Author: Charles River Charles River Editors
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781492339540
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 254
Book Description
*Includes biographies of each famous Western icon. *Discusses the mysteries and legends of their famous lives and deaths. *Comprehensively covers legendary events like the Shootout at the OK Corral, and the murders of Wild Bill and Jesse James. *Includes a Bibliography on each person for further reading. Space may be the final frontier, but no frontier has ever captured the American imagination like the "Wild West," which still evokes images of dusty cowboys, outlaws, gunfights, gamblers, and barroom brawls over 100 years after the West was settled. A constant fixture in American pop culture, the 19th century American West continues to be vividly and colorful portrayed not just as a place but as a state of mind. The spirit of adventure, the courage, the swagger, and even the hard drinking and violence have all come to capture what it meant to be an American at the time, and with so many interesting figures straddling both sides of the law, morality has gone out the window. Colorful lawmen like Wyatt Earp and Wild Bill became known for meting out justice but also taking things into their own hands, while Doc Holliday and Calamity Jane have gone down in history as eccentric sidekicks. Outlaws like Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid remain just as well known, and they have been long associated with daring heists and conspiracies surrounding their deaths. And Buffalo Bill captured all of the sights and sounds in his famous Wild West show, bringing the West to life all over the world. Each Western icon forged their own enduring legacy, but many of them also knew each other. Wyatt Earp, the law enforcer, gambler, saloon keeper, and vigilante, forged an unlikely friendship with hot-tempered dentist turned gambler Doc Holliday that proved pivotal in some of the West's most legendary events. Wild Bill and Calamity Jane had one of the most legendary and mythologized relationship, with Jane claiming they were married and Wild Bill's friends claiming he could barely stand her. Wyatt Earp (1848-1929), the "toughest and deadliest gunman of his day," symbolized the swagger, the heroism, and even the lawlessness of the West, notorious for being a law enforcer, gambler, saloon keeper, and vigilante. Then there was John Henry "Doc" Holliday (1851-1887), a dentist turned professional gambler who was widely recognized as one of the fastest draws in the West and one of its quirkiest figures. The only thing that might have been faster than the deadly gunman's draw was his violent temper, which was easily set off when Holliday was drunk, a frequent occurrence. By the early 1880s, Holliday had been arrested nearly 20 times. And then there's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the West's most famous outlaw duo, who will always be associated with each other despite the fact there's no indication that they had any particularly close friendship or relationship aside from being members of the same gang. The Ultimate Wild West Collection chronicles the lives, legends, myths, lies, and legacies of the West's most famous individuals, separating fact from fiction and analyzing how they have affected the past and the present. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, bibliographies, and a Table of Contents, you will learn about these Western icons like never before.
The Ultimate Wild West Collection
Author: Charles River Charles River Editors
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781492339540
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 254
Book Description
*Includes biographies of each famous Western icon. *Discusses the mysteries and legends of their famous lives and deaths. *Comprehensively covers legendary events like the Shootout at the OK Corral, and the murders of Wild Bill and Jesse James. *Includes a Bibliography on each person for further reading. Space may be the final frontier, but no frontier has ever captured the American imagination like the "Wild West," which still evokes images of dusty cowboys, outlaws, gunfights, gamblers, and barroom brawls over 100 years after the West was settled. A constant fixture in American pop culture, the 19th century American West continues to be vividly and colorful portrayed not just as a place but as a state of mind. The spirit of adventure, the courage, the swagger, and even the hard drinking and violence have all come to capture what it meant to be an American at the time, and with so many interesting figures straddling both sides of the law, morality has gone out the window. Colorful lawmen like Wyatt Earp and Wild Bill became known for meting out justice but also taking things into their own hands, while Doc Holliday and Calamity Jane have gone down in history as eccentric sidekicks. Outlaws like Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid remain just as well known, and they have been long associated with daring heists and conspiracies surrounding their deaths. And Buffalo Bill captured all of the sights and sounds in his famous Wild West show, bringing the West to life all over the world. Each Western