May 14, 2008 Bonus Blog Post
Here's a sampling of the emails I get each week regarding True West Moments which run on Starz-Encore:

Hi There,
We certainly enjoy seeing you on the Encore West True Moments. Can you tell us if there will be any new more episodes or will there be repeats from before. ? If there will be new episodes coming up, can you tell us when it will air date the first one? We really enjoy it and don't want to miss it.

We look forward to see this on the Encore West station in Phoenix, Arizona. I think it is so interesting to see and hear all about the history.

Thank you and will be looking forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you once again.

Regards,
A Fan Of Yours

Hello Bob, my wife and I enjoy your (Real West Moments) on the Encore Western Channel. We would like to know where the term (Chuck Wagon) came from. The information you give on the TV are informative and entertaining. We appreciate your dedication to the OLD WEST.
—Thank's Dan & Kathy Warrick Stanwood, WA.

Hello
My name is Flecia Howard. I am from Kentucky, and I watch the encore
western channel all the time. My favorite show to watch is the Rifleman.
It is my daughter and son's favorite as well.
I always listen when you come on with your true west moment, and I
have got a question that I hope you might know the answer too.
I am interested in the cowboy hat. Where did it originate from and who
was the first cowboy to wear one?

Thank You
Flecia

I just re-watched the 1951 movie "Oh! Susanna" starring Rod Cameron
and Forrest Tucker. I was profoundly impressed by the actual (correct)
military aspects of the movie, such as proper military saluting (rendering and
returning) since this alone is almost NEVER shown in any Hollywood movie
covering the military in ANY era.
I wondered about the propriety of the cavalry procedures shown (I
honestly don't know anything about cavalry etiquette) and was wondering if you
could research / pass judgment on this. [Specifically such things as intervals
for walking rather than riding horses, etc.] Cavalry procedures are almost as
rarely touched on as saluting.
My ultimate goal was to post this information on imdb.com in
connection with "Oh! Susanna," but I am not committed to being personally
involved with this avenue of comment.
In any event, the details about this movie would make a great snippet
for you to do on the Westerns Channel, or at least a great informative lead-in
for the movie itself.

P.S. I particularly enjoyed your research you aired for "Tombstone."
—No Name


I am a US Customs and Border Protection Officer in El Paso. In March 2003, I was sent on a 30-day detail to Turner, Montana.

One weekend, I took a trip down to the Charles Russell National Wildlife Preserve and made a side trip to the ghost town of Landusky, Montana. I had read a couple of locally-produced books that mentioned Harvey Logan killing Powell Landusky, Dec. 27, 1894 in a saloon in that tiny mining town.

One article said Landusky had pulled a semi-automatic pistol which jammed. After that, Logan shot him dead with a good old Colt .45.

I am a gun nut and was immediately seized by the thought of a man having a semi-auto pistol in 1894. The only semi-auto I knew of that existed at that time was the 1893 Borchardt which could not be considered a poicket pistol by any stretch of the imagination. In the ensuing years, I have searched the internet in vain for some clue as to what kind of pistol old Pike had and more details on the shootout.

About 30 minutes ago, I stumbled on an article you wrote which gave the information I had sought.

I just wanted to thank you for that.

I see your stuff on TV and thoroughly enjoy it, by the way.

As a side note, I have always been a history freak, but my college history professor, Bill O'Neal, really boosted my interest back in the early 70s. I am sure you have heard of him and may even know him since he has written a number of history books including several about gunfighters.

As long as I am writing to you, how about a show or segment about the most prolific of all old west gunfighters and the man I am convinced killed Pat Garrett - Jim Miller of Pecos, Texas, aka Killing Jim Miller or Deacon Jim Miller?

He is virtually unknown to the general public but put a lot of folks into the ground. Another of my favorite gunfighters was Barney Riggs. He also doesn't get much press.

Anyway, thanks for clearing up the mystery of Pike Landusky's "new-fangled" semi-automatic pistol.

—William Charles (Billy Chuck) Sutlive Jr.
El Paso, Texas

Pretty amazing, eh?