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Henry Brown, The Criminal Marshal

Henry Newton Brown was born in Missouri in 1857. Migrating west, he did some buffalo hunting. At the age of nineteen he ended up in Lincoln County, New Mexico during the time of the Lincoln County War. Brown became a member of the Regulators, the quasi-legal group led by Billy the Kid. After being involved in a couple of the shootouts, he was indicted for murder. Before warrants could be served, Brown took off to Texas.

Henry Brown didn’t smoke, drink or gamble. He frequently dressed in a suit, and he could handle a gun…the perfect candidate for a lawman. So, he was appointed deputy sheriff of Oldham County. Shortly afterward he went up to Caldwell, Kansas where he became deputy marshal. And when the city marshal resigned, Brown stepped into that position. Brown did so well that the citizens of Caldwell gave him a handsomely engraved Winchester rifle.

On April 30, 1884, after his third appointment as marshal, Henry Brown and his assistant, Ben Wheeler took a few days off to go up to Medicine Lodge, Kansas. The purpose of their trip wasn’t to get in a few days of rest, but to rob the Medicine Lodge bank. In the process Brown killed the bank president and Wheeler killed the cashier.

The men were captured and locked away in jail. However, that night a mob stormed the jail with ropes in hand. Henry Brown tried to escape. But before he could get far, a shotgun blast ended the whole affair. The people of the Old West could accept their lawmen having a criminal background, but not committing crimes while wearing a badge.

July 12, 2017 | Categories: Old West History | Leave A Comment »

Wild Bill Hickok Kills Dave Tutt

In the early 1860’s two men of strong will, Dave Tutt and Wild Bill Hickok had a couple of meetings which ended in fist fights.

In 1865, working on the principal of “the third time’s a charm,” they met again. This time William Hickok, or Wild Bill Hickok, as he was now known, seemed to get along with Dave Tutt. Part of the reason could have been that Dave had his comely sister with him, and Wild Bill took a likin’ to her. Dave Tutt was doing much better financially than Wild Bill, and Dave loaned Bill money from time to time.

Now enters the wild card. A Susanna Moore came to town. Wild Bill had supposedly known her during before this. So Wild Bill started sparking her along with Dave Tutt’s sister. Susanna was not a woman to share her man, so she started flirting with Dave Tutt.

The whole affair came to a climax on July 20, 1865. Wild Bill Hickok was playing poker when Dave Tutt came up to him and grabbed his pocket watch that was lying on the table. Dave said it was payment for what Wild Bill owed him. Wild Bill allowed Dave to take the watch, but let it be known not to wear the watch in public.

The next morning Wild Bill saw Dave on the street wearing the pocket watch. With his pistol held at his side, Dave started walking toward Wild Bill. In response to a warning from Wild Bill, Dave shot off a round. Making sure he didn’t hit the pocket watch, Wild Bill shot Tutt through his heart.

Wild Bill learned that a person can’t play two fiddles at one time and make pretty music.

July 5, 2017 | Categories: Old West History | Leave A Comment »

Chuckwagon: Old West “Refrigeration”

In the 1800’s people in the West didn’t have a refrigerator or freezer to keep their meat fresh, so they used other means. Below are summer guidelines for storing meat. Incidentally, we don’t recommend your trying these methods today. They are not that dependable.

Cover the meat with sour milk or buttermilk and store in a cellar.

In areas where the nights are cool, hang the meat in the open from a tree so any breeze can pass around it. Make sure the meat is brought inside at dawn. During the day wrap the meat in a tarp and store in a shady place. Make sure the blow flies don’t deposit eggs on the meat.

Keep the meat away from rain and damp nights. Any meat that gets wet must be cooked or jerked immediately.

*Courtesy of Chronicle of the Old West newspaper, for more click HERE.

June 27, 2017 | Categories: Old West Recipes | Leave A Comment »

The Transcontinental Railroad Challenge

In 1850 over 9,000 miles of track covered the Northeastern portions of the United States. By 1860 there were 30,000 miles, more than the rest of the world combined, and the tracks were extending to the Midwest.

As early as the 1840’s Congress began thinking about the possibility of constructing a transcontinental railroad. And then in 1848, with the discovery of gold in California, it became even more important.

Two companies got the contract. The California based Central Pacific started eastward, and the eastern based Union Pacific began in Omaha, Nebraska, moving west. In February of 1863 the great race began. For six years the two railroad giants headed toward each other. And on May 10, 1869 they met at Promontory, Utah.

Four special spikes were used for the ceremonial uniting of the rails…two gold, a silver, and one that was a blend of gold, silver and iron. The celebrities lined up to drive the spikes. After several misses, and several, not so subtle snickers from weather-hardened men who had been driving spikes for six years, at 2:47 p.m. the railroad was declared completed.

In Washington D.C. a magnetic ball on the Capitol dome fell. A 100-gun salute went off in New York City. The Liberty Bell rang in Philadelphia. 7,000 Mormons celebrated in Salt Lake City. And in San Francisco a banner waved, stating “California Annexes the United States.”

You may ask, “What happened to the ceremonial spikes?” Well, as soon as everyone left the area they were pulled and replaced with iron ones. Another interesting fact… the railroad wasn’t actually completed on that date. In order to meet the completion deadline they had skipped building a bridge over the Missouri River between Omaha and Council Bluffs.