Read Bill O'Reilly's Legends and Lies Online
Authors: David Fisher
Since the founding of the motion-picture industry, the incredible true-life adventures of the men who tamed the West have served as source material—which was then turned into the larger-than-real-life legends we celebrate.
In the 1950s, television created a whole new audience for these films, further guaranteeing the survival of this mythical vision of the West. When those studios moved from showing their old movies to producing new western TV series, they stayed true to the myths, portraying real men such as Davy Crockett, Wild Bill Hickok, Bat Masterson, and Wyatt Earp as mostly fictionalized characters. By 1958, eight of the ten most popular shows were Westerns, and the three networks were broadcasting forty-eight different western series, thirty of them in prime-time hours.
Unable to compete with the action-packed series, the movie studios began using the western backdrop to tell deeper human stories. In 1953, for example, the allegorical Western
High Noon
was nominated for seven Oscars, winning four of them. In movie history, only sixteen Westerns have even been nominated for Best Picture, and three of them—
Cimarron
(1931),
Dances with Wolves
(1990), and
Unforgiven
(1992)—have won.
Awards or no, the motion-picture industry molded the image of the Wild West that has become so much a part of American history.
There are many people whose efforts made this project possible. I would like to express my appreciation to our editorial director, Gillian Blake, whose calm management of a complex project under difficult conditions has been superb. Literary agent Paul Fedorko of N.S. Bienstock brought all the disparate pieces together and was always there with a solution when difficulties arose. And as Paul will happily admit, he could not have done so without his assistant, Sammy Bina.
Coordinating this book with the television series being created by Warm Springs Productions of Missoula, Montana, has been made easy by line producer Bridger Pierce, whose enthusiasm for telling this wonderful story resonates on every page, and among the many people who have assisted him are Keith Palmer, Ajax Broome, and Jason Broome.
The beautiful illustrations that bring to life this colorful period in our history were cultivated and selected by Liz Seramur, Emily Vinson, and Adam Vietenheimer, along with Nancy Singer, who also created the book’s artful and complementary design. The following people provided invaluable assistance in finding the images: John Waggener and Victoria Allen, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming; Alyssa Bentz, Wells Fargo Corporate Archives; Jeff Corrigan, the State Historical Society of Missouri; Eileen Price, Center for Southwest Research, University of New Mexico; Hayes Scriven, Northfield Historical Society; Loren McLane, Fort Smith Historic Site; Stephen Spence, National Archives at Kansas City; Jacquelyn Slater Reese, Western History Collections, University of Oklahoma; Gregory M. Walz, Utah State Archives and Utah State History; Karen Douglas, Kit Carson Home; Thomas Haggerty and Wendy Zieger, Bridgeman Collection; Glenn Bradie and Alison Rigney, Everett
Collection; Brandt Buell and Michelle Graham, Getty Images; Sarah Steele and Silka Quintero, Granger Collection; Ashley Morton and Joergen Birman, National Geographic Creative; Peter Rohowsky and Jennifer Belt, Art Resource; Dave Alexander, Legends of America. A very special thanks to copy editor deluxe Jane Hardick, whose passion for clarity and accuracy has made a huge difference.
Several people assisted me with my research, including Rob Farwell, Dusty Pendleton, and Steve Boynton, whose efforts I truly appreciate.
Completing a project like this requires continued support through long days and nights, which I always get from my beautiful wife (and America’s finest yoga instructor!), Laura Stevens, and the small but confident dog who shared those hours with me, Willy.
And finally, I would also like to express my deepest appreciation to Bill O’Reilly for making it possible for me to participate in this project.
The following books were excellent sources for general background on the Old West.
Calloway, Colin G.
New Worlds for All: Indians, Europeans and Remaking of Early America.
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005.
Cody, William F.
An Autobiography of Buffalo Bill.
New York: Farrar and Rinehart, 1920.
Custer, George Armstrong.
My Life on the Plains; or, Personal Experiences with Indians.
New York: Sheldon & Company, 1876.
