 376 pages, $32.99) Stagecoach holdups were a staple of those Western movies of the fifties that I so enjoyed as a youngster. These robberies were also a part of the real history of the thinly policed West of the late 19th century.
The First Victim of Black Bart, the Old West’s Greatest Stage Robber
“Please throw down the box.” Stage driver John Shine nervously fingered the reins of his six-horse team as he stared down the yawning barrels of the highway robber’s shotgun. The bandit had suddenly appeared in front of Shine as he was urging his horses up the long, gradual slope of Funk Hill in the foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. For a moment, Shine hesitated as he reached for the green Wells Fargo strongbox under his seat.
Texas Rangers At 200: What To Visit, Read, And Watch
Kick off 2023 with a nod to the bicentennial of the Texas Rangers. After a start-to-finish rewatch of Lonesome Dove, there’s a lot more to dive into. VISIT Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, Waco, Texas: Artifacts and historical documents relating to Rangers past and present are displayed, from Lipan Apache arrows and 19th-century surveying tools to Lone Ranger lunchboxes and antique and contemporary firearms.
‘Wildcat’ Book Review
Wildcat: The Untold Story of Pearl Hart, the Wild West’s Most Notorious Woman Bandit, by John Boessenecker, Hanover Square Press, New York, 2021, $28.99 Perhaps no other historical Western figure has been obscured by as much misinformation and myth as Pearl Hart. But as the title of this biography suggests, award-winning author and Wild West special contributor John Boessenecker has uncovered the onetime stagecoach robber’s true story—and it is more fascinating than the legend.
A Real Woman Bandit
Few Old West outlaws have had so many myths written about them as Pearl Hart, the Arizona stage robber. Despite the legends, Pearl, unlike almost every notorious woman of the Old West, was a real frontier bandit. For the last hundred years, misinformed Western writers have featured a plethora of purported female Western desperadoes. However, few of these “wild women” were outlaws. Annie Oakley was a sharpshooter and performer, not a criminal.
Bookworm: Seldom is heard a discouraging word for ‘Deer and the Antelope’
“Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside” By Nick Offerman c. 2021, Dutton $28, $37 Canada; 333 pages Last year, for at least some period of time, you stared at four walls. Four walls, a few windows, and you remembered how nice it was to get out on a normal day. You thought about the people you missed, about what you would’ve been doing at work at that moment, and where you’d go as soon as you could.
They Shoot Cowboys, Don’t They?
In his painting "Tombstone Turmoil" Andy Thomas depicts four Cowboys: Ike Clanton running away, Frank McLaury staggering into the street, Billy Clanton with yellow bandanna and Tom McLaury behind the sorrel horse. Opposing them are (from left) Doc Holliday with shotgun, Morgan Earp on ground, Wyatt Earp and Virgil Earp.
The True Story of Pearl Hart, Straight-Shooting, Poetry-Writing Woman Bandit
Pearl Hart stroked her pet wildcat as she leaned back on the bunk in her cell in the courthouse in Tucson, Arizona Territory. It was 1899, and she was the most infamous woman in America. Pearl and her male companion had held up a stagecoach, disarmed the driver and passengers, and stolen their money and guns. They escaped on horseback, but were captured after a long manhunt in the remote high desert.
The Bravest Lawman You’ve Never Heard Of
Bob Paul was one of the greatest of all frontier peace officers. His extraordinary life of high adventure—first as a whaler in the South Pacific, then as a Forty-Niner in the Gold Rush, and finally as a pioneer lawman and detective in California and Arizona—always seemed to find him in the right place at the right time. A close friend of Wyatt Earp, Paul is best known today for his important role in Tombstone’s Earp-Clanton feud of 1881-82.
The Rise of the Toughest Texas Ranger
Ranger Frank Hamer made a name for himself along the U.S.-Mexico border in West Texas where he rode and fought hard. – Illustrated by Bob Boze Bell – Texas bred tough men, and none came any tougher than Frank Hamer. He was to the Lone Star State what Wyatt Earp was to Arizona and what Wild Bill Hickok was to Kansas. His iron strength was hammered on the anvil of his father’s blacksmith shop. His iron will was molded in 40 tumultuous years as a peace officer.
The Rise of the Cow-Boys
In the late 1870s, “Curly Bill” Brocius rode with the notorious John Kinney (center) and his outlaw gang, headquartered near Las Cruces and roaming through New Mexico and southeastern Arizona Territories. Kinney later relocated near Prescott, Arizona Territory, and lived out his life in relative peace. — Courtesy Museum of New Mexico — The cowboys’ genesis lay in the savvy and the six-shooters of John Kinney, one of the most notorious outlaws of the Southwest.
