Today in Old West History- December

Today in Old West History
December
December 1
1869- Wyoming Territory- Uinta County is created.

1873- Lincoln, New Mexico Territory- the Ben Harrell gang kills constable Juan Martinez. Then friends of the constable kill Harrell, Jack Gylam, and Dave Warner.

1875- Tulumne County- A lone robber , the wanted poster said “Mexican, lightish complexion”, robbed the Chinese and Copperopolis Stagecoach of $600 in gold dust and coins near Burns Ferry.

1880- New Mexico Territory- Deputy James Carlyle organizes a posse that catches up with Billy the Kid, Dave Rudabaugh and Billy Wilson at the Greathouse ranch and trading post. Carlyle is killed by a member of his own posse, but the blame will be put on Billy the Kid.

1901- Texas- William Riley Curtis (ca. 1845-1901), well-known Panhandle rancher and owner of the Diamond Tail Ranch, was accidentally shot on this date on a train headed for Memphis, Texas. A fellow passenger's gun fell to the floor and discharged. The stricken rancher was taken to Fort Worth, where he died a few days later. Curtis had bought the Diamond Tail in 1870 and subsequently built up his herd. He began hosting an annual barbecue in the 1880s. A highlight of that event was his presentation of a baby carriage to every baby named for him that year. In 1893 when a blizzard swept across the Panhandle, Curtis saved the Diamond Tail cattle by riding ahead of them in a heavy Arctic suit and cutting the fences in his path.

December 2
1859- John Brown was hanged for murder & treason after surrendering to Lt. Col. Robert E. Lee.

1873- Outlaw Henry Starr was born near Ft. Gibson, Indian Territory. Henry spent several stints in jail/prison for many bank robberies committed in and around Oklahoma and eventually appeared in a number of movies around 1919 and 1920. He died February 22, 1921 from the effects of wounds received he received during a failed back robbery on 21 February, 1921 at Harrison, Arkansas.

1878- a railway was completed from Winnipeg to the American border.

December 3
1864- Montana Territory- Gold is discovered near Confederate Gulch.

1866- Montana Territory- Completing the first Texas to Montana cattle drive Nelson Story, his cowboys, and herd arrive in the Gallatin Valley near Bozeman. The drive covered 2,500 miles. They start cutting trees and begin building a corral.

1867- Wyoming Territory- The first soldier was buried at Fort D.A. Russell cemetery.

1868- Omaha, Nebraska- High water and ice destroy two spans of the Missouri River bridge.

1881- Dave Rudabaugh escaped jail and a death sentence by tunneling out of the San Miguel County jail.

1881- Tombstone, Arizona Territory- Doc Holliday is arrested and acquitted for firing a pistol inside the city limits. 1883- Bisbee, Arizona Territory- William E. Delaney (AKA: Bill Johnson; Mormon Bill) (1856-84), worked briefly as a miner. On this date, Delaney rode into Bisbee with John Heath, Daniel Kelly, and others, holding up a store and killing four peopke, including a woman, and wounding a dozen more. Delaney had been one of the gang members stationed outside the store and he was clearly seen to shoot down two men and may have killed the woman.

December 4
1857- Texas- a public meeting was held in Helena, county seat of Karnes County, in which the citizens called Mexican teamsters an "intolerable nuisance" and called on the citizens of San Antonio to hire only Texans. Karnes County had been the site of several incidents in the so-called "Cart War." By the mid-1850s, Mexicans and Tejanos had built a successful business of hauling food and merchandise from the port of Indianola to San Antonio and other towns in the interior of Texas. Using oxcarts, they moved freight more rapidly and cheaply than their Anglo competitors. Beginning in July of 1857, some Anglos retaliated by destroying the Mexicans' oxcarts, stealing their freight, and reportedly killing and wounding a number of Mexican carters. Responding to pressure from Mexico and Washington, Governor Pease provided the carters with armed escorts. The Cart War subsided by the end of 1857.

1871- Wyoming- The Denver-Pacific train that was bound from Denver to Cheyenne is forced to stop two miles from Cheyenne due to snow drifts. Sleighs arrive from town to bring in the passengers.

1875- California- Dick Fellows hired a horse from a livery man before setting out to rob the stage on Dec, 4, 1875 attempting to rob a Wells Fargo Stage bound for Caliente, Calif. Just out of town the animal reared and threw the robber to the ground and knocked him unconscious. The horse went back to the stable of its own accord, leaving its rider on the ground. When he returned to town a short time later, Fellows decided that he would rob the northbound stage instead. Fellows stopped the Bakersfield stage at gunpoint and ordered the driver to give him the strongbox. The second horse proved more cooperative, but he had forgotten to bring his tools. Once he was safely away from the stagecoach, he was hindered by the darkness and could not find a suitable stone to open the box, so he picked it up and walked back to his horse. The animal suddenly ran away, leaving Fellows. He set off on foot, carrying the heavy box over his shoulder. In the darkness he stumbled down an eighteen-foot embankment, landed in Tunnel Number Five of the Southern Pacific Railroad, and broke his left leg. Fellows dragged himself to the tent of a Chinese laborer where he took an axe to open the box and took out $1,800, made a pair of crutches for himself, and made his way to the Fountain Ranch. There he stole a horse and rode to an abandoned hut where he was eventually arrested by company detectives.

1876- Yankton, Dakota Territory- second trial begins for Jack McCall's murder of Wild Bill Hickok. When asked why he didn't challenge Wild Bill to a fair fight he replied, “I didn't want to commit suicide.”