icon forged their own enduring legacy, but many of them also knew each other. Wyatt Earp, the law enforcer, gambler, saloon keeper, and vigilante, forged an unlikely friendship with hot-tempered dentist turned gambler Doc Holliday that proved pivotal in some of the West's most legendary events. Wild Bill and Calamity Jane had one of the most legendary and mythologized relationship, with Jane claiming they were married and Wild Bill's friends claiming he could barely stand her. Wyatt Earp (1848-1929), the "toughest and deadliest gunman of his day," symbolized the swagger, the heroism, and even the lawlessness of the West, notorious for being a law enforcer, gambler, saloon keeper, and vigilante. Then there was John Henry "Doc" Holliday (1851-1887), a dentist turned professional gambler who was widely recognized as one of the fastest draws in the West and one of its quirkiest figures. The only thing that might have been faster than the deadly gunman's draw was his violent temper, which was easily set off when Holliday was drunk, a frequent occurrence. By the early 1880s, Holliday had been arrested nearly 20 times. And then there's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the West's most famous outlaw duo, who will always be associated with each other despite the fact there's no indication that they had any particularly close friendship or relationship aside from being members of the same gang. The Ultimate Wild West Collection chronicles the lives, legends, myths, lies, and legacies of the West's most famous individuals, separating fact from fiction and analyzing how they have affected the past and the present. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, bibliographies, and a Table of Contents, you will learn about these Western icons like never before.
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781492339540
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 254
Book Description
*Includes biographies of each famous Western icon. *Discusses the mysteries and legends of their famous lives and deaths. *Comprehensively covers legendary events like the Shootout at the OK Corral, and the murders of Wild Bill and Jesse James. *Includes a Bibliography on each person for further reading. Space may be the final frontier, but no frontier has ever captured the American imagination like the "Wild West," which still evokes images of dusty cowboys, outlaws, gunfights, gamblers, and barroom brawls over 100 years after the West was settled. A constant fixture in American pop culture, the 19th century American West continues to be vividly and colorful portrayed not just as a place but as a state of mind. The spirit of adventure, the courage, the swagger, and even the hard drinking and violence have all come to capture what it meant to be an American at the time, and with so many interesting figures straddling both sides of the law, morality has gone out the window. Colorful lawmen like Wyatt Earp and Wild Bill became known for meting out justice but also taking things into their own hands, while Doc Holliday and Calamity Jane have gone down in history as eccentric sidekicks. Outlaws like Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid remain just as well known, and they have been long associated with daring heists and conspiracies surrounding their deaths. And Buffalo Bill captured all of the sights and sounds in his famous Wild West show, bringing the West to life all over the world. Each Western icon forged their own enduring legacy, but many of them also knew each other. Wyatt Earp, the law enforcer, gambler, saloon keeper, and vigilante, forged an unlikely friendship with hot-tempered dentist turned gambler Doc Holliday that proved pivotal in some of the West's most legendary events. Wild Bill and Calamity Jane had one of the most legendary and mythologized relationship, with Jane claiming they were married and Wild Bill's friends claiming he could barely stand her. Wyatt Earp (1848-1929), the "toughest and deadliest gunman of his day," symbolized the swagger, the heroism, and even the lawlessness of the West, notorious for being a law enforcer, gambler, saloon keeper, and vigilante. Then there was John Henry "Doc" Holliday (1851-1887), a dentist turned professional gambler who was widely recognized as one of the fastest draws in the West and one of its quirkiest figures. The only thing that might have been faster than the deadly gunman's draw was his violent temper, which was easily set off when Holliday was drunk, a frequent occurrence. By the early 1880s, Holliday had been arrested nearly 20 times. And then there's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the West's most famous outlaw duo, who will always be associated with each other despite the fact there's no indication that they had any particularly close friendship or relationship aside from being members of the same gang. The Ultimate Wild West Collection chronicles the lives, legends, myths, lies, and legacies of the West's most famous individuals, separating fact from fiction and analyzing how they have affected the past and the present. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, bibliographies, and a Table of Contents, you will learn about these Western icons like never before.
