The Wild Wild Death

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Charles Bent was always in the right place at the right time making the right choices. 

And it made him a wealthy and powerful man right up until a cold day in January, 1847, when Bent was – finally - in the wrong place at the wrong time - with no idea of what was coming to his front door. 

If you’d like to know more about the history behind this episode of The Wild Wild Death, check out these links:

https://www.americanhistorycentral.com/entries/charles-bent/

https://sites.libraries.uta.edu/usmexicowar/topic/taosrevolt#:~:text=On%20January%2019%2C%201847%2C%20Pueblo,of%20collaborating%20with%20U.S.%20force

https://www.nps.gov/people/charles-bent.htm

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6669910/silas-bent

https://womenoftaos.org/women/profiles-legends?/item/74/Josefa-Carson-and-Ignacia-Bent

https://www.legendsofamerica.com/bent-st-vrain-company/

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/beol-enslavement.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_and_Dick_Green

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George Maledon spent decades dropping killers through trapdoors with clinical precision—and total peace of mind. Justice was simple and the mechanics of a hanging were precise. But when the man who killed his daughter got life instead of the noose, Maledon finally called it quits. Turns out, mercy—not murder—was a dealbreaker for the Prince of Hangmen.

If you’d like to know more about the history behind this episode of The Wild Wild Death, check out these links:

 https://www.legendsofamerica.com/ar-georgemaledon/

 https://truewestmagazine.com/article/the-prince-of-hangmen/
 ncyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/george-maledon-5748/

 https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/george-maledon-5748/

 https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/151220571/anna-maledon

 https://lawmen.genealogyvillage.com/lawmen/gmdead.htm

 https://research.ebsco.com/c/siow6l/viewer/pdf/56t3fmhwqf

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Judge Roy Bean may have been THE LAW west of the Pecos River, but he NEVER followed the rules.

If you’d like to learn more about the history behind this episode of The Wild Wild Death, check out these links:

History: Scoundrel Bean, bride wed San Fernando - https://www.mysanantonio.com/life/life_columnists/paula_allen/article/History-Scoundrel-Bean-bride-wed-San-Fernando-4392930.php

Judge Roy Bean: The Law, the Lies, and Lillie - https://texashighways.com/travel-news/judge-roy-bean-the-law-the-lies-and-lillie-in-langtry/

Looking Back – Judge Roy Bean - https://www.harriscountylawlibrary.org/ex-libris-juris/2017/3/15/looking-back-judge-roy-bean

PHOTOS OF THE JERSEY LILLY SALOON – 

https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.tx0268.photos?st=gallery

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During the gold rush of Alder Rush, was Clubfoot George Lane merely a mild-mannered shoemaker with a limp? Or was he part of the notorious road agent gang who called themselves “The Innocents?”

If you'd like to know more about the history behind this episode of The Wild Wild Death, check out the following links:

THE ROAD AGENTS - https://southwestmt.com/blog/the-road-agents/#:~:text=Brief%20Account%3A%20Originally%20from%20Massachusetts%2C,and%20hang%20him%20as%20well

THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA – https://www.hhhistory.com/2018/06/the-vigilantes-of-montana.htmlCLUBFOOT 

GEORGE’S CLUBFOOT - https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/6169#:~:text=Even%20after%2043%20years%2C%20George%27s,and%20straight%20razor 

ONE FOOT IN THE PAST - https://westernwriters.org/round-up/ru-april22-vigilantes.pdf#:~:text=as%20%E2%80%9CClubfoot%20George,vicious%20gang%20of%20road%20agents

PHOTO OF GEORGE LANE’S FOOT - https://truewestmagazine.com/article/lane-by-a-foot/

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Find out what happened when “The Pathfinder” John C. Fremont loses his way, taking 35 men and 120 mules with him. 

If you’d like to know more about the history behind this episode, check out the sources below:

Frémont’s Fourth Expedition: A Documentary 

Account of the Disaster of 1848–1849
Edited by LeRoy R. Hafen and Ann W. Hafen.

Taos County Historical Society – The Lost Men of Frémont (1987)

 Pueblo Chieftain – Tragic Expedition (1998)
 GJ Sentinel – Disaster Struck When the Pathfinder Got Lost in Colorado (2020)

http://backpacker.com/stories/fremonts-wrong-turn/

https://www.nps.gov/grsa/learn/historyculture/john-fremont-expeditions-1848-and-1853.htm

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The Oregon Trail was a test of endurance for everyone, but especially for women pioneers. What happens when one woman has had enough?