1889- Wyoming- The first load of coal was shipped from Cambria.

1896- Oklahoma Territory- in the early dawn hours a heavily armed six-man posse surrounded a wooden shack near Blackwell where a gang of bank robbers were believed to be holed up. As the sun appeared on the horizon, Deputy Sheriff Alfred Lund called to the occupants of the cabin: "Throw up your hands!" The men inside answered with a burst of gunfire. As the first shots were fired three of the possemen turned tail and ran. Lund stood up to the robbers, killing one of them, who was later identified as a petty thief named Buck McGregg. He wounded a second bandit, Ben Cravens, a rustler and murderer, who was taken into custody but later escaped. The third casualty turned out to be a cow belonging to Bert Benjamin, which caused the residents of Blackwell considerable amusement. Lund examined the dead man and foolishly concluded that he had bagged himself a real prize: "Dynamite" Dick Clifton, who was wanted for bank robbery and had a $3,500 reward on his head. The dead man (McGregg) was missing three fingers--just like Clifton.

1890- Washington, D.C.- Congress passes a joint resolution to furnish residents with $5,000 in arms and ammunition as fear of an Indian uprising grips residents in the Dakotas and Nebraska.

December 5
1835-Texas- 200 Texan volunteers commanded by Ben Milam attacked Santa Anna's troops in San Antonio de Béxar, which was about 400 yards from the Alamo compound. The fighting in Béxar raged with a house-to-house assault unlike anything the Mexican army had ever before experienced. Santa Anna's finally flew the white flag of surrender from the Alamo on December 9. More than 200 of his men lay dead, and as many more were wounded. He signed papers of capitulation, giving the Texans all public property, money, arms and ammunition in San Antonio, and by Christmas Day, the Mexican army was back across the Rio Grande.

1839- New Rumley, Ohio- George Armstrong Custer was born.

1867 - Texas - a mail escort from Ft Davis to Eagle Spring was attacked by 100 Apaches. The escort raced to Eagle Spring mail station where Capt Henry Carroll and a detachment of Company F, 9th Cav, from Ft Davis ambushed the Indians who broke off the pursuit. One soldier was killed.

1871- Austin, Texas- Famed black cowboy, Bill Pickett future rodeo star who invents the sport of bulldogging is born. Bill died April 2, 1932.

1873- Fort Abraham Lincoln, Dakota Territory- George A. Custer celebrates his 34th birthday with his wife, Elizabeth as he finishes his book “My Life on the Plains”.

1873 - Texas - Lt Edward P. Turner and a detachment of Company D, 10th Cav, from Ft Griffin had a skirmish with Indians cattle thieves on Elm Creek.

1881- Missouri - James-Younger gang members Wood Hit, Dick Liddell and Jim Cummings were hiding out in Ray County where the Ford brothers were staying. Wood Hite thought Liddell was going to sell him out to the law and went for his gun. Dick Liddell was faster and Hite died early the next morning.

December 6
1866- Chief Red Cloud observes the decoy tactics of the Ogalala Sioux braves Crazy Horse, Yellow Eagle, and High Back Bone two miles from Fort Kearny. Warriors taunt soldiers who are out guarding woodcutters, lead a chase, and then swoop down on the soldiers from the rear. Two soldiers are killed. Red Cloud is convinced that if a large number of soldiers could be lead out of the fort, a thousand warriors could wipe them out.

1870- Newburgh, New York- silent-screen western actor William S. Hart is born. He was raised in the Dakotas. In 1907 he played The Virginian.

1875- Washington, D.C.- the Indian Bureau sets a deadline of January 31, 1876 for all Indians to be on reservations or be considered hostile and treated accordingly.

1876- Yankton, Dakota Territory-Jack McCall is convicted of murdering Wild Bill Hickok and sentenced to hang on March 1, 1877.

1886- Topeka, Kansas- the first Kansas, Nebraska and Dakota train arrives.

December 7
1863- Montana Territory- a member of the “innocents”, George Ives, robs and kills Nick Thiebalt in Ruby Valley

1868- Gallatin, Missouri- the James-Younger Gang rob Davies County Savings Bank only getting $500. During the robbery former Union captain John W. Sheets is shot in the head and the chest by Jesse.

1871- Kit Carson, Colorado Territory- ranging some 200 miles farther west than usual, thousands of buffalo surround the town. Local Indians say this is a sign that a bad winter is approaching.

1874- Indian Territory- the 10th Cavalry commanded by Captain Keyes accept the surrender of 26 Indians at Kingfisher Creek.

1874- Cornith, Mississippi- Four men robbed the Tishomingo Savings Bank which was attruted to the James-Younger gang. The robbers were believed to have stolen $5,000.00 in cash and $5,000.00 in other valuables. Some reports identified but not verified that Cole Younger was in attendance. However, questions arise on how the gang could be in Mississippi on December 7 and in Muncie, Kansas the next day.

1875- Arizona Territory- John Clark brings the first flock of sheep into the territory.

1878- New Mexico Territory- the first train to enter the territory comes from Colorado via the Raton Pass.

1888- Wyoming- Buffalo Bill Cody visited Cheyenne.

December 8
1869- Colorado Territory- the first 32 cells of the Canon City penitentiary are completed.

1869-Canada- Louis Riel's Declaration of the People of Rupert's Land and the North-West, was issued. It stated that the Hudson's Bay Company -- on the basis of its sale of Rupert's Land to the Dominion of Canada -- had abandoned the people of the Red River Settlement to a "foreign power." Riel declared a Provisional Government for the settlement, asserting that the sale of the North-West territory without the consent of the Red River settlers entitled them to establish their own government. The Declaration went on to express the readiness of the new government to enter into negotiations with the Canadian government to achieve "good government and prosperity of this people."