Buffalo Bill and Sitting Bull
Author: Bobby Bridger
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 9780292709171
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 510
Book Description
Army scout, buffalo hunter, Indian fighter, and impresario of the world-renowned "Wild West Show," William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody lived the real American West and also helped create the "West of the imagination." Born in 1846, he took part in the great westward migration, hunted the buffalo, and made friends among the Plains Indians, who gave him the name Pahaska (long hair). But as the frontier closed and his role in "winning the West" passed into legend, Buffalo Bill found himself becoming the symbol of the destruction of the buffalo and the American Indian. Deeply dismayed, he spent the rest of his life working to save the remaining buffalo and to preserve Plains Indian culture through his Wild West shows. This biography of William Cody focuses on his lifelong relationship with Plains Indians, a vital part of his life story that, surprisingly, has been seldom told. Bobby Bridger draws on many historical accounts and Cody's own memoirs to show how deeply intertwined Cody's life was with the Plains Indians. In particular, he demonstrates that the Lakota and Cheyenne were active cocreators of the Wild West shows, which helped them preserve the spiritual essence of their culture in the reservation era while also imparting something of it to white society in America and Europe. This dual story of Buffalo Bill and the Plains Indians clearly reveals how one West was lost, and another born, within the lifetime of one remarkable man.
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 9780292709171
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 510
Book Description
Army scout, buffalo hunter, Indian fighter, and impresario of the world-renowned "Wild West Show," William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody lived the real American West and also helped create the "West of the imagination." Born in 1846, he took part in the great westward migration, hunted the buffalo, and made friends among the Plains Indians, who gave him the name Pahaska (long hair). But as the frontier closed and his role in "winning the West" passed into legend, Buffalo Bill found himself becoming the symbol of the destruction of the buffalo and the American Indian. Deeply dismayed, he spent the rest of his life working to save the remaining buffalo and to preserve Plains Indian culture through his Wild West shows. This biography of William Cody focuses on his lifelong relationship with Plains Indians, a vital part of his life story that, surprisingly, has been seldom told. Bobby Bridger draws on many historical accounts and Cody's own memoirs to show how deeply intertwined Cody's life was with the Plains Indians. In particular, he demonstrates that the Lakota and Cheyenne were active cocreators of the Wild West shows, which helped them preserve the spiritual essence of their culture in the reservation era while also imparting something of it to white society in America and Europe. This dual story of Buffalo Bill and the Plains Indians clearly reveals how one West was lost, and another born, within the lifetime of one remarkable man.
The Wild, Wild West
Author: Susan E. Kesler
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780929360003
Category : Western television programs
Languages : en
Pages : 247
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780929360003
Category : Western television programs
Languages : en
Pages : 247
Book Description
Presenting Buffalo Bill
Author: Candace Fleming
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1596437634
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 287
Book Description
Everyone knows the name Buffalo Bill, but few these days know what he did or, in some cases, didn't do. Was he a Pony Express rider? Did he serve Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn? Did he scalp countless Native Americans, or did he defend their rights? This, the first significant biography of Buffalo Bill Cody for younger readers in many years, explains it all. With copious archival illustrations and a handsome design, Presenting Buffalo Bill makes the great showman come alive for new generations. Extensive back matter, bibliography, and source notes complete the package. This title has Common Core connections.
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1596437634
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 287
Book Description
Everyone knows the name Buffalo Bill, but few these days know what he did or, in some cases, didn't do. Was he a Pony Express rider? Did he serve Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn? Did he scalp countless Native Americans, or did he defend their rights? This, the first significant biography of Buffalo Bill Cody for younger readers in many years, explains it all. With copious archival illustrations and a handsome design, Presenting Buffalo Bill makes the great showman come alive for new generations. Extensive back matter, bibliography, and source notes complete the package. This title has Common Core connections.
Buffalo Bill's Wild West
Author: R.L. Wilson
Publisher: Chartwell Books
ISBN: 9780785818946
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
A panoramic celebration of the colorful characters that made up the Wild West shows, with color and black and white photos throughout.
Publisher: Chartwell Books
ISBN: 9780785818946
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
A panoramic celebration of the colorful characters that made up the Wild West shows, with color and black and white photos throughout.