Howe, Henry.
The Great West.
Cincinnati: Henry Howe Publishing, 1851.
O’Neal, Bill.
Encyclopedia of Western Gunslingers.
Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1979.
Wright, Robert M.
Dodge City, the Cowboy Capital, and the Great Southwest.
Wichita, KS: Wichita Eagle Press, 1913.
Zinn, Howard.
A People’s History of the United States.
New York: HarperCollins, 2005.
I have also consulted several websites to gather, compare, and confirm information. The following sites proved to be especially trustworthy and provided useful material, as well as directing me to additional sources:
Project Gutenberg (
gutenberg.org
)
The following resources provided information on the specific subjects profiled in this book.
Daniel Boone
Bakeless, John.
Daniel Boone, Master of the Wilderness.
1939. Reprint, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1989.
Boone, Daniel.
The Adventures of Colonel Boone, Formerly a Hunter, Containing a Narrative of the Wars of Kentucky, Written by Himself.
John Filson, 1823.
Filson, John.
The Discovery, Settlement, and Present State of Kentucke.
Includes an appendix, “The Adventures of Col. Daniel Boon, One of the First Settlers.” John Filson, 1784.
Fort Boonesborough Living History,
“Daniel Boone and the History of Fort Boonesborough,”
http://www.fortboonesboroughlivinghistory.org/html/daniel_boone.html
.
Hawks, Francis Lister.
The Adventures of Daniel Boone, the Kentucky Rifleman.
New York: D. Appleton, 1843.
Lord Byron.
Don Juan.
Reprint of the 1837 Halifax, Nova Scotia, edition, Project Gutenberg, 2007.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/21700/21700-h/21700-h.htm
.
David Crockett
Akenson, Donald Harman.
Irish History of Civilization.
Volume 1. London: Granta Books, 2005.
Clarke, Matthew St. Clair.
The Life and Adventures of Colonel David Crockett of West Tennessee.
1833.
Crockett, David, E. L. Carey, and A. Hart.
A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett, written by Himself.
Philadelphia: E. L. Carey and A. Hart, 1834.
de la Peña, José Enrique.
The Memoirs of Lt. Col. José Enrique de la Peña.
College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1975.
Editors of
True West
Magazine. “How Did Davy Really Die?” In
True Tales and Amazing Legends of the Old West: From
True West
Magazine.
New York: Crown, 2005.
Jones, Randell.
In the Footsteps of Davy Crockett.
Winston-Salem, NC: John F. Blair, 2006.
Legends of America,
“Davy Crockett,”
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-davycrockettoutlaw.html
.
Kit Carson
Burdett, Charles.
Life of Kit Carson.
Philadelphia: Porter and Coates, 1869.
Frémont, John C.
Report of the Exploring Exhibition to the Rocky Mountains, and to Oregon & California in the Years 1843–'44.
Washington, DC: Gales and Seaton, 1845.
Peters, DeWitt C.
The Life and Adventures of Kit Carson, the Nestor of the Rocky Mountains, from Facts Narrated by Himself.
New York: W. H. Tinson, 1858. Published as
Pioneer Life & Frontier Adventures of Kit Carson.
Boston: Estes & Lauriat, 1883.
Sides, Hampton.
Blood and Thunder.
New York: Doubleday, 2006.
Black Bart
“Black Bart: California’s Infamous Stage Robber,”
http://www.BlackBart.com
.
Hoeper, George.
Black Bart: Boulevardier Bandit.
Sanger, CA: Word Dancer Press, 1995.
Jackson, Joseph Henry.
Bad Company: The Story of California’s Legendary and Actual Stage Robbers, Bandits, Highwaymen and Outlaws from the Fifties to the Eighties.
Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1977. First published 1949 by Harcourt Brace.
Nolan, Frederick.
The Wild West: History, Myth and the Making of America. London:
Arcturus, 2003.
Pryor, Alton.
Outlaws and Gunslingers.
Roseville, CA: Stagecoach Publishing, 2001.
