True West Magazine - March-April 2025

In this issue

Our Third Annual Heritage Travel Issue
The Original Landman: LLegendary Texan, Charlie Goodnight, was a Texas Ranger and he saved the buffalo. Some think he is the original landman. Here’s the true story.
By Allen Barra

PLUS:
The Long & Dangerous Road to The Alamo
By Bill Groneman III
The Bowie Knife Backstory: The legendary weapon prized by frontiersmen who used it for survival and defense

The Beginnings of the Bird Cage

Owner Billy Hutchinson led it through some difficult times.

2 mins

A Gut Punch Turns into a Miracle Reprieve

A dedicated father/daughter team is restoring a historic New Mexico treasure.

2 mins

Selling the Mythic West and the Real West

Parade saddles, illustrations and movie memorabilia were sold at auction.

3 mins

King of the Scatterguns

The single best and most economical arm for hunting and defense in the Wild West was the double-barreled shotgun.

2 mins

The Kindled Flame 1835

A LONG ROAD TO THE BATTLE AT THE ALAMO

9 mins

The Bowie Knife

The Bowie knife is an iconic symbol of American toughness and independence. Yet, its true origins are often misunderstood.

5 mins

FRONTIER COLOSSUS

A LOOK BACK AT THE LEGENDARY TEXAS COWBOY WHO TRANSFORMED THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST

9 mins

BLACK GOLD ON THE WESTERN FRONTIER

The land Spanish explorers called \"Colorado\" was an untamed wilderness in the mid-nineteenth century. Yet following close on the heels of western trailblazers came pioneers of a different sort determined to tame the Wild West.

10+ mins

The Frontier Characters of South Dakota

Calamity Jane, Wild Bill and George Custer roamed the Black Hills.

5 mins

Three for the Road The Bird Cage, the Butterfield and the Bunch

Three Western legends receive their due, a biography of an outlaw, a new look at La Frontera and a new biography of a Great Plains river.

5 mins

Kris Kristofferson-A Texan at Oxford

The scholar, songwriter, pilot also acted in dozens of Westerns.

4 mins

Earp, Cowboy Songs & Prairie Hygiene

Marshall Trimble, Arizona's official historian and the beloved, now-retired writer of Ask The Marshall, has shared countless stories over the years.

3 mins

Read all stories from True West

True West Magazine Description:

TRUE WEST captures the history of the American frontier through authentic and provocative literary nonfiction and heritage travel narratives that keep the spirit of the West alive.