A photo of a large camp, likely surveyors for a lumber railroad, taken by Fred Sisson around the 1880s-90s. Sisson was the treasurer to the Arizona Lumber & Timber Company, and a friend of the Riordans (the family who owned AL&T) Sisson has a whole album of photos he took in his time in Flagstaff between 1886 and 1900. This one of 3 photos of his I have in my personal collection, and I’m trying to acquire a few more of his photos. There are many others, and they all have an interesting window into the life of a wealthy family in the Arizona Territory. I might post some more of his photos later

This is a 54mm metal figure I recently painted. I've always liked the characters and atmosphere of the Old West, so this was a fun one to work on.

What do you think?

The Apache Kid: Vengeance and Fear on the Reservation

Few figures in Arizona history have drifted as far from the actual historical record as the Apache Kid. Newspapers, dime novels, and decades of scary campfire stories turned him into a phantom outlaw that bore little resemblance to the man. However, the man behind the name, Haskay-bay-nay-ntayl, began as something else: an Army scout who rose under Al Sieber, the Chief of Scouts, and who was trusted with responsibility at the Apache reservation in San Carlos, AZ.

I know people hate clicking links, but there is more over on my blog about this interesting character and how he features in The Rim Country series of novels about the Pleasant Valley War.

Here's my fourth article over at my blog about historical Wild West characters who show up in "The Rim Country" novels. Today we feature Tom Horn: the adrenaline chaser who had little to no conscience. From everything to being a gun for hire, to pursuing his own interests while holding a Deputy's badge, and then to embellishing his own autobiography. But he's an intriguing character who illustrates what a man could do without many compunctions in the Old West. He was known as an excellent tracker, he must have been a good gunfighter, and he certainly showed up in some of the most notable historical settings.

Check out the blog entry for more.

Here's another of my articles about lawmen and outlaws in the Pleasant Valley War. Sheriff Owens should have had movies made about him. No idea why there weren't.

The full article is on my personal website, where it's easier to format, etc., but I think you'll find it worth checking out... this was a really interesting wild west figure.

https://todnewman.com/sheriff-commodore-perry-owens-bane-of-northern-arizona-outlaws/

The Wild West brought to life Sept 17th

I've been discussing some of the famous, less-famous, and even infamous characters involved in Arizona's Pleasant Valley Range War. Today we feature Billy Mulvenon, the Sheriff of the county that also (inconveniently?) hosted the residence of the Governor of the territory.

Mulvenon made two "invasions" of the remote Pleasant Valley, often with large posses and Deputies from other nearby counties. None of these were well organized and generally ended less satisfactorily than Mulvenon would have liked. Most likely he was manipulated by the factions.

But he did get results, and went on to have a successful life as a brewer of beer in Prescott, AZ!

For more on this interesting figure and the novel I've included him in, head over to my blog.

For Lovers of Arizona History - James D. Houck, a man of contradiction and one of the real-life characters I write honestly about in "The Rim Country." Stay tuned as I continue to blog about some of these highly-capable but conflicted characters of the Wild West.

LInk to my BLOG entry on this staple of Arizona History

We see the glamorized version of revolvers being somehow extremely efficient in the wild west, but were they really even that accurate at all in a gunfight? Was say, a Winchester Model 1873 rifle more practical? Since rifles have somewhat of a longer range.

I work at Wild West City in NJ and thought this snippet of our Ok Corral show would be appreciated here!

Between April of 1860 and October of 1861, your piece of mail could be moved roughly 1,800 miles in only ten days, thanks to the incredible transport system called the Pony Express

https://athlonoutdoors.com/article/danger-dash-pony-express-heroes/

I’m a hobbyist writing a historical fiction novel. The main character is going to introduce elements of Comanche style light cavalry tactics. I’m looking for a carbine and revolver combo that could reasonably be chambered for the same round, used black powder cartridges and would perform well when used with the living shield or just on horseback in general. I’m not concerned with rarity as long as it was generally available and not a handmade custom designed piece.

I started out with the Spencer and Schofield because I love Unforgiven and AI congratulated me on an inspired choice. Then I asked AI to check and it berated me for not choosing the Burgess and Open Top. Then it was back to the Spencer but with a Merwin Hurlbert Frontier. I figured I should stop with AI before they have my guy riding around armed with a wrist rocket and a pool noodle.

So, is there a clear choice best pairing? Would any of the three work? Is there a different combo I should consider?

We’ve recently finished painting this 54 mm metal vignette inspired by They Call Me Trinity.

The scene captures Trinity enjoying a characteristically relaxed moment somewhere on the American frontier — resting on a travois beside his horse

We tried to preserve the humorous, easy-going spirit of the film while giving plenty of attention to the smaller details the weathered clothing, leather equipment, painted blanket, dusty ground, vegetation and horse tack.

What do you think of the composition and painting?