If you'd like to know more of the history behind this episode of The Wild Wild Death, please check out these links:

• https://www.theresahuppauthor.com/blog/2017/03/22/elizabeth-markham-one-womans-perspective-on-the-oregon-trail-and-on-matrimony/
• https://www.history.com/news/9-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-oregon-trail
• https://www.grunge.com/1650142/most-brutal-deaths-oregon-trail/
• https://octa-trails.org/articles/life-and-death-on-the-oregon-trail/?srsltid=AfmBOopVvj_a0djifEfgQhQqBO2DCH4fqK4vWe2ocRSnsTvPL_4Sg0Fa
• https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SJH18911211.2.34&srpos=2&e=------189-en--20--1--txt-txIN-elizabeth+markham-------1
• http://www.theragens.com/fifty_years/fifty_years_in_oregon_18-19.htm
• http://www.oregonpioneers.com/diaries.htm
• https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/History_of_Oregon_Literature/Chapter_27
• https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/edwin-markham
   

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In this episode of Wild Wild Death, we delve into the harrowing saga of the Sutton-Taylor Feud, a violent clash that tore through Southeast Texas during the Reconstruction era. Starting with a string of deadly encounters between the Taylor family and local lawmen, this feud spiraled into a bloody conflict involving ambushes, assassinations, and even the involvement of Texas Rangers and the notorious gunslinger John Wesley Hardin. By the time the dust settled, over 35 lives had been lost, leaving a trail of death and destruction that would haunt Texas history. Join us as we explore the origins, the battles, and the final bloody resolution of this epic and tragic feud.

If you'd like to know more of the history behind this episode of The Wild Wild Death, please check out these links:

• https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/sutton-taylor-feud
• https://www.legendsofamerica.com/tx-suttontaylor/
• https://www.frontiertimesmagazine.com/blog/the-taylor-sutton-feud?srsltid=AfmBOopCH3m8CWG4CTKjYpH9L8vDP7EElvp1dHwF-fE_kO2rinyfSSY3
• Chuck Parsons, The Sutton-Taylor Feud: The Deadliest Blood Feud in Texas (A.C. Greene Series) (UNT Press, 2009)
• James M. Smallwood, The Feud That Wasn’t: The Taylor Ring, Bill Sutton, John Wesley Hardon, and Violence in Texas (Texas A&M Press, 2008)

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Pearl Devere was the madam of a very successful and exclusive bordello in Cripple Creek. But even the most savvy of businesswomen can make a fatal miscalculation.

If you'd like to know more of the history behind this episode of The Wild Wild Death, please check out these links:

◦                https://www.legendsofamerica.com/co-pearldevere/

◦                https://usrepresented.com/2023/03/18/pioneer-profiles-pearl-devere/

◦                https://www.visitcos.com/directory/old-homestead-house-museum/

◦                https://www.grunge.com/365939/what-you-didnt-know-about-pearl-de-vere/

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Big Nose George Parrott yearned to be a famous outlaw. But his claim to fame was for something he never dreamed could happen.

If you'd like more information about the history behind this episode of The Wild Wild Death, check out these resources:

• https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/14910 
• https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/big-nose-george-grisly-frontier-tale 
• https://owlcation.com/humanities/The-Wild-West-Outlaw-Who-Was-Turned-into-a-Pair-of-Shoes 
• https://www.sweetwaternow.com/outlaw-george-big-nose-parotts-body-was-skinned-after-his-death/
• Mark E. Miller, Big Nose George: His Troublesome Trail, (Glendo, WY: High Plains Press, 2021).
• Peter Netzel, Lesser Known Outlaws of Wyoming, (Scotts Valley, CA: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017). 
• Richard M. Patterson, Historical Atlas of the Outlaw West, (Boulder, CO: Johnson Books, 2000).
• R. Michael Wilson, Outlaw Tales of Wyoming: True Stories of the Cowboy State's Most Infamous Crooks, Culprits, and Cutthroats, (Helena, MA: Two Dot, 2013)

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On January 12, 1888, Nebraska farm children headed off to their sod hut schoolrooms under sunny and warm blue skies. None of them knew that a massive blizzard was barreling toward them... and it would test everyone’s survival skills.

If you'd like more information about the history behind this episode of The Wild Wild Death, check out these links:

• https://www.farmersalmanac.com/schoolhouseblizzard
• https://blog.reformedjournal.com/2024/01/12/january-12-1888/
• https://weather.com/science/weather-explainers/news/2025-01-14-blue-norther-cold-front-texas-plains
• https://vlab.noaa.gov/web/nws-heritage/explore-nws-history#event-protecting-lifeand-propertyfor-150-years
• https://www.minnpost.com/minnesota-history/2013/01/125-years-ago-deadly-children-s-blizzard-blasted-minnesota/
• https://history.nebraska.gov/looking-back-on-the-blizzard-of-1888/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94gLaNesbSs
• https://ntx.exprealty.com/blog/220901/Unraveling+The+Mystique+Of+The+Blue+Norther%3A+Texas%27+Chilling+Phenomenon