1874- Muncie, Kansas- the Kansas Pacific Railroad Train was stopped west of Kansas City. The robbers leisurely took their time. It was reported that they liberated $30,000.00 in monies as well as the passengers personal items. Other reports estimated the monies were as high as $ 55,000.00. William "Bud" Mc Daniel (known friend of the James Boys) was arrested in Kansas City a short time after for the robbery. He escaped from jail and was killed shortly afterwards.

1874 - Texas - while on a scout from Col Ranald S. Mackenzie column during the Red River War, Lt Lewis Warrington attacked a Comanche camp in the Mushaqua Valley. Two Indians were killed, one was wounded, and one taken prisoner.

1883- Bisbee, Arizona Territory- John Heath planned and carried out the robbery that sparked the infamous Bisbee Massacre. At sundown 5 masked men rode in to the mining town, tethered their horses and walked to the store of A.A. Castanada. After some shooting, hitting some bystanders, the men rode off with $3,000 and some jewelry. Most of the gunmen were later caught and lynched.

December 9
1835-Texas- on Dec 5th 200 Texan volunteers commanded by Ben Milam attacked Santa Anna's troops in San Antonio de Béxar, which was about 400 yards from the Alamo compound. The fighting in Béxar raged with a house-to-house assault unlike anything the Mexican army had ever before experienced. Santa Anna's finally flew the white flag of surrender from the Alamo on December 9. More than 200 of his men lay dead, and as many more were wounded. He signed papers of capitulation, giving the Texans all public property, money, arms and ammunition in San Antonio, and by Christmas Day, the Mexican army was back across the Rio Grande.

1861-Near present day Tulsa, Oklahoma- pro-Confederate southern Indian tribes drive out pro-Union Creek Indians from the area around Bird Creek.

1866- Virginia City, Montana- Nelson Story, having just completed the first cattle drive from Texas to Montana rides into town with some of his livestock. The drive covered 2,500 miles.

1867- Colorado Territory- the territorial capital is moved from Golden to Denver.

1869- Colorado Territory- the Denver-Pacific's rails reach the depot site that will become Greeley, Colorado.

1878- Winnipeg, Manitoba- the first train from St. Paul, Minnesota, arrived. The trip to St. Paul took approximately 30 hours, and meant the death of the Red River stern wheelers which had connected the two communities.

1886- Oklahoma Territory- Silas Hampton, an 18-year-old Cherokee, robbed and murdered farmer Abner N. Lloyd, near the town of Tishomingo. With the $7.50 he rifled from the dead man's pocket, Hampton purchased a bright red handkerchief and several baubles which he proudly displayed to the townspeople. His carelessness led to his arrest. As Hampton was led away he pleaded with the marshals, "Don't take me to Fort Smith; kill me right now!" The marshals were not amused. Hampton was taken to the fort where he was tried before Judge Isaac Parker, found Guilty, and hanged on Oct. 7, 1887.

December 10
1868- the temperature was -18 F degrees when George Custer conducts a tour of the Washita battle site for General Sheridan. During the tour, Custer's men find the mutilated bodies of an 18-man detachment of his troops who never returned from the battle because of his neglect.

1871- Phoenix, Arizona Territory- the sale of town lots are authorized.

1873 - Texas - Lt Charles L. Hudson and a detachment of Companies A, B, C, and I, 4th Cav from Ft Clark, were on a scout near Kickapoo Springs when they intercepted and attacked a party of Comanche and Kiowa who had been horse raiding in Mexico and were returning to the Ft Sill Reservation. One soldier was wounded and nine Indians were killed, including the son and nephew of Kiowa chieftain Lone Wolf. The Army recovered 81 horses and mules.

1875- Lincoln, New Mexico Territory- convicted of murder, William J. “Buffalo Bill” Wilson is sent to the gallows. Not only does he have the honor of being the first legal hanging in Lincoln County, he has to be hung twice.

1878- Henry Wells, pioneer expressman, died. He began his working career as a speech therapist in Rochester, New York in 1827. By the 1830s he decided to enter the express business and partnered up with William Fargo and their firm of Wells and Company's Western Express began in 1845. Wells sold his interest within a year but in 1850 partnered up with Fargo again, merging their interests to form the American Express Company and in 1852 launched a subsidiary company called Wells Fargo and Company.

1879- Texas- On this day in 1879, the New York and Texas Land Company, one of the largest privately financed land companies to operate in post-Civil War Texas, was formed when all of the land owned by the consolidated International-Great Northern Railroad Company was deeded to John S. Kennedy, Samuel Thorne, and William Walter Phelps, all of New York state. Total acreage owned by the company was 5.5 million acres. It extended into fifty-one counties. Under the management of T. D. Hobart an extensive development program of fencing, well drilling, windmill building, and water impoundment began on the Panhandle land. By 1900 all the Panhandle lands had been developed and sold, including 190,000 acres of the North Fork pasture, 100,000 acres of the Sam Lazarus pasture, and 88,000 acres of the Nick Eaton Range. Sometime before the company was officially dissolved in 1918, the event was celebrated with a barbecue in Austin, to which all principals and current and former employees were invited

1889- Yuma, Arizona Territory- Buckskin Frank Leslie, found guilty of murder begins his 25 year sentence. He will be pardoned in 1896.

