The Wild West Extravaganza

Gold was discovered in Montana in 1862, ushering in a flood of prospectors straight through the heart of Lakota territory on a new road called the Bozeman trail, further straining tensions between settlers and Natives. Jim Bridger opened up his “Bridger’s Trail”, a much safer – and popular - alternative but the powers that be were dead set on erecting forts on the Bozeman. Violence erupted across the Great Plains as the Lakota, Arapaho, and Cheyenne took to the war path, vowing to drive the whites from their land forever. These new tensions saw Bridger return to military duty once again, first guiding the Army during the Powder River campaign and again as he led Colonel Carrington to the Bighorn country and establishing Fort Phil Kearny. Jim Bridger, now in his sixties, was still riding the prairie, rifle across the saddle, and still blazing new trails.

This is episode five and the last installment in this series on Jim Bridger. Links below for the previous four.  In this episode we’re going to explore the Powder River Campaign, the Fetterman Massacre, Jim’s eventual retirement and death, and a quick look at the massive change that occurred during Bridger’s lifetime.

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Hundred Proof History – https://hundredproofhistory.com/

Jim Bridger Pt 1 | Ashley’s 100 - https://www.wildwestextra.com/jim-bridger-ashleys-100/

Jim Bridger Pt 2 | Bugs Boys - https://www.wildwestextra.com/jim-bridger-bugs-boys/

Jim Bridger Pt 3 | Mormons - https://www.wildwestextra.com/jim-bridger-mormons/

Jim Bridger Pt 4 | The Guide - https://www.wildwestextra.com/jim-bridger-the-guide/

Jim Bridger Trailblazer of the American West | Jerry Enzler - https://www.amazon.com/Jim-Bridger-Trailblazer-American-West/dp/080619197X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=39712IOHTJVTB&keywords=jim+bridger+jerry+enzler&qid=1675001445&s=books&sprefix=jim+bridger+jerry%2Cstripbooks%2C120&sr=1-1

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In the 1850s, Jim Bridger put his extensive knowledge of the West to use by guiding wealthy adventurers, geological surveyors, and the U.S. military. Then, in 1862, the discovery of gold in Montana sparked yet another gold rush, leading thousands of prospectors to illegally trespass on Lakota and Cheyenne land via the Bozeman trail, resulting in violence. The Army intervened and hired Bridger once again as their guide. Additionally covered in this episode is the Mountain Meadows massacre, the Utah War, and the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851.

This is part four in the Jim Bridger series. Links for the previous three installments below.

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Jim Bridger Pt 1 | Ashley’s 100 - https://www.wildwestextra.com/jim-bridger-ashleys-100/

Jim Bridger Pt 2 | Bugs Boys - https://www.wildwestextra.com/jim-bridger-bugs-boys/

Jim Bridger Pt 3 | Mormons - https://www.wildwestextra.com/jim-bridger-mormons/

Jim Bridger Trailblazer of the American West | Jerry Enzler - https://www.amazon.com/Jim-Bridger-Trailblazer-American-West/dp/080619197X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=39712IOHTJVTB&keywords=jim+bridger+jerry+enzler&qid=1675001445&s=books&sprefix=jim+bridger+jerry%2Cstripbooks%2C120&sr=1-1

To Be a Rebel | David Loos https://open.spotify.com/show/3MB010NPTevGamVDMF4kqW

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The Wild West Extravaganza is a history podcast that delves into the fascinating and often tumultuous world of the American Old West. From outlaws like Billy the Kid and Jesse James to lawmen like Wyatt Earp and Wild Bill Hickok to trailblazing pioneers, Native Americans, and frontiersmen, The Wild West Extravaganza tells the stories of those who shaped this iconic period of American history. So, saddle up and discover the true history of the American frontier – the good, the bad, and the ugly.

https://www.wildwestextra.com/

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This is part 3 of the series on Jim Bridger. For the previous 2 installments see the links below.

Fur trading no longer lucrative, Jim Bridger and a business partner decide to open up a trading post of their own, dubbing it Fort Bridger. Wasn’t long before Jim began doing brisk business, both to travelers along the Oregon Trail and those brave enough to try their luck on the Hasting’s Cutoff; migrants like the ill-fated Donner Party. Bad luck aside, Bridger’s fort – and his Green River ferry – did so well financially that his new neighbors, the daggum Mormons, decided to take it from him. By force! Also discussed in this episode: Magic underwear, Sister wives, the Whitman Massacre, Joseph Meek, Henry Fraeb, and Louis Vasquez!

Jim Bridger Pt 1 | Ashley's 100 - https://www.wildwestextra.com/jim-bridger-ashleys-100/

Jim Bridger Pt 2 | Bugs Boys - https://www.wildwestextra.com/jim-bridger-bugs-boys/

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Jim Bridger Trailblazer of the American West | Jerry Enzler - https://www.amazon.com/Jim-Bridger-Trailblazer-American-West/dp/080619197X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=39712IOHTJVTB&keywords=jim+bridger+jerry+enzler&qid=1675001445&s=books&sprefix=jim+bridger+jerry%2Cstripbooks%2C120&sr=1-1

Whitman Massacre Pt 1 | How the West Was Fucked – https://open.spotify.com/episode/2avEWulV7wwe5LRnDaaoy5

Whitman Massacre Pt 2 | How the West Was Fucked – https://open.spotify.com/episode/29TFAPU6WBYF18VgiwFWyQ

Jim Bridger (Just kidding, please listen to this!) | How the West Was Fucked - https://open.spotify.com/episode/6c5v7MdIJemcr7Jir2hCYB

Jim Bridger & Brigham Young | Jerry Enzler Q&A - https://www.fromthedesk.org/jim-bridger-brigham-young/

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Some of the richest beaver country was in the heart of territory claimed by the Blackfeet Confederacy; a tribe known to the fur trappers as Bug’s Boys, or the Sons of Satan. Needless to say there was no love lost between the American trappers and the Blackfeet, and violence became a given any time the two groups would meet with mercy rarely extended by either side. Nevertheless, the mountain men – piloted by Jim Bridger - persisted season after season, staking their fortunes and lives on Blackfeet Beaver.

This is part 2 in the Jim Bridger series. Link below for part 1.

Jim Bridger Pt 1 | Ashley's 100 - https://www.wildwestextra.com/jim-bridger-ashleys-100/

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Jim Bridger Trailblazer of the American West | Jerry Enzler - https://www.amazon.com/Jim-Bridger-Trailblazer-American-West/dp/080619197X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=39712IOHTJVTB&keywords=jim+bridger+jerry+enzler&qid=1675001445&s=books&sprefix=jim+bridger+jerry%2Cstripbooks%2C120&sr=1-1

Eagles Ribs - https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/peh-pe-kiss-eagles-ribs-piegan-chief-4044

Trapped in History Wyoming Beaver | MeatEater - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9c6Rwj_IgQ

Kit vs Goliath | The Wild West Extravaganza - https://open.spotify.com/episode/72FelJNKF8ETYNqm4F80vb

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Jim Bridger would join the ranks of Ashley’s One Hundred while still a teenager and - alongside other future old west legends like Hugh Glass, Jedediah Smith, and James Beckwourth - head up the Missouri river in search of beaver. From present day northern Montana all the way down to the Gulf of California, from the Mississippi on west to the Pacific Ocean, the iconic Mountain Man Bridger saw it all; discovering and blazing trails that still bear his name to this day while at the same time facing off with some of the deadliest warriors who ever strung a bow.

This is the first episode in a series of five, discussing Jim Bridger's childhood, his time as a fur trapper with Ashley's Rocky Mountain Fur Company, his possible involvment in the Hugh Glass affair (the Revenant) and his "discovery" of the Great Salt Lake.

Check out my website for more true tales from the wild and woolly west!

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Jim Bridger Trailblazer of the American West | Jerry Enzler - https://www.amazon.com/Jim-Bridger-Trailblazer-American-West/dp/080619197X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=39712IOHTJVTB&keywords=jim+bridger+jerry+enzler&qid=1675001445&s=books&sprefix=jim+bridger+jerry%2Cstripbooks%2C120&sr=1-1

Hugh Glass | The Wild West Extravaganza - https://open.spotify.com/episode/1bICSRkDkPkKVVF5KUpJmE

To Be A Rebel | David Loos - https://open.spotify.com/show/3MB010NPTevGamVDMF4kqW

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My Darling Clementine is considered the greatest Wyatt Earp film of all time. It also just so happens to be the least accurate, despite legendary director John Ford having known Wyatt personally. Contrary to popular belief – and Ford’s own claims - this film was NOT based on Earp’s own account of his days in Tombstone, but rather an earlier film whose director also knew the now famous lawman.

