Our American West

In Our American West, Volume 1, discover humor, tragedy and courage in every one of these delightful stories. Gary McCarthy has been writing about the American West for thirty years and these are some of his favorite topics written – not for the expert or scholar – but for all the armchair admirers of thing historically written. Some of these exciting subjects are fairly well known such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but even here you will discover things about these daring outlaws that you probably didn't know. Stories of coyotes, burros, jackrabbits and mustangs – the "untamed ones" that are oh so very important threads in the rich and textured tapestry of our western heritage. Black Bart, the gentle stagecoach robber, Lola Montez