The Wild West in England
Author: William F. Cody
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 0803244665
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 253
Book Description
Army scout, frontiersman, and hero of the American West, William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody was also a shrewd self-promoter, showman, and entrepreneur. In 1888 he published The Story of the Wild West, a collection of biographies of four well-known American frontier figures: Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Kit Carson, and himself. Cody contributed an abridged version of his 1879 autobiography with an addendum titled The Wild West in England, now available in this stand-alone annotated edition, including all the illustrations from the original text along with photographs of Cody and promotional materials. Here Cody describes his Wild West exhibition, the show that offered audiences a mythic experience of the American frontier. Focusing on the show’s first season of performances in England, Cody includes excerpts of numerous laudatory descriptions of his show from the English press as well as stories of his time spent with British nobility—from private performances for Queen Victoria and the Prince and Princess of Wales to dinners and teas with the elite of London society. He depicts himself as an ambassador of American culture, proclaiming that he and his Wild West show prompted the British to “know more of the mighty nation beyond the Atlantic and . . . to esteem us better than at any time within the limits of modern history.”
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 0803244665
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 253
Book Description
Army scout, frontiersman, and hero of the American West, William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody was also a shrewd self-promoter, showman, and entrepreneur. In 1888 he published The Story of the Wild West, a collection of biographies of four well-known American frontier figures: Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Kit Carson, and himself. Cody contributed an abridged version of his 1879 autobiography with an addendum titled The Wild West in England, now available in this stand-alone annotated edition, including all the illustrations from the original text along with photographs of Cody and promotional materials. Here Cody describes his Wild West exhibition, the show that offered audiences a mythic experience of the American frontier. Focusing on the show’s first season of performances in England, Cody includes excerpts of numerous laudatory descriptions of his show from the English press as well as stories of his time spent with British nobility—from private performances for Queen Victoria and the Prince and Princess of Wales to dinners and teas with the elite of London society. He depicts himself as an ambassador of American culture, proclaiming that he and his Wild West show prompted the British to “know more of the mighty nation beyond the Atlantic and . . . to esteem us better than at any time within the limits of modern history.”
The Wild West
Author: Michael Wallis
Publisher: Abrams
ISBN: 161312144X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 750
Book Description
An extensively illustrated day-by-day adventure that tells the stories of pioneers and cowboys, gold rushes, and saloon shoot-outs on America’s frontier. Beginning in the nineteenth century, the lure of land rich in minerals, fertile for farming, and plentiful with buffalo bred an all-out obsession with heading westward. The Wild West: 365 Days takes you back to these booming frontier towns that became the stuff of American legend, breeding characters such as Butch Cassidy and Jesse James. Prize-winning journalist and historian Michael Wallis spins a colorful narrative, separating myth from fact, in 365 vignettes. Learn the stories of Davy Crockett, Wild Bill Hickok, and Annie Oakley; travel to the O.K. Corral and Dodge City; ride with the Pony Express; and witness the invention of the Colt revolver. Included throughout are images drawn from Robert G. McCubbin’s extensive collection of Western memorabilia, encompassing rare books, photographs, ephemera, and artifacts, including Billy the Kid’s knife.
Publisher: Abrams
ISBN: 161312144X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 750
Book Description
An extensively illustrated day-by-day adventure that tells the stories of pioneers and cowboys, gold rushes, and saloon shoot-outs on America’s frontier. Beginning in the nineteenth century, the lure of land rich in minerals, fertile for farming, and plentiful with buffalo bred an all-out obsession with heading westward. The Wild West: 365 Days takes you back to these booming frontier towns that became the stuff of American legend, breeding characters such as Butch Cassidy and Jesse James. Prize-winning journalist and historian Michael Wallis spins a colorful narrative, separating myth from fact, in 365 vignettes. Learn the stories of Davy Crockett, Wild Bill Hickok, and Annie Oakley; travel to the O.K. Corral and Dodge City; ride with the Pony Express; and witness the invention of the Colt revolver. Included throughout are images drawn from Robert G. McCubbin’s extensive collection of Western memorabilia, encompassing rare books, photographs, ephemera, and artifacts, including Billy the Kid’s knife.