December 11
1869- Indiana- “The Night of Blood”- on this night over 100 red masked vigilantes stormed the jail at New Albany and hung the Reno brothers from an iron ceiling beam. The Reno gang had committed the first train robbery in North America on October 6,1866 by robbing an Ohio & Mississippi train gaining $10,000. Six months later they robbed the Daviess County treasurer's office at Gallatin, Missouri of $22,000. December 12
1806 - Georgia- Stand Watie was born near Rome. Stand was a Cherokee Indian Chief, signer of the Treaty of Echota in 1835 (which stated that the tribe would relocate west of the Mississippi); brigadier general in the 1st Cherokee regiment for the Confederate Army during the U.S. Civil War and was the last Confederate General to surrender his command. He died Sep 9, 1871 at his home on Honey Creek in Delaware County, Oklahoma.

1861- St. Louis, Missouri- the future “Hanging Judge” Isaac Parker marries Mary O'Tool.

1872- Chicago, Illinois- Buffalo Bill Cody and Texas Jack Omohundro arrive by train to prepare for their stage debut.

1874- Kansas- James-Younger Gang rob train near Muncie of between $25,000 and $50,000.

1880- New Mexico Territory- William Bonny, AKA Billy the Kid, writes a letter to Governor Lew Wallace, claiming his innocence in the death of Deputy James Carlyle.

1882- Arizona Territory- the Gila Bend Indian Reservation is set aside for the Papago Indians.

1883- Langevin, Alberta- Canadian Pacific Railway crews digging for water struck natural gas west of present-day Medicine Hat. When lit, the flame from the gas lit up the surrounding country, and because of the danger of fire the drilling crews had to stop working at night.

1929- Arizona- Charles Goodnight, famed Texas Ranger, cattleman, & small time movie producer died of a heart attack at his winter home in Phoenix at the age of ninety-three. He was buried next to his first wife in the Goodnight community cemetery in Texas.

December 13
1869- Evans, Colorado Territory- becomes the first town in the territory to have train service as the tracks of the Denver Pacific reach town.

1871- Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory- a hotel accommodating rail passengers burns to the ground. The Union Pacific had no insurance on the $23,000 building.

1871- Abilene, Kansas- The City Council informs Wild Bill Hickok that it has no further need of his services.

1880- New Mexico Territory- Governor Lew Wallace offers a $500 reward for William Bonny, AKA Billy the Kid.

1883- the border between Ontario and Manitoba was established.

December 14
1859- Brownsville, Texas- Fort Brown is reinforced. Troops defeat the outlaw Juan Cortina at La Ebronal.

1859 - Texas - Cpl Patrick Collins and a detachment of Company I, 2nd Cav, from Camp Verde with guide “Polly” Rodriquez and one citizen volunteer, pursued and conducted a dismounted attack against a camp of Comanche raiders near the north branch of the Guadalupe River. One Indian was killed and three were wounded. Fifteen horses were captured along with some equipment.

1860- Washington Territory- Missoula County is established, taking in all of present day western Montana.

1867- Two woodcutters are killed by Indians in an attack near Fort Kearny.

1880- New Mexico Territory- Pat Garret joins forces with the Frank Stewart posse looking for Billy the Kid and head for Fort Sumner.

December 15
1869- Clay County, Missouri- the Samuel farmhouse is surrounded as four men, led by Deputy John Thomason, try to collect a $3,000 reward for Frank & Jesse James who escaped.

1876- Texas- Charles Goodnight's cowboys complete the first room of a ranch house in the Palo Duro Canyon.

1877- Dodge City, Kansas- The Dodge City Times reports that Sheriff Bassett has been appointed by Mayor Kelly to assist Marshall Ed Masterson in preserving order & decorum in the city”.

1880- New Mexico Territory- Charles Bowdre writes a letter to JC Lea from Fort Sumner stating that he is running and is thinking about turning Billy the Kid over to Pat Garrett in return for his freedom.

1881- California- Black Bart robs the Downieville-Maryville stagecoach four miles from Dobbins.

1883- Caldwell, Kansas- Marshal Henry Brown kills gambler Newt Boyce.

1890- Grand River, South Dakota- Sitting Bull, a leader of the Hunkpapa Teton Sioux, is killed by Indian police at his home in a remote corner of the Standing Rock Reservation, allegedly while resisting arrest.

1922- Lawman John Slaughter died at the age of 81. Though he was only 5 foot 3 he served six years as a Texas Ranger and later cleared Cochise County Arizona of outlaws during his four-year stint as sheriff.

1954 - "Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter" was featured on Walt Disney's TV series for the first time. Crockett was played by Fess Parker. It wasn't long before the Davy Crockett craze brought a new number one song to the pop music charts. "Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier."

December 16
1811- near New Madrid, Missouri, an earthquake rocks the American Wilderness. At the Mississippi River Valley the greatest series of earthquakes in U.S. history begins when a quake of an estimated 8.6 magnitude on the Richter scale rocks the region. Although the earthquake greatly changed the topography of the region, the area was only sparsely inhabited at the time and there were no known fatalities. Daniel Boone's 3 story stone home near present day Defiance Missouri was moved a few inches on its foundation. The earthquake raised and lowered parts of the Mississippi Valley by as much as fifteen feet, changed the course of the Mississippi River, and actually caused the river to momentarily reverse its direction, giving rise to Reelfoot Lake in northwest Tennessee. A 30,000-square-mile area was affected, although tremors were felt as far away as the Eastern coast of the United States, where the shock was recorded to have rung church bells. Additional earthquakes and aftershocks continued throughout the winter and into the spring, and of the approximately 2,000 seismic vibrations felt during the period, five were estimated to be at an 8.0 or more magnitude. An earthquake of about 6.0 magnitude or greater occurs about every eighty years, and the catastrophic upheavals of the type reported in the winter of 1811 to 1812 occur about every five or six hundred years.

