Every fan of Western lore is familiar with the Old Chisholm Trail. The Chisholm Trail originally ran from the Red River in Texas north to Kansas City, Kansas. It was established by Jesse Chisholm, a mixed-blood Cherokee trader, who scouted to find the best locations for his trading posts. Jesse Chisholm The trail’s fame, however, … Continue reading Western Trivia: The Chisolm Trail
The Old West
Western Trivia: The Pony Express
When we think of the Pony Express, this iconic picture of a horse and rider is usually what comes to mind. But there’s a serious flaw in that thinking. The bag slung over the rider’s shoulder would have flapped in the wind, and could have panicked a horse. The Pony Express “bag” was actually a … Continue reading Western Trivia: The Pony Express
Western Trivia: The Origins of “OK”
As I was editing my manuscripts, I noticed that I occasionally used the word Okay, or its abbreviation OK. There’s nothing that peeves me more than an anachronism in historical fiction, so I decided to see if I could trace the origins of the word. Easier said than done! I did find out that OK … Continue reading Western Trivia: The Origins of “OK”
Western Trivia: A lasso by any other name …
Cowboys seldom referred to their ropes as lassos. They usually just called them ropes, and the act of catching a steer was called roping. In the Southwest, the rope was also referred to as a lariat or riata, both from the Spanish “la reata”, again meaning rope. At the end of the riata was a … Continue reading Western Trivia: A lasso by any other name …
Western Trivia: The Left-Handed Gun
Billy the Kid (born William Henry McCarty, alias Henry Antrim, Kid Antrim, & William H. Bonney) has often been referred to as The Left-Handed Gun. In 1958, a movie with that title was made and starred the inimitable Paul Newman. The myth began with the publication of this ferrotype: It seems to show that Billy … Continue reading Western Trivia: The Left-Handed Gun
Western Trivia: The Fast Gun
Today’s trivia is a little nugget about the FAST GUN. In spite of what we’ve seen in TV or movie Westerns, gunslingers in the Old West were few and far between. And even fewer of them were cowboys. Most cowboys did carry a pistol or two, as well as a rifle. But a cowboy’s main … Continue reading Western Trivia: The Fast Gun
Gifford MacShane, Author 