Legends of the Old West

In South Texas, in an area known as the Nueces Strip, cattle rustling is a huge problem and it comes with an additional layer of complication: many of the rustlers are from Mexico. They ride across the border, steal Texas cattle, and drive the cattle to Mexico. In 1875, Captain Leander McNelly and his militia company are dispatched to the Rio Grande Valley to stop the rustlers from Mexico. Shortly after they arrive, they find themselves in a pivotal fight on the Palo Alto prairie. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY “The Texas Rangers: Wearing the Cinco Peso, 1821-1900” by Mike Cox “The Ranger Ideal, Vol. 1&2” by Darren L. Ivey “Lone Star Justice: The First Century of the Texas Rangers” by Robert M. Utley “The Texas Rangers” by Walter Prescott Webb “Captain L.H. McNelly: Texas Ranger” by Chuck Parsons & Marianne E. Hall Little “Taming the Nueces Strip” by George Durham “Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers” by Doug J. Swanson “Charles Goodnight: Cowman and Plainsman” by J. Evetts Haley “Comanches: A History of a People” by T.R. Fehrenbach “The Earth Is Weeping: The Epic Story of the Indian Wars for the American West” by Peter Cozzens Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial. On YouTube, subscribe to LEGENDS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: hit “Join” on the Legends YouTube homepage. For more details, visit our website www.blackbarrelmedia.com and check out our social media pages. We’re @OldWestPodcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the early 1870s, the Horrell brothers were involved in the murder of a sheriff, the murders of State Police officers, a jailbreak, and a bloody episode known as the Horrell War in New Mexico before the infamous Lincoln County War. In 1877, they become embroiled in a deadly feud with the Higgins clan until Major John B. Jones dreams up a creative solution. Meanwhile, during the early stages of the problems with the Horrell brothers, a former captain of the State Police, Leander McNelly, creates a militia unit to try to stop the notoriously bloody Sutton-Taylor feud in South Texas. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY “The Texas Rangers: Wearing the Cinco Peso, 1821-1900” by Mike Cox “The Ranger Ideal, Vol. 1&2” by Darren L. Ivey “Lone Star Justice: The First Century of the Texas Rangers” by Robert M. Utley “The Texas Rangers” by Walter Prescott Webb “Captain L.H. McNelly: Texas Ranger” by Chuck Parsons & Marianne E. Hall Little “Taming the Nueces Strip” by George Durham “Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers” by Doug J. Swanson “Charles Goodnight: Cowman and Plainsman” by J. Evetts Haley “Comanches: A History of a People” by T.R. Fehrenbach “The Earth Is Weeping: The Epic Story of the Indian Wars for the American West” by Peter Cozzens Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial. On YouTube, subscribe to LEGENDS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: hit “Join” on the Legends YouTube homepage. For more details, visit our website www.blackbarrelmedia.com and check out our social media pages. We’re @OldWestPodcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1875, Major John B. Jones leads the gradual transition of the Texas Rangers from frontier fighters to law enforcement officers. As Texas becomes the heart of the cattle ranching industry in America, cattle rustling becomes a serious problem. In Mason County, two factions battle each other. And as the murder rate rises, Jones leads the Rangers to town to try to settle the affair. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY “The Texas Rangers: Wearing the Cinco Peso, 1821-1900” by Mike Cox “The Ranger Ideal, Vol. 1&2” by Darren L. Ivey “Lone Star Justice: The First Century of the Texas Rangers” by Robert M. Utley “The Texas Rangers” by Walter Prescott Webb “Captain L.H. McNelly: Texas Ranger” by Chuck Parsons & Marianne E. Hall Little “Taming the Nueces Strip” by George Durham “Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers” by Doug J. Swanson “Charles Goodnight: Cowman and Plainsman” by J. Evetts Haley “Comanches: A History of a People” by T.R. Fehrenbach “The Earth Is Weeping: The Epic Story of the Indian Wars for the American West” by Peter Cozzens Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial. On YouTube, subscribe to LEGENDS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: hit “Join” on the Legends YouTube homepage. For more details, visit our website www.blackbarrelmedia.com and check out our social media pages. We’re @OldWestPodcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During and immediately after the Civil War, the Texas frontier suffers from renewed attacks by the Comanche and Kiowa. One of the most notable is the devastating Elm Creek Raid. After the war, Texas briefly reconstitutes the Texas Rangers, but they’re not fully resurrected until the creation of the Frontier Battalion in 1874. Major John B. Jones becomes the commander and leads the battalion into a new era. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY “The Texas Rangers: Wearing the Cinco Peso, 1821-1900” by Mike Cox “The Ranger Ideal, Vol. 1&2” by Darren L. Ivey “Lone Star Justice: The First Century of the Texas Rangers” by Robert M. Utley “The Texas Rangers” by Walter Prescott Webb “Captain L.H. McNelly: Texas Ranger” by Chuck Parsons & Marianne E. Hall Little “Taming the Nueces Strip” by George Durham “Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers” by Doug J. Swanson “Charles Goodnight: Cowman and Plainsman” by J. Evetts Haley “Comanches: A History of a People” by T.R. Fehrenbach “The Earth Is Weeping: The Epic Story of the Indian Wars for the American West” by Peter Cozzens Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial. On YouTube, subscribe to LEGENDS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: hit “Join” on the Legends YouTube homepage. For more details, visit our website www.blackbarrelmedia.com and check out our social media pages. We’re @OldWestPodcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the spring of 1861, it becomes clear America is headed for civil war. Texas Rangers Ben McCulloch, Henry McCulloch, John S. “Rip” Ford, and Lawrence Sullivan Ross join the Confederate army. They have four vastly different experiences, highlighted by the second major battle of the war, Sherman’s capture of Atlanta, and the final battle of the war. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY “The Texas Rangers: Wearing the Cinco Peso, 1821-1900” by Mike Cox “The Ranger Ideal, Vol. 1&2” by Darren L. Ivey “Lone Star Justice: The First Century of the Texas Rangers” by Robert M. Utley “The Texas Rangers” by Walter Prescott Webb “Captain L.H. McNelly: Texas Ranger” by Chuck Parsons & Marianne E. Hall Little “Taming the Nueces Strip” by George Durham “Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers” by Doug J. Swanson “Charles Goodnight: Cowman and Plainsman” by J. Evetts Haley “Comanches: A History of a People” by T.R. Fehrenbach “The Earth Is Weeping: The Epic Story of the Indian Wars for the American West” by Peter Cozzens Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial. On YouTube, subscribe to LEGENDS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: hit “Join” on the Legends YouTube homepage. For more details, visit our website www.blackbarrelmedia.com and check out our social media pages. We’re @OldWestPodcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Change Agents, find out what it takes to solve some of the world's seemingly impossible problems. In each episode, SEAL Team 6 veteran and "Cleared Hot" podcast host Andy Stumpf interviews a new "agent of change" who is enacting real change to understand the scope of their work, how it can be replicated, and the unimaginable stakes of their everyday lives. Today’s guest is Academy Award winning filmmaker, Kevin Costner. Costner co-wrote, directed, and stars in the new film Horizon: An American Saga. In this special episode of Change Agents, he and Andy Stumpf discuss why he invested so much personally into the project, his career, his philosophy on storytelling and more. HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA CHAPTER ONE hits theaters June 28th, and CHAPTER TWO in theaters August 16th. Join the Frontier Pass at http://Fandango.com for exclusive content, and grab tickets for both Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 now. Change Agents is an IRONCLAD Original. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An investigation into the Mountain Meadows Massacre takes years, and in meantime, Porter Rockwell continues his roles as lawman and mail carrier. He builds a hotel and becomes a successful businessman, but he remains a figure of controversy. Acts of violence throughout Utah Territory become part of his lore, regardless of whether or not he was involved in them. By the time of his death, he has achieved legendary status in the history of the American West. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial. On YouTube, subscribe to LEGENDS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons. Hit “JOIN” on the Infamous America YouTube homepage. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm4V_wVD7N1gEB045t7-V0w/featured For more details, please visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com. Our social media pages are: @blackbarrelmedia on Facebook and Instagram, and @bbarrelmedia on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In August of 1857, a wagon train of travelers from Missouri and Arkansas rolls into Utah Territory. It’s called the Baker-Fancher party and it’s headed for California. The group camps in a high mountain valley called Mountain Meadows in southern Utah Territory, but Mormon settlers in the area believe the emigrants are more than just travelers. The Mormons believe the Baker-Fancher party is connected to the approaching U.S. Army column. As fear and suspicion grow, a Mormon militia attacks the travelers in a tragic event called the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial. On YouTube, subscribe to LEGENDS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons. Hit “JOIN” on the Infamous America YouTube homepage. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm4V_wVD7N1gEB045t7-V0w/featured For more details, please visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com. Our social media pages are: @blackbarrelmedia on Facebook and Instagram, and @bbarrelmedia on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New church leader Brigham Young declares that the Saints must go west to find a place where they can worship in peace. Porter Rockwell becomes the lead scout for the great exodus to Utah Territory. The Saints build Salt Lake City and navigate tensions with local Native American tribes. Rockwell acts as a guide for U.S. Army troops and helps establish the Brigham Young’s mail route through the territory. In 1857, Rockwell learns news of a major threat to the LDS church: President James Buchanan is sending 2,500 soldiers and a new governor to take over Utah Territory. The perceived invasion sets the stage for one of the darkest chapters in the history of the American West. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial. On YouTube, subscribe to LEGENDS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons. Hit “JOIN” on the Infamous America YouTube homepage. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm4V_wVD7N1gEB045t7-V0w/featured For more details, please visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com. Our social media pages are: @blackbarrelmedia on Facebook and Instagram, and @bbarrelmedia on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Porter Rockwell is arrested for the attempted murder of Missouri governor Lilburn Boggs, and Rockwell rots in jail for nearly a year. After a perilous journey to his new home in the Mormon settlement of Nauvoo, Illinois, Rockwell is reunited with the head of his church, Joseph Smith. But the reunion doesn’t last long. The LDS church suffers a devastating tragedy that requires a change of leadership. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial. On YouTube, subscribe to LEGENDS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons. Hit “JOIN” on the Infamous America YouTube homepage. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm4V_wVD7N1gEB045t7-V0w/featured For more details, please visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com. Our social media pages are: @blackbarrelmedia on Facebook and Instagram, and @bbarrelmedia on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the 1830s, Porter Rockwell and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints – commonly known as the Mormons – battle locals and militias in Missouri. Missouri governor Lilburn Boggs is determined to push the Mormons out of his state, and he succeeds at a bloody cost. After the Mormons move to Illinois, Porter Rockwell returns to Missouri to fulfill a prophecy to kill Governor Boggs. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial. On YouTube, subscribe to LEGENDS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons. Hit “JOIN” on the Infamous America YouTube homepage. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm4V_wVD7N1gEB045t7-V0w/featured For more details, please visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com. Our social media pages are: @blackbarrelmedia on Facebook and Instagram, and @bbarrelmedia on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Orrin Porter Rockwell is born into an era of religious fervor in the eastern United States. His family soon becomes close with the Smith family, and Porter becomes the youngest convert to Joseph Smith’s new religious movement, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The Saints immediately meet resistance to their ideology and they move west to Ohio and then Missouri. In Missouri, they begin years of conflict with the locals. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial. On YouTube, subscribe to LEGENDS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons. Hit “JOIN” on the Infamous America YouTube homepage. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm4V_wVD7N1gEB045t7-V0w/featured For more details, please visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com. Our social media pages are: @blackbarrelmedia on Facebook and Instagram, and @bbarrelmedia on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In November of 1892, the final showdown arrives. The U.S. Marshals assault Ned Christie’s cabin and end Ned’s resistance. The marshals and the general public believe a murderous outlaw has been brought to justice. But as the years pass, newspapers and historians revisit the saga known as “Ned Christie’s War” and begin to separate fact from fiction. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Noiser+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. For more details, visit our website www.blackbarrelmedia.com and check out our social media pages. We’re @OldWestPodcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. On YouTube, subscribe to LEGENDS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: hit “Join” on the Legends YouTube homepage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After the raid by Deputy U.S. Marshal Heck Thomas, Ned Christie builds a fortified cabin that is designed to withstand future attacks. He maintains his innocence in the case of the murder of Deputy U.S. Marshal Dan Maples, and he does not intend to surrender. He continues his defiance, but he also starts to believe that the end is near… Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Noiser+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. For more details, visit our website www.blackbarrelmedia.com and check out our social media pages. We’re @OldWestPodcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. On YouTube, subscribe to LEGENDS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: hit “Join” on the Legends YouTube homepage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When a deputy U.S. marshal is murdered in the Cherokee capital, a respected Cherokee statesman named Ned Christie becomes the prime suspect. Newspaper stories portray Ned as a ruthless outlaw who commits every crime in the book, but are the stories accurate? As the pressure mounts to bring Ned Christie to justice, legendary Deputy U.S. Marshal Heck Thomas is dispatched to confront the elusive fugitive. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Noiser+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. For more details, visit our website www.blackbarrelmedia.com and check out our social media pages. We’re @OldWestPodcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. On YouTube, subscribe to LEGENDS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: hit “Join” on the Legends YouTube homepage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After the historic success of the Big Springs robbery, Sam Bass returns to Texas. He builds a new gang and continues his robbery spree. But now that he is a wanted criminal in Texas, he is hunted by the Texas Rangers. The Rangers track him to the town of Round Rock where they engage him in the final confrontation. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Noiser+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. For more details, visit our website www.blackbarrelmedia.com and check out our social media pages. We’re @OldWestPodcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. On YouTube, subscribe to LEGENDS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: hit “Join” on the Legends YouTube homepage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sam Bass and his business partner, Joel Collins, travel to Deadwood to find their fortunes, but their attempts to make legitimate money end in failure. They believe they have choice but to embrace the outlaw life. They assemble a crew and start robbing stagecoaches… only to discover that they’re miserable stagecoach robbers. But when they reach the peak of desperation, they decide to rob a train. And in the process, they become historically lucky. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Noiser+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. For more details, visit our website www.blackbarrelmedia.com and check out our social media pages. We’re @OldWestPodcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. On YouTube, subscribe to LEGENDS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: hit “Join” on the Legends YouTube homepage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sam Bass began life as a typical farm boy in the midwestern United States. But as he grew older, and experienced more than his fair share of family tragedy, he dreamed of becoming a Texas cowboy. After a detour through Mississippi, he made it to Texas and started living his dream. He experienced exactly one cattle drive to Kansas before he decided there must be easier ways to make money. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Noiser+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. For more details, visit our website www.blackbarrelmedia.com and check out our social media pages. We’re @OldWestPodcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. On YouTube, subscribe to LEGENDS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: hit “Join” on the Legends YouTube homepage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for two upcoming events in 2024 about Chris’s book, “The Summer of 1876” February 2, 2024 – 2:00-3:00pm presentation 3:00pm Book Signing Scottsdale, Arizona Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West Presentation and Book Signing **FREE to the public March 9-10, 2024 Tucson, Arizona Tucson Festival of Books March 9, 4:00pm - 5:00pm “Into The Sunset” panel discussion *Book signing after the panel March 10, 1:00pm - 2:00pm “The West in Fact and Fiction” panel discussion *Book signing after the panel **FREE to the public To buy the book: “The Summer of 1876” Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial. On YouTube, subscribe to INFAMOUS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons. Hit “JOIN” on the Infamous America YouTube homepage. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm4V_wVD7N1gEB045t7-V0w/featured For more details, please visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com. Our social media pages are: @blackbarrelmedia on Facebook and Instagram, and @bbarrelmedia on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Difficult times are ahead for Buffalo Bill Cody in the final years of his life. He helps found the town of Cody, Wyoming, but its creation, and other investments, lead to dire financial trouble. Bill’s marriage falls apart in a public scandal and he experiences more personal tragedy as he also witnesses America’s evolution from the Old West to the Gilded Age. In the end, his impact is incomparable. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial. For more details, visit our website www.blackbarrelmedia.com and check out our social media pages. We’re @OldWestPodcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices