Author Archives: Mustang
The Pleasant Valley War
In 1881, the citizens of Arizona formed a third county from Maricopa and Pinal counties and named it Gila County. Gila comes from a Spanish contraction of the Yuma Indian word Hah-quah-sa-eel which means “salty running water.” It is a … Continue reading
Marshal Nix
Evette Dumas Nix, known throughout his life as E. D. Nix, came from a family of lawmen. Nix was born in mid-September 1861 in Kentucky. At that time, at the beginning of the American Civil War, Kentucky had a population … Continue reading
Gunfight at Tres Jacales
It does not take much digging into the history of Mexico and Texas to discover how sorry their relationship has been since around 1800. Life was never “good” in Mexico for anyone below the level of very wealthy landowners. Mexico’s … Continue reading
Poker Alice
Life in the old west was hard on everyone, but it was especially difficult for the ladies. In the post-Civil War period, it was common for proper young ladies to accompany their new husbands into the western territories. It was … Continue reading
Land and Conflict
The entire purpose of European exploration and settlement/colonization was to discover new lands and harvest their resources toward the accumulation of wealth, power, and prestige. The world’s colonial empires were humongous, and like the vast expanse of the Roman Empire … Continue reading
Another Fast Gun
“Then Jesus said to him, ‘Put your sword back into its place; for all who take up the sword will perish by the sword.’” Young people develop romantic notions, limited only by their imagination and circumstances. It is the primary … Continue reading
Boot Hill
A boot hill is defined as a burial ground, especially for men killed in gunfights, owing to the fact that they died with their boots on. The definition belies the truth; not everyone who died with their boots on was … Continue reading
The Texas Highsmith Family
Even under the best of circumstances, whether by land or sea, the passage into Texas was an arduous undertaking in the early times. Families making the overland trip knew that they would face a plethora of challenges, so they prepared … Continue reading
So Long, Everybody …
Who knows what gets into people? You would think that good parenting would always produce off-spring who turn out to be good neighbors and someone their parents could be proud of —and this is probably mostly true. It isn’t always … Continue reading
The Best Indian Fighter
The United States Army developed a number of very fine officers between 1840-65. Men who gained valuable experience in the Mexican American War and took that expertise into the American Civil War. Many (if not most) of these men came … Continue reading
