Bally Sackett came to Frisco, Utah in 1880.  He had no intention of joining most of the other men by working in the Horn Silver Mine.  He was a blacksmith by trade so he built a shop on the corner of Horn Silver Avenue and Main Street and went into business.             Bally’s shop quickly … Continue reading BALLY SACKETT’S WATER WAGON →

Wyoming is proud to claim their state as the first to grant women’s suffrage in the late 1800s, but Utah, even before Wyoming had officially legalized the feminine voting right, had allowed women to vote and hold public office while the area was still a Territory in 1870.  Some of the non-Mormon citizenry had claimed … Continue reading WOMEN’S SUFFERAGE AND THE SILK GOWN →

From the growing number of emigres to Arizona Territory during the latter decades of the nineteenth century came many of our cousins from the “old countries” – especially the British Isles.  Some came running – running from pasts which the deserts of the west would not remember.  Some came strutting with the false aristocracy which … Continue reading DARRELL DUPPA: RISING FROM THE ASHES →

John Horton Slaughter was a frontier lawman, poker player, and full-time rancher in Texas and Arizona in the latter part of the 19th century.  He served in the Confederate Army between 1861 and 1865 before he migrated west to Texas. Here he learned to handle two guns at the same time – one in each … Continue reading JOHN SLAUGHTER — THREE GUNS NO CHEATING! →

The chain of events that linked themselves together in the few days before the tragic massacre at Mountain Meadow should give pause to anyone who might have tendencies to become zealous for a particular cause, angry over an imagined or real offense, or have unhealed wounds over a perceived wrong in past years.               A … Continue reading THE TRAP AT THE MEADOWS →

Curly Bill and his band of desperadoes had terrorized Douglas, Tombstone and Charleston, Arizona for a number of years.  Their infamy came from their uncanny ability to make quick raids against the ranches and settlements of southern Arizona.  Their technique of crossing the border, stealing what they wanted, and then quickly returning to the safety … Continue reading JOHN SLAUGHTER – NO ORDINARY COWMAN →

In 1539, Friar Marcos de Niza, a Franciscan priest, famed for his explorations in lands that would later become Arizona and New Mexico, returned to Mexico City and told intriguing stories that he’d seen the legendary gold city of Cibola.  It was an electrifying statement.  The Spanish conquerors of the Aztec lands were constantly on … Continue reading Coronado and the City of Gold →

Something seemed odd about the Navajo sandstone that formed a cliff at the bottom of the Pine Valley Mountains.  John Kemple had done a lot of prospecting around Washington County, Utah Territory, between 1866 and 1874.  He had applied years of prospecting experience to this beautiful area, but had found very little ore that would … Continue reading SILVER AMONG THE REEFS →

The chain of events that linked themselves together in the few days before the tragic massacre at Mountain Meadow should give pause to anyone who might have tendencies to become zealous for a particular cause, angry over an imagined or real offense, or have unhealed wounds over a perceived wrong in past years.               A … Continue reading A TRAP AT THE MEADOWS →

The LDS Church leaders in Iron County, Utah were pressing for action against the Fancher Wagon Train occupants who, according to them, had caused serious problems along the California Road as they passed south through the Utah settlements in their migration to southern California in September, 1857.              A group of younger men in the … Continue reading A RIDE TO BRIGHAM YOUNG →