The Big Book of the Weird Wild West
Author: John Whalen
Publisher: DC Comics
ISBN: 9781563893612
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
These bizarre tales are a far cry from the Wild West you remember from the movies. Among the stepping stones to the conquest of North America: cannibalism, mummified murderers, sadism, lynch mobs, bad-luck curses, unexplained decapitations, mysterious airships, cults, communes, and more.
Publisher: DC Comics
ISBN: 9781563893612
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
These bizarre tales are a far cry from the Wild West you remember from the movies. Among the stepping stones to the conquest of North America: cannibalism, mummified murderers, sadism, lynch mobs, bad-luck curses, unexplained decapitations, mysterious airships, cults, communes, and more.
Which Way to the Wild West?
Author: Steve Sheinkin
Publisher: Flash Point
ISBN: 1429964960
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 326
Book Description
New York Times bestselling author and Newbery Honor recipient Steve Sheinkin welcomes young readers to the thrilling, tragic, and downright wild historic adventure of America’s westward expansion in Which Way to the Wild West? Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn’t Tell You About America’s Westward Expansion, featuring illustrations by Tim Robinson. 1805: Explorer William Clark reaches the Pacific Ocean and pens the badly spelled line “Ocian in view! O! the joy!” (Hey, he was an explorer, not a spelling bee champion!) 1836: Mexican general Santa Anna surrounds the Alamo, trapping 180 Texans inside and prompting Texan William Travis to declare, “I shall never surrender or retreat.” 1861: Two railroad companies, one starting in the West and one in the East, start a race to lay the most track and create a transcontinental railroad. With a storyteller's voice and attention to the details that make history real and interesting, Steve Sheinkin delivers the wild facts about America's greatest adventure. From the Louisiana Purchase (remember: if you're negotiating a treaty for your country, play it cool.) to the gold rush (there were only three ways to get to California--all of them bad) to the life of the cowboy, the Indian wars, and the everyday happenings that defined living on the frontier. “An engaging...medley of anecdotes about the Wild West in nine lively chapters starting with the Louisiana Purchase and ending with the Lakota massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890. Casual vignettes of famous figures and ordinary people come to life.” —School Library Journal “Sheinkin builds his conversational narrative around stories of the men and women who peopled the west, with particular attention given to African Americans, Chinese workers, and everyday farmers and cowboys. There's plenty of humor here, but Sheinkin's strength is his ability to transition between events.”—The Horn Book Also by Steve Sheinkin: Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War King George: What Was His Problem?: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the American Revolution Two Miserable Presidents: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the Civil War Born to Fly: The First Women's Air Race Across America
Publisher: Flash Point
ISBN: 1429964960
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 326
Book Description
New York Times bestselling author and Newbery Honor recipient Steve Sheinkin welcomes young readers to the thrilling, tragic, and downright wild historic adventure of America’s westward expansion in Which Way to the Wild West? Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn’t Tell You About America’s Westward Expansion, featuring illustrations by Tim Robinson. 1805: Explorer William Clark reaches the Pacific Ocean and pens the badly spelled line “Ocian in view! O! the joy!” (Hey, he was an explorer, not a spelling bee champion!) 1836: Mexican general Santa Anna surrounds the Alamo, trapping 180 Texans inside and prompting Texan William Travis to declare, “I shall never surrender or retreat.” 1861: Two railroad companies, one starting in the West and one in the East, start a race to lay the most track and create a transcontinental railroad. With a storyteller's voice and attention to the details that make history real and interesting, Steve Sheinkin delivers the wild facts about America's greatest adventure. From the Louisiana Purchase (remember: if you're negotiating a treaty for your country, play it cool.) to the gold rush (there were only three ways to get to California--all of them bad) to the life of the cowboy, the Indian wars, and the everyday happenings that defined living on the frontier. “An engaging...medley of anecdotes about the Wild West in nine lively chapters starting with the Louisiana Purchase and ending with the Lakota massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890. Casual vignettes of famous figures and ordinary people come to life.” —School Library Journal “Sheinkin builds his conversational narrative around stories of the men and women who peopled the west, with particular attention given to African Americans, Chinese workers, and everyday farmers and cowboys. There's plenty of humor here, but Sheinkin's strength is his ability to transition between events.”—The Horn Book Also by Steve Sheinkin: Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War King George: What Was His Problem?: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the American Revolution Two Miserable Presidents: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the Civil War Born to Fly: The First Women's Air Race Across America