Wild Bill Hickok
Black Plains Pioneer,
August 5, 1876.
Cheyenne Daily Sun,
March 8, 1876.
Hardin, John Wesley.
The Life of John Wesley Hardin as Written by Himself.
1896. Reprint, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1977.
Nichols, George Ward. “Wild Bill.”
Harper’s New Monthly Magazine,
February 1867.
Rosa, Joseph G.
They Called Him Wild Bill: The Life and Adventures of James Butler Hickok.
Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1979.
Topeka Daily Commonwealth,
November 3, 1869.
Bass Reeves
Burton, Art T.
Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves.
Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2006.
Fischer, Ron W.
The Tombstone News
(2006): “Bass Reeves: He Set a Timeless Example,”
http://www.TheTombstoneNews.com
.
Generic Radio Workshop Script Library,
“The Lone Ranger, episode 1,”
http://www.genericradio.com/show.php?id=1975f5a375929e64
.
Legends of America,
“Old West Legends: Bass Reeves; Black Hero Marshal,”
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-bassreeves.html
.
Nelson, Vaundra Micheaux.
Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, U.S. Marshal.
Minneapolis: Lerner Publishing Group, 2009.
United States Marshals Service. “U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves,”
http://www.usmarshals.gov/news/chron/2011/111611.htm
.
George Armstrong Custer
Ambrose, Stephen E.
Crazy Horse and Custer: The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors.
New York: Random House, 1996.
Bismarck Tribune,
September 2, 1874.
Connell, Evan.
Son of the Morning Star.
New York: North Point Press, 1984.
Lehman, Tim.
Bloodshed at Little Bighorn: Sitting Bull, Custer, and the Destinies of Nations.
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010.
Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley
Boston Journal,
March 4, 1872.
Bridger, Bobby.
Buffalo Bill and Sitting Bull: Inventing the Wild West.
College Station: University of Texas Press, 2002.
Cody, William F., and Frank E. Bliss.
Life of Honorable William F. Cody, known as Buffalo Bill, the Famous Hunter.
Hartford, CT: Frank E. Bliss, 1879.
Cody, William F., and William Lightfoot Visscher.
Buffalo Bill’s Own Story of His Life and Deeds.
Chicago: Homewood Press, 1917.
Gilbert, Sara.
Annie Oakley.
Mankato, MN: Creative Education, 2006.
http://www.annieoakleycenterfoundation.com
.
Norfolk Journal,
May 18, 1873.
Russell, Don.
Lives and Legends of Buffalo Bill.
Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1960.
Rydell, Robert, and Rob Kroes.
Buffalo Bill in Bologna: The Americanization of the World 1869–1922.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005.
Jesse James
Daviess County Historical Society.
http://daviesscountyhistoricalsociety.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=384
.
Kansas City Times,
August 18, 1876.
Love, Robertus.
The Rise and Fall of Jesse James.
New York: G. P. Putnam, 1926.
Stiles, T. J.
Jesse James: The Last Rebel of the Civil War.
New York: Knopf, 2002.
Sunday Times of Chicago,
September 10, 1876.
Yeatman, Ted P.
Frank and Jesse James: The Story Behind the Legend.
Nashville, TN: Cumberland House, 2003.
Doc Holliday
Denver Republican,
May 22, 1882.
Herda, D. J.
They Call Me Doc: The Story Behind the Legend of John Henry Holliday.
Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot, 2011.
Leadville Carbonate Chronicle,
November 14, 1887.
Masterson, W. R. Bat. “Doc Holliday,”
Human Life Magazine,
1907.
Otero, Miguel Antonio.
My Life on the Frontier.
New York: Press of the Pioneers, 1935.
Rewin, Richard E.
The Truth About Wyatt Earp.
Bloomington, IN: iUniverse, 2000.
Roberts, Gary L.
Doc Holliday: The Life and Legend.
Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 2006.
Tombstone Daily Epitaph,
October 27, 1881.
Washington, D.C., Evening Star,
January 1, 1878.