Abilene, Kansas, celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Chisholm Trail.
Dwight Eisenhower enjoyed sitting on his porch listening to old men tell stories about a famous town marshal they knew named Wild Bill Hickok. As a boy in Abilene, young Ike couldn’t get enough of the Old West. Even as he fought in America’s great conflicts, Eisenhower relaxed by reading dime-store Westerns, a lifelong hobby.
From the great Texas cattle drives to John Wesley Hardin, from Wild Bill to our 34th President, Abilene holds fast to its rich history.
At the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, visitors can see a neat photo of Ike, in uniform, reading one of those gun smoke fables as he sat in a tent in Europe during World War I.
He took his children to the Abilene Cemetery to see the grave of his hero, the first city marshal, Tom “Bear River” Smith, who served before Hickok. Smith was killed in 1870, but did much to tame a town overrun by Texas drovers fresh off the Chisholm Trail.
Today, a plaque atop Bear River’s grave contains a classic line by the mayor who hired him: Smith died as a martyr for the Old West.
Denne historien er fra August 2017-utgaven av True West.
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Denne historien er fra August 2017-utgaven av True West.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Where Did the Loot Go? - This is one of those find the money stories. And it's one that has attracted treasure hunters for more than 150 years.
Whatever happened to the $97,000 from the Reno Gang's last heist? Up to a dozen members of the Reno Gang stopped a Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis train at a watering station in southern Indiana. The outlaws had prior intelligence about its main load: express car safes held about $97,000 in government bonds and notes. In the process of the job, one of the crew was killed and two others hurt. The gang made a clean getaway with the loot.
Hero of Horsepower - Los Angeles lawman William Hammel tamed one of the West's wildest towns with hard work and horseless carriages.
Los Angeles lawman William Hammel tamed one of the West's wildest towns with hard work and horseless carriages.
From the Basin to the Plains
Discover Wyoming on a road trip to Cody, Casper and Cheyenne.
COLLECTING AMERICAN OUTLAWS
Wilbur Zink has preserved the Younger Gang's history in more ways than one.
Spencer's West
After the Civil War, savvy frontiersmen chose the Spencer repeating carbine.
Firearms With a Storied Past
Rock Island gavels off high profits from historic firearms.
She Means Business!
An energetic and ambitious woman has come to Lincoln, New Mexico, to restore the town's legendary Ellis Store.
Ride that Train!
HERITAGE RAILROADS KEEP THE OLD WEST ALIVE ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
Saddle Up with a Western
Old West fiction and nonfiction are the perfect genres to fill your summer reading list.
RENEGADES OF THE RAILS
RAILROADS WERE OPEN SEASON FOR OKLAHOMA AND INDIAN TERRITORY OUTLAW GANGS.