1866- St. Louis- William F. Cody's daughter, Arta, is born.

1870- Colorado Territory & Kansas- The Kansas Pacific's rails in Colorado are blocked by a blizzard for nearly 2 weeks. 15 foot drifts form between Box Elder and Wilson, Kansas.

1875- California- a lone highwayman holds up the San Juan stagecoach.

1881- Dodge City, Arizona Territory- a grand jury refuses to indict the Earp's and Doc Holliday

December 17
1860- Texas- Texas Ranger Sul Ross raises 60 riders, Tonkawa Indian scouts, and other volunteer to track down Peta Nocona's Comanches on the Pease River. Ross mistakenly thinks he killed Peta. Charles Goodnight discovers Cynthia Parker in the camp, who was kidnapped in 1839 and us now the wife of Peta Nocona and the mother of Quanta Parker. Cynthia and her 18 month old daughter are returned to Camp Cooper. Peta is believed to have died from an infected wound.

1860- Cranwich Hall, Norfolk England- E.C. Abbott, AKA Teddy Blue, was born- he moved to Texas at an early age and became a cowboy and eventually a rancher after marrying the daughter of Granville Stuart in Montana. He also wrote “We Pointed Them North”.

1866- General Patrick Connors commands that Indians living north of the Platte River “must be hunted like wolves”.

1872- “Scouts of the Plains” written by Ned Buntline played to a packed house staring Bill Cody & Texas Jack Omohundro. Despite not being able to deliver a single line as written Buffalo Bill and Texas Jack are a hit.

1886- At a Christmas party, Sam Belle shoots his old enemy Frank West, but is fatally wounded himself.

1915- Wyoming- a rich placer strike running $55 per cubic yard was found 35 miles north of Gillette.

December 18
1856 - Texas - Lt James B Witherell, with Company C, 2nd Cav, and two officers from the 8th Inf, skirmished with a party of Apache while on scout from Ft Clark to the Rio Grande.

1860 - Texas - 1st Sgt John W. Spangler with a detachment of Company H, 2nd Cav, from Camp Cooper joined with Lawrence S. “Sul” Ross and a Texas Ranging Compnay and a company of state volunteers from Ft Belknap on a scout to the Red River. ON the Pease River they attacked a camp of Quahadis Comanches. Fourteen Indians were killed and three taken prisoner, including Cynthia Ann Parker who had been captured as a child in 1836 and was the mother of Quanah Parker. Forty-five horses were also captured. (Note: Most Texas histories credit this event to Dec 18, while several official Army reports record it happening on Dec 19. 1stSgt Spangler would go on to become commissioned a 2nd Lt in the 2nd Cav in 1862, and Sul Ross would become a general in the Confederate Army.)

1880- New Mexico Territory- Sheriff Pat and his posse saw Tom O'Folliard, who was riding point for Billy the Kid and his gang, and opened fire. O'Folliard was hit and died about an hour later.

1886- Glendive, Montana records a temperature of 50 degrees. It will drop to -35 on Christmas Day!

December 19
1863- Bannack, Montana Territory- George Ives is hanged for the murder of Nicholas Thiebalt.

1864- San Bernardino, California- Nicholas Earp and family, including son Wyatt and six other children, complete wagon-train trip from Iowa.

1880- New Mexico Territory- Billy the Kid, David Anderson (AKA: Billy Wilson; Buffalo Billy), Dave Rudabaugh, Charlie Bowdre, Tom O'Folliard, and Tom Pickett appeared on the road leading to the old hospital. Garrett, Lon Chambers, and several other deputies leaped from cover, with Garrett ordering the outlaws to halt. But the possemen did not wait for the outlaws to respond to Garrett's command. They opened fire on Pickett and O'Folliard, who were riding in front, and shot them from their saddles. Rudabaugh's horse collapsed, killed in the hail of bullets but Rudabaugh managed to jump onto the horse ridden by Anderson and escaped with the Kid and Bowdre.

1946- Toranto, Ohio- actor Robert Urich was born. Urich played Jake Spoon in the mini-series Lonesome Dove. He also starred in The Lazarus Man and appeared in Kung Fu, Gunsmoke, and Little House on the Prairie among many other shows.. He died 16 April 2002.

December 20
1865- Texas- Lyne Barret drills the first oil in Texas, despite his backers skepticism that there is much oil in Texas.

1866- Fort Phil Kearny- Captains Fetterman and Brown ask Colonel Carrington to lead an offensive against Red Cloud.

1873- Lincoln County, New Mexico Territory- members of the Ben Harrell faction kill Pedro Patron, Juan Candelaria, Isidoro Padilla, and Juan Balagan.

1884- Eureka Springs, Arkansas- John Chisum, the cattle king of New Mexico Territory, dies. He is later buried in Paris, Texas.

December 21
1866- A relief party out of Ft. Kearney led by Captain Fetterman, was ordered to rescue the fort's woodcutting detail but not to leave sight of the post. Capt. William Fetterman, who had once boasted that he could ride through the whole Sioux nation with 80 men, ignored the orders and pursued the Sioux over the hillside and was wiped out by Red Clouds forces led by Crazy Horse.