Book review: 'Ride the Devil's Herd' is a new take on the Old West
WESTERN MOVIES are fun to watch, particularly the ones involving the famed Gunfight at OK Corral. Two sets of adversaries squared off, eyes locked on eyes, fingers twitching above holstered six-shooters, all waiting to see which gunman would flinch first. The dialogue was fun, too; plenty of tough talk and menacing words. And the context was great—layer upon layer of provocations that prompted combatants to want to “set things right.” Alas, movies, dime-store novels and campfire yarns about Oct.
March Texas Books Preview
That ol’ groundhog didn’t see his shadow, which is supposed to mean an early spring, and we sure hope that’s true after the snows of February. Whatever the Texas weather does, we can count on March delivering great Texas books.
Ride the Devil’s Herd
— All Images and Bob Boze Bell Artwork Courtesy True West Archives Unless Otherwise Noted — The Cowboys were the Old West’s biggest outlaw gang. In Arizona and New Mexico, they committed highway robberies, waylaid Mexican pack trains, stole thousands of heads of cattle on both sides of the international border and murdered at least 35 men.
The Earp Rap Sheet
Wyatt Earp. Wyatt Earp’s life history is checkered with good and bad events from his early manhood in Missouri to his final days in California. In most published biographical treatments, his shadowy past has generally been glossed over by those who see him as a lawman hero.
The Rise of the Cow-Boys
In the late 1870s, “Curly Bill” Brocius rode with the notorious John Kinney (center) and his outlaw gang, headquartered near Las Cruces and roaming through New Mexico and southeastern Arizona Territories. Kinney later relocated near Prescott, Arizona Territory, and lived out his life in relative peace. — Courtesy Museum of New Mexico — The cowboys’ genesis lay in the savvy and the six-shooters of John Kinney, one of the most notorious outlaws of the Southwest.
The Rise of the Toughest Texas Ranger
Ranger Frank Hamer made a name for himself along the U.S.-Mexico border in West Texas where he rode and fought hard. – Illustrated by Bob Boze Bell – Texas bred tough men, and none came any tougher than Frank Hamer. He was to the Lone Star State what Wyatt Earp was to Arizona and what Wild Bill Hickok was to Kansas. His iron strength was hammered on the anvil of his father’s blacksmith shop. His iron will was molded in 40 tumultuous years as a peace officer.
Current Issue
• Out Here, We Have a Story to Tell History and adventure go hand in hand out here. The epic stories of Southeast Montana have been passed down through […] • Mothers and Babies Westerners were known for their compassion especially to women and children especially in those isolated mining camps where women and […]
John X. Beidler - True West Magazine
Inside History 24 hours ago by John Boessenecker 0 John. X Beidler served Wells Fargo as a shotgun messenger with honor and courage from 1870 to 1877. — Courtesy John Boessenecker — John X. Beidler was one of Montana’s best known pioneers. A leader of the Montana vigilantes in the 1860s, he played a major role in breaking up the outlaw gang led by Henry Plummer, the archetypical crooked frontier sheriff.
Frank Hamer vs. Bonnie and Clyde
Frank Hamer (back row, far left) poses with the Texas Ranger Company C in Alpine, Texas, in 1907. In the back row, third from left, is Marvin Bailey, and Duke Hudson is at far right. Seated, third from left, is Capt. John Rogers, and seated at far right is Sgt. John Dibrell. — Courtesy John Boessenecker — Frank Hamer’s career began during the closing years of the Texas frontier, and saw him transition from a horseback Ranger into a motorized gangbuster of the 1930s.
A Texas Ranger Earns His Spurs
Francis “Frank” Augustus Hamer was a Hill Country Texan, born in Fairview, Texas, on March 17, 1884. When he was just 22, he passed his interview with Capt. John H. Rogers and took his oath as a Texas Ranger. — Courtesy John Boessenecker — Frank Hamer rested his muscular frame against the trunk of a hackberry tree.He levered a round into the chamber of his Winchester Model 1894 saddle ring carbine, then squinted down the rear sight.
What History Has Taught Me: John Boessenecker
John Boessenecker, historian. A native of San Francisco, California, John Boessenecker graduated from San Francisco State University with a history degree in 1975. After serving as a police officer in Mill Valley and San Mateo, he graduated from Hastings College of the Law and became a probate lawyer. Over the past 50 years, he has authored articles and books on frontier crime and law enforcement.