The Notorious Luke Short
Author: Jack DeMattos
Publisher: University of North Texas Press
ISBN: 1574415948
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 351
Book Description
Often times the smaller the man, the harder the punch--this adage was true in the case of diminutive Luke Short, whose brief span of years played out in the Wild West. His adventures began as a teenage cowboy who followed the trail from Texas to the Kansas railheads. He then served as a scout for the U.S. Army during the Indian wars and, finally, he perfected his skills as a gambler in locations that included Leadville, Tombstone, Dodge City, and Fort Worth. In 1883, in what became known as the "Dodge City War," he banded together with Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and others to protect his ownership interests in the Long Branch Saloon--an event commemorated by the famous "Dodge City Peace Commission" photograph. The irony is that Luke Short is best remembered for being the winning gunfighter in two of the most celebrated showdowns in Old West history: the shootout with Charlie Storms in Tombstone, Arizona, and the showdown against Jim Courtright in Fort Worth, Texas. He would have hated that. During his lifetime, Luke Short became one of the best known sporting men in the United States, and one of the wealthiest. He had been a partner in the Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City, as well as the White Elephant in Fort Worth. He became friends with other wealthy sporting men, such as William H. Harris, Jake Johnson, and Bat Masterson, who helped broaden his gaming interests to include thoroughbred horse racing and boxing. Before he died he would become a familiar figure in Chicago, Memphis, New Orleans, and Saratoga Springs, where he raced his string of horses. He traveled with other wealthy sporting men in private railroad cars to attend heavyweight championship fights. Luke Short was always a little man dealing in big games. He married the beautiful Hattie Buck, who could turns heads at all the top resorts they visited as man and wife. Jack DeMattos and Chuck Parsons have researched deeply into all records to produce the first serious biography of Luke Short, revealing in full the epitome of a sporting man of the Wild West.
Publisher: University of North Texas Press
ISBN: 1574415948
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 351
Book Description
Often times the smaller the man, the harder the punch--this adage was true in the case of diminutive Luke Short, whose brief span of years played out in the Wild West. His adventures began as a teenage cowboy who followed the trail from Texas to the Kansas railheads. He then served as a scout for the U.S. Army during the Indian wars and, finally, he perfected his skills as a gambler in locations that included Leadville, Tombstone, Dodge City, and Fort Worth. In 1883, in what became known as the "Dodge City War," he banded together with Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and others to protect his ownership interests in the Long Branch Saloon--an event commemorated by the famous "Dodge City Peace Commission" photograph. The irony is that Luke Short is best remembered for being the winning gunfighter in two of the most celebrated showdowns in Old West history: the shootout with Charlie Storms in Tombstone, Arizona, and the showdown against Jim Courtright in Fort Worth, Texas. He would have hated that. During his lifetime, Luke Short became one of the best known sporting men in the United States, and one of the wealthiest. He had been a partner in the Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City, as well as the White Elephant in Fort Worth. He became friends with other wealthy sporting men, such as William H. Harris, Jake Johnson, and Bat Masterson, who helped broaden his gaming interests to include thoroughbred horse racing and boxing. Before he died he would become a familiar figure in Chicago, Memphis, New Orleans, and Saratoga Springs, where he raced his string of horses. He traveled with other wealthy sporting men in private railroad cars to attend heavyweight championship fights. Luke Short was always a little man dealing in big games. He married the beautiful Hattie Buck, who could turns heads at all the top resorts they visited as man and wife. Jack DeMattos and Chuck Parsons have researched deeply into all records to produce the first serious biography of Luke Short, revealing in full the epitome of a sporting man of the Wild West.