1876- Las Animas, Colorado- Charles Faber, town marshal of Los Animas & deputy sheriff of Bent County, was killed when he entered the Olympic Dance Hall to disarm Clay & John Allison. Clay was released when no witnesses could be found who would testify. John Allison was seriously wounded but later recovers.

1881-New Mexico Territory- Pat Garrett and his posse cornered Billy the Kid and his band in a deserted farmhouse near Stinking Springs. Inside of the house were Billy, Charlie Bowdre, Dave Rudabaugh, Tom Pickett and Billy Wilson, the Kid's closest friends and most ardent followers. When Bowdre crossed in front of an open window he was hit in the chest and let out a piercing scream. "I'm killed, Billy, they killed me," he said as he crouched in the one-room farmhouse. Billy stood Bowdre up and shoved him to the door, ruthlessly telling his friend: "They have murdered you, Charlie, but you can get revenge! Go out there and kill some of the s.o.b.'s before you go!" With that, the Kid swung the door open and shoved his friend Bowdre out into a hail of bullets. Bowdre lifted his six-gun but did not have the strength to fire. He was hit several more times and fell face forward, saying: "I wish...I wish...I wish..." Then he died and his body rotted there as Garrett and his men kept up the siege for two days. The Kid and his men, starving and panting for water, surrendered and were taken to Santa Fe.

December 22
1856 - Texas - Capt Richard W. Johnson and Company F, 2nd Cav, from Camp Colorado were on a scout to the Concho River when they dismounted and attacked a Comanche camp. Two soldiers were killed and two wounded, with three Indians killed and three wounded. Thirty-four horses were captured and a Mexican captive was recovered.

1872- Chicago, Illinois- Texas Jack Omohundro, who is appearing with Buffalo Bill in The Scouts of the Prairie, falls in love with Giuseppina Morlacchi, an Italian dancer in the show.

1878- Lincoln County, New Mexico Territory- Billy the Kid surrenders to sheriff George Kimball, but escapes a short time later and heads for Las Vegas, New Mexico Territory.

1888- Annie Oakley appears “back East” in Deadwood Dick, or the Sunbeam of the Sierras.

1890- Cherry Creek, South Dakota- 294 members of Sitting Bull's band surrender.

1900- Wyoming- the Sherman Tunnel on the Union Pacific line was completed.

December 23
1844- Alabama- Captain George W. Arrington, one of the greatest Texas Rangers on record, was born in Greensboro, Alabama. He fought for the Confederacy in Mosby's Raiders. Following the Civil War, Arrington joined other Confederate soldiers and went to Mexico, offering his services to the doomed Emperor Maximilian and then moved on to seek adventure in Central America before returning to the U.S. in 1867. He eventually moved to Texas and joined the Texas Rangers in the early 1870s, fast rising through the ranks until he was appointed a captain. Arrington's territory was the Panhandle of Texas, then one of the worst nightmares for any lawmen. The area was overrun with hostile Indians and hundreds of hardcase outlaws who would rather shoot it out than talk truce. Like the Mounties, always got their man. He would track fugitives to both ends of the continent. He trailed one wealthy cattle rustler all the way to New England, returning him to Texas secretly. Arrington left the Rangers in the early 1880s and became sheriff of Wheeler County, a post he kept for eight years before retiring to his Rocking Chair Ranch in 1890. The old lawman came out of retirement briefly to become sheriff for the same county in 1894 and during this time he was confronted by six tough drunken cowboys in a local saloon who dared him to throw them into jail. Arrington had a small jail and no deputy so he did the next best thing. The lawman handcuffed the six men to the bar rail and held them in custody for twenty-four uncomfortable hours, until all promised to leave town without creating further disturbances. Arrington died on his ranch, Mar. 31, 1923. 1863- Bannack, Montana Territory- Montana vigilantes, men from Bannack, Nevada City, and Virginia City form an organization in John Lott's store to rid the territory of the outlaws called the “Innocents”. 2000 men join the group.

1867- a treaty with Senacas, Shawnees, Quapaw, and other tribes guarantees their removal from Kansas to Indian Territory.

1872- Dodge City, Kansas- the former marshal of Newton, Bill Brooks, kills Mr. Brown of the Santa Fe Railroad in a shootout.

1874- Black Hills, Dakota Territory- the Gordon Party, prospectors from Sioux City, Iowa reach the part of the Black Hills, called Custer's Park, where gold had been discovered in August.

1876-Texas- snow halts the construction of Charles Goodnight's ranch.

1880- Stinking Spring, New Mexico Territory- Pat Garret's posse attacks Billy the Kid and his gang. Charles Bowdre is killed. William Bonney, Billy Wilson, and Dave Rudabaugh are captured.

1957 - Actor Dan Blocker made his debut on television in the "Restless Gun" production of "The Child". Two years later, Blocker starred in the very popular "Bonanza" on NBC, as Hoss Cartwright.

December 24
1859- Boulder, Colorado Territory- the entire population of the town, 200 men and 17 women, attends a Christmas dance at Bill Barney's dance hall.

1864- Idaho Territory- Boise becomes the capitol of the territory.

1866 - Texas - a detachment of Company C, 4th Cav, from Ft Clark had a skirmish with Indians on Mud Creek near the post.

1877- Henry Underwood is arrested for complicity in the Big Springs, Texas train robbery of September 18th. He is jailed in Kearney, Nebraska, from where he will escape before being recaptured and brought to trail.

1877- Las Vegas, New Mexico, Territory- A.A. McSween and John Chisum are jailed on embezzlement charges.

1879- the temperature in Winnipeg dropped to a record minus 47.8 degrees C. (-54.04 F).

1880- Fort Sumner, New Mexico Territory- William Bonney, AKA Billy the Kid is put in chains.

1881- Missouri- Jesse James dresses as Santa Claus for his two children, Jesse Jr. Age 6 and Mary age 2. It is Jesse's last Christmas. 1888- Arizona Territory- the Solomon-Bowie stage is robbed of its mail.

1889- Telluride, Colorado- 23 year old Butch Cassidy pulls his first holdup at the San Miguel Bank.

1894-Montana- Deputy sheriff Pike Landusky (a big man), started his career as a trapper and eventually became a general hard case. He was killed by Harvey Logan, in Central Montana on this date. Apparently Kid Curry was sparking one of Pike's stepdaughters and one of the sparks took hold which didn't make Pike too happy. Pike who was drinking in Jew Jake's Saloon started a fight with the Kid when Curry came in for some Christmas cheer .

December 25
1846- Watertown Wisconsin- Milton “Billy” Breckenridge was born. At 16 he served in the 3rd Colorado Cavalry and later became Deputy Sheriff under John Behan at Tombstone. He was later a special agent for the Southern Pacific Railway.

1866-Wyoming- legend says John "Portugee" Phillips rode 235 miles in four days, alone, from Fort Phil Kearny to Fort Laramie through a raging blizzard to carry the news of the disaster on "Fetterman Ridge," where the entire command of Capt. William J. Fetterman lost their lives on Dec. 21, 1866. According to http://www.bozemantrail.org/facts.htm the story is False. “According to the records of General Henry B. Carrington, "Portugee" Phillips and Daniel Dixon were paid $300 each for the trip to Horseshoe Station to send a telegram of the disaster. In addition, several other men reportedly rode with them from Fort Reno to Horseshoe Station, where a telegram was sent to Omaha and Washington, DC. Phillips, however, did ride on to Fort Laramie alone and arrived at "Old Bedlam," probably in the beginnings of a blizzard, and during a ball on Christmas night. He was carrying an additional message from General Wessells at Fort Reno to the commander at Fort Laramie. That message has been lost, and there is no record we know of (but much speculation) as to its content.” 1868- Karnes County, Texas- a posse mistakes 17-year-old “Wild Bill” Longley, who had been hiding after two suspicious murders, for a horse thief and gives chase. Longley turns in his saddle and puts a bullet between the eyes of the posse leader.

1869 - Texas - a sergeant and a detachment of Company E, 9th Cav, defended Johnson's Mail Station on the Middle Concho River against an Indian attack. The Indians stole five Army horses.

1869- Towash, Texas - John Wesley Hardin was playing cards and won many hands and a town tough, Jim Bradley, a big loser, suddenly jerked forth a knife and threatened: "You win another hand and I cut out your liver, kid." Hardin was unarmed at the time and politely excused himself. He went to his room and strapped on two six-guns. That night, Hardin stepped into the main street of Towash wearing his two guns. Down the street stood Jim Bradley, who also wore a gun and had been looking for Hardin. Hardin walked toward Bradley who cursed him and then fired a shot in Hardin's direction, the bullet missing its mark. Hardin's hands flashed across his chest and his two six-guns were suddenly in his hands, both exploding at the same moment. The two bullets found their marks, one striking Bradley in the head, the second smashing into the gunman's chest. He crumpled to the street dead. This gunfight was witnessed by a dozen or more people who quickly spread the word that John Wesley Hardin was the fastest gun in the west.

1870- Christmas is celebrated by passengers on four Kansas Pacific trains blocked by snow. Soldiers from Fort Wallace provide the passengers with fresh buffalo meat.

1872- the first southbound passenger train on the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas line completes its journey through Indian Territory and crosses the Red River into Texas.

1876- Austin, Texas- Ben Thompson guns down Mark Wilson after a heated argument. Thompson is later acquitted.

1877- Sam Bass robs the Fort Worth-Cleburn stage of $11.25.

1881- Tombstone, Arizona Territory reports a quiet Christmas.

1886- Glendive, Montana Territory- the temperature drops of -35 degrees, an 85 degree change in one week.

1889- Texas- Texas Rangers Ira Aten and John Hughes, Bass Outlaw and Sheriff Will Terry track the cattle-rustling Alvin and Will Odle, two brothers known for their lethal gunfights. On this date the lawmen approach the Odle's campfire near Vance, Texas. In the resulting gunfight both Odle boys were killed.

December 26
1859- Rio Grande City- 173 Texas Rangers and 165 U.S. regulars attack the outlaw band of Juan Cortina. Hand to hand combat results in Cortina's retreat.

1861- Chustenahlah, Indian Territory- Confederate irregulars defeat pro-Union Indians.

1862- Mankato, Minnesota -38 Santee Sioux are hanged for their part in the Sioux Uprising in Minnesota. Little Crow has fled the state.

1866- Owyhee Creek, Idaho Territory- Lieutenant Colonel George Crook leads a company of the 1st Cavalry against Indians, killing 30 and taking 7 prisoner while losing only one soldier.

1867 - Texas - A detachment of Company K, 9th Cav, on a scout near Ft Lancaster, was attacked by Indians and had to conduct a two day defense. Three soldiers were killed.

1869 - Texas - Lt Howard B. Cushing with Company F, 3rd Cav, from Ft Stanton, New Mexico, along with 28 citizen volunteers, attacked and destroyed a Mescalero Apache village at the old stage stop of Pine Spring in the Guadalupe Mountains. One officer was severely wounded.