I say now famous because Wyatt wasn’t exactly what you would call a household name prior to the 20th century. His time in Dodge City - as well as his actions in Tombstone - certainly garnered Earp a reputation in certain circles. However, his introduction to the nation at large wouldn’t be as a lawman at all, but rather as the corrupt boxing referee who threw the fight for heavyweight champion of the world; a fiasco that saw Wyatt turn to Hollywood in an effort to redeem his sullied reputation.

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David Lambert Art Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/davidlambertart

David Lambert Original Thread on Wyatt & Hollywood - https://twitter.com/davidlambertart/status/1440606380860186629

David Lambert archives on the Wrong Reel Podcast - https://wrongreel.com/tag/david-lambert/

Wyatt on the Set by Allen Barra - https://truewestmagazine.com/article/wyatt-on-the-set/

The Fix by Garner A. Palenske - https://truewestmagazine.com/article/the-fix/

William S. Hart & Wyatt Earp Correspondence - https://scvhistory.com/scvhistory/hart-earpletters.htm

Scurrilous LA Times article from 1922 - https://scvhistory.com/scvhistory/hart-earpletters.htm

Alan Dwan & The Rise & Decline of the Hollywood Studios - https://www.amazon.com/Allan-Dwan-Decline-Hollywood-Studios-ebook/dp/B00C7C2EDK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=28EADZ4B8LD93&keywords=allan+dwan+and+the+rise+and+decline+of+the+hollywood+studios&qid=1672673971&sprefix=allan+dwan+and+the+ris%2Caps%2C158&sr=8-1

Helldorado – Bringing the Law to the Mesquite by William M. Breakenridge - https://www.amazon.com/Helldorado-Bringing-Mesquite-William-Breakenridge/dp/0803261004

Wyatt Earp Frontier Marshal by Stuart Lake - https://www.amazon.com/Wyatt-Earp-Frontier-Stuart-Lake/dp/0671885375

Law and Order (1932) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRFPBVG65LU

The Half Breed (1916) - https://www.cinematheque.fr/henri/film/32090-the-half-breed-allan-dwan-1916/

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We all know the "scene", right? Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan Earp are walking the streets of Tombstone when they’re confronted by a visibly inebriated Johnny Ringo. He informs the trio that he wants their blood and their souls, and he wants them now. Wyatt refuses to fight, says there ain’t no money in it and tells Ringo to sober up, as he and his brothers turn and walk away. At this point Johnny really begins to rage. “Don’t any of you have the guts to play for blood?” And that’s when Doc steps out; fingers dancing close to the butt of his holstered revolver with another pistol concealed behind his back. He’d been watching the events unfold from a nearby barber’s chair and once Ringo blurts out his bold invitation, Holliday decides he wants to play. And you know what he says next. Or at least I should say you THINK you know.

1994’s Tombstone remains an iconic movie that produced many an iconic phrase, one in particular that people have been quoting nonstop for the past 3 decades. A simple idiom now emblazoned on t shirts, hoodies, whiskey tumblers, key chains, shot glasses, bottle openers, beanies, baseball caps, hell…even fuzzy socks. In my kitchen right now is a coffee mug with this famous expression printed on it in big bold letters.

But are those letters wrong? Are we wrong? Is this some sort of Mandela effect, did our ears betray us? Or are there simply some among us pretending to be smarter than they really are? What the hell did Val Kilmer aka Doc Holliday really say? And what SHOULD he have said?

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I’m Your Huckleberry by D.T. Christensen | Oldwest.org - https://www.oldwest.org/im-your-huckleberry-meaning/

David Lambert on the old west - https://twitter.com/DavidLambertArt/status/1526547092864258048?cxt=HHwWgMCiscafsa8qAAAA

David Lambert Art - https://www.patreon.com/davidlambertart

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This is the fifth and final installation in the Frank Canton series. Link below for the previous four.