December 2018 Table of Contents
THEY RODE FOR WELLS FARGO By John Boessenecker Shotgun messengers put their lives on the line to protect the express company’s strongbox treasure ON THE TRAIL OF PAWNEE KILLER By John Koster The Oglala war chief lived up to his ominous name and also eluded Lt. Col.
Book Review: Shotguns and Stagecoaches
Shotguns and Stagecoaches: The Brave Men Who Rode for Wells Fargo in the Wild West, by John Boessenecker, Thomas Dunne Books, New York, 2018, $29.99 Award-winning author and Wild West contributor John Boessenecker trails the careers of 20 largely overlooked express messengers—the shotgun-wielding guards of the Wells, Fargo & Co. Express–and company detectives. Their jobs weren’t easy.
The Truth About Facial Recognition Technology
Compare the only authenticated image of Billy the Kid (at right) to one of the many purportedly "verified" images of him. On a regularly recurring basis the headlines report discovery of a purported image of Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid, Jesse James or some other historic Western figure, its owner often claiming that facial recognition technology has validated the identity of the subject.
Bandido Tiburcio Vásquez at Tres Pinos | HistoryNet
At an isolated California settlement, a band of thieves took all the loot they could. One assured his helpless victims, ‘For my part, I won’t hurt anyone.’ But their ruthless head man made no such promise. Tiburcio Vásquez swayed easily in the saddle as he and his band rode up to Grogan’s Spring on Tres Pinos Creek one simmering August morning in 1873. Exhausted by a long night’s ride through California’s Coast Range, they watered their horses and made camp on the hill above the spring.
Gun Smoke at the Tunnel Saloon | HistoryNet
Longtime Arizona Territory lawman Pete Gabriel waited for his former deputy-turned-enemy at the bar in Florence. Joe Phy soon showed up, armed with six-shooter and bowie knife. Pete Gabriel rested his lean frame against the mahogany bar of John Keating’s Tunnel Saloon, nervously fingering the .45 Colt tucked into his waistband. His wary eyes darted repeatedly to the saloon’s batwing doors. It was the evening of May 31, 1888, in Florence, Arizona Territory.
The bride and the brigand: She was en route to Grass Valley to marry a man sight unseen, when robbers struck the stage
On the sweltering Sunday afternoon of July 27, 1873, an eastbound Central Pacific passenger train pulled into the mountain town of Colfax, California, brakes screeching and steam hissing from the locomotive as it groaned to a halt at the station. Passengers bound for the Nevada County mining camps disembarked and walked a few steps to the large, barn-like Wells, Fargo & Co. depot.
Wild West Book Review: Bandido | HistoryNet
Bandido: The Life and Times of Tiburcio Vásquez Since the medieval tales of Robin Hood, a select few criminals have operated with the benefit of a certain social stratum of the public who regarded them as heroic challengers of some established power against which they held a common grievance. Jesse James was perceived by many Missourians as a Civil War Rebel holdout as well as somebody striking back against bankers and railroad barons.
Bring Me the Head of Clodoveo Chávez | HistoryNet
After the hanging of his bandido mentor Tiburcio Vásquez, Chávez continued to terrorize Californians. On a warm spring day in 1876 an Arizonan named Harry Roberts climbed down from a stagecoach in the central California adobe village of San Juan Bautista. Hefting a square, 5-gallon coal oil can, he strode across the plaza, passing the ancient mission, and walked into the Plaza Hotel. Entering the office of Judge James F. Breen, Roberts set the heavy can on a table and opened the lid.
Bookshelf: When Bonnie met Clyde
Bonnie and Clyde were perhaps the most famous criminal couple in history, and their story is one of bloodshed and passion.
Frank Hamer's Del Rio Debut
The Wild West History Association presented John Boessenecker its 2017 Six-Shooter awards for both his biography of Texas Ranger Frank Hamer and the following article, which was the April 2016 Wild West cover story. Frank Hamer is remembered mainly as the ex-Texas Ranger captain who hunted down murderous outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow in 1934. Yet he was a lawman before either criminal was born. Hamer joined the Rangers in 1906. Though only 22, he was more than prepared for the job.
Hamer relentlessly tracked Bonnie and Clyde
History can be biased when it comes to criminals who have captured the public’s imagination. Too often it tends to immortalize their names and notorious deeds for future generations, instead of the painstaking investigative work made by law enforcement officials seeking to end their felonious spree.
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