1874- Texas- the first commercial buffalo hunt is conducted in the state by Joe McComb.

1880- Las Vegas, New Mexico, Territory- Pat Garret deposits his prisoners, including Billy the Kid, in the town jail.

1900- Tecas- Abel Head Pierce AKA Shanghai Pierce died on this date. He was born in Rhode Island in 1834. and later became one of Texas's pioneer cattlemen. He was called Shanghai because this bearded man was 6-5 and wore spurs with rowels the size of windmills and someone remarked that he looked like a Shanghai rooster. He worked on the Grimes cattle ranch and during the Civil War enlisted in the 1st Texas Cavalry serving as the regimental butcher. After the war he returned to Texas and went into the cattle business by rounding up strays. By 1900 his range stock were roaming over more than a million acres.

1909- Western artist Frederic Remington died at age 48 in Connecticut.

December 27 1880- New Mexico Territory- Charlie Bowdre died when Sheriff Pat Garret & his posse trapped Billy the Kid and his gang including Dave Rudabaugh at Stinking Springs. Charlie was hit by bullets 7 times and is said to be buried next to Billy the Kid.

1881- California- Black Bart robbed the North San Juan-Smartville stage. 1894- Landusky, Montana- Harvey Logan & Kid Curry killed Pike Landusky in a saloon during an argument. “Kid Curry" was an alias used by Harvey Logan. Harvey and his brother, Loney, had worked for Montana pioneer Granville Stewart's DHS spread. Harvey was considered a top hand. He got off track and started going bad, joining Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch. Of the whole Bunch he was the deadliest and most dangerous, and may have been the only member to actually kill someone in the course of their activities. Landusky was a tough, mean ex-coal miner from Pennsylvania who founded the town that bore his name. The dispute was over a woman. Pike had given Logan a bad beating. Logan was just about recovered and had gone into Jake Harris' saloon. (Harris was a colorful character in his own right, having gotten into a gunfight with the Sherrif in Great Falls, MT, and fell off the station platform just as a train was pulling in. He had his leg cut off! Pike walked into the saloon, and, seeing Curry sitting there, pulled out an automatic pistol. The gun misfired, Logan thereupon pulled a Colt's Single Action Revolver and shot Pike dead!

1900 - Wichita Kansas- Carrie Nation's 1st public smashing of a bar (Carey Hotel). She broke each and every one of the liquor bottles she could see, which means, about all of them behind the bar, for sure. Nation usually did her damage with a hatchet; calling her vandalism, hatchetation.

1947 - “Hey kids... What time is it? It's Howdy Doody time!” Buffalo Bob (Smith), Clarabelle the Clown (Bob Keeshan), Judy Canova and a host of others joined "Howdy Doody" on NBC-TV. The show stayed on the air for 13 years.

December 28
1836- Mexico's independence was recognized by Spain.

1859- the inaugural issue of The Nor'Wester, the first newspaper in the Canadian west, was published at the Red River Settlement. William Coldwell and William Buckingham acquired a hand-printing press in St. Paul, Minnesota, which they transported into the settlement on an oxen-drawn cart. As they prepared to go to press with their first issue, Coldwell and Buckingham wetted down their newsprint the night before. By the morning, the entire ream of paper was frozen into a solid block of ice. Despite the setback, the four-page newspaper made its debut on schedule.

1872- Dodge City, Kansas- saloon keeper Matthew Sullivan is shot and killed by an unknown assailant who fired through the saloons window. Bully Brooks is a popular suspect.

1875- California- Black Bart robs the North San Juan-Marysville stage.

1881- Tombstone, Arizona Territory-Virgil Earp, who was temporary marshal of Tombstone after the death of Fred White and had been wounded 3 months earlier at the O.K. Coral, fell to the ground after being riddled with buckshot. He survived but was crippled for life although he later served as a lawman in California. Curly Bill was one of the would be assassins.

1882- Caldwell, Kansas- Henry Brown, assistant marshal, is appointed city marshal.

December 29
1845- Texas (comprised of the present state of Texas and part of New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming) is admitted as the 28th state of the Union with the provision that the area (389,166 square miles) should be divided into no more than five states "of convenient size."

1879- California- Charlie Parkhurst, a cigar-smoking, tobacco-chewing, and dram-drinking, stage driver in the rough trails of the California Sierra Nevadas, was found dead on this date… and found to be a woman to boot something no one had ever noticed before. She died of cancer.

1890- South Dakota - the last major conflict of the Indian wars takes place at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota after Colonel James W. Forsyth of the 7th Cavalry tries to disarm Chief Big Foot and his followers. Some 300 Sioux Indians were killed by U.S. troops sent to disarm them in what was known as the Wounded Knee massacre.

December 30
1864- Montana Territory- Virginia City becomes the territory's first incorporated town.

1883- Fredericton New Brunswick, Canada - First mustering of 'A' Company of the Infantry School Corps; first unit of Canadian Permanent Force; later becomes Royal Canadian Regiment.

1909- gold was discovered in Porcupine, Ontario.

December 31
1852- The richest year of the gold rush ends, with $81.3 million in gold produced.

1873 - Texas - A sergeant and three soldiers of Company B, 25th Inf, were attacked at Eagle Spring by 15 Indians. One Indian was wounded.

1885- Temperatures plunge across the West. Six-foot drifts are reported in Nebraska.

1947 - Roy Rogers, 'the King of the Cowboys', and Dale Evans were hitched. They rode the sunset together for over fifty years. (Roy passed away July 6, 1998.)

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