In the early morning hours of June 2nd, 1899, five masked men held up a Union Pacific Train near Wilcox, Wyoming. In what would become one of the more famous robberies of the old west, the bandits used dynamite to blast their way into a mail car and after another detonation took care of the safe, they’d ride away with an estimated 50,000 dollars. Nearly 2 million in today’s money.

And if this sounds familiar well maybe you’ve seen a little film called Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford.

Contrary to what’s portrayed in the movie, there’s a very good chance that Butch Cassidy himself had nothing to do with this particular hold up. Be that as it may, it’s next to certain that those who did were members of his gang – the Wild Bunch. Harry Longabaugh, aka the Sundance Kid, was likely one of the masked men. So was the deadly Harvey Logan and his brother Lonnie, the Tall Texan Ben Kilpatrick, and last but certainly not least was a land pirate by the name of George Flat Nose Curry.

The banditti were headed for a remote pass in the Bighorn mountains they called the Hole-in-the-wall, a sort of outlaw stronghold they used as a headquarters of sorts. And the hole-in-the-wall was located in Johnson County; the same Johnson County we’ve been discussing dang near this whole series.

Now the Wild Bunch did not exist when Frank Canton was Sheriff thereabouts and by the time the Wild Bunch came into being Frank had already moved on and when the Wild Bunch robbed that train at Wilcox, Canton was still up in Alaska. But he’d soon be returning. And, after a bit of comeuppance damn near a decade in the making – a little bit of Johnson County Justice if you will – Frank would saddle up and go on the hunt for the Wild Bunch. At least what was left of ‘em.

Got a lot to cover on this episode. An averted assassination, an epic ass whoopin, Canton’s career as a bounty hunter, his return to Indian Territory – his debut on the silver screen - and finally his ascension to the highest ranks of power. Something the man had been in pursuit of – one way or another - his entire life.

Check out my website for more true tales from the wild and woolly west

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Alias Frank Canton by Robert DeArment - https://www.amazon.com/Alias-Frank-Canton-Robert-DeArment/dp/080612900X

The Johnson County War by Bill O’Neal - https://www.amazon.com/Johnson-County-War-Bill-ONeal/dp/1571688765/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2K65FLR05BSV1&keywords=johnson+county+war&qid=1670763630&s=books&sprefix=johnson+county+war%2Cstripbooks%2C132&sr=1-2

The Bank Robbery (1908) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbX4ekoVBDg

Frank Canton Pt 1 – https://www.wildwestextra.com/frank-canton-part-1-the-outlaw-years/

Frank Canton Pt 2 – https://www.wildwestextra.com/frank-canton-part-2-sheriff/

Frank Canton Pt 3 – https://www.wildwestextra.com/frank-canton-part-3-johnson-county-war/

Frank Canton Pt 4 - https://www.wildwestextra.com/frank-canton-part-4-alaska/

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This is part 4 in the series on Frank Canton. Link to previous episodes below.

When we left off, Frank was laying low in Nebraska following the aftermath of the Johnson County War. On this episode we’ll take a look at Canton’s next job – that of Undersheriff in a newly formed county down in Indian Territory. We’ll discuss his relationship with the famed Three Guardsmen – Heck Thomas, Bill Tilghman, & Chris Madsen, as well as Frank’s efforts to put an end to the notorious Doolin Gang as well as Cattle Annie & Little Britches. And we’ll also discuss Canton’s time in Alaska. Spoiler alert, he built Wyatt Earp’s cabin!

All this PLUS Frank’s explosive return to Johnson County!

Check out my website for more true tales from the wild and woolly west

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Alias Frank Canton by Robert K. DeArment - Alias Frank Canton by Robert K. DeArment - https://www.amazon.com/Alias-Frank-Canton-Robert-Dearment/dp/0806128283/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3LOG09V4NKLP9&keywords=frank+canton&qid=1670421988&sprefix=frank+cannon%2Caps%2C140&sr=8-2

Frank Canton Pt 1 | Outlaw Years - https://www.wildwestextra.com/frank-canton-part-1-the-outlaw-years/

Frank Canton Pt 2 | Sheriff - https://www.wildwestextra.com/frank-canton-part-2-sheriff/

Frank Canton Pt 3 | Johnson County War - https://www.wildwestextra.com/frank-canton-part-3-johnson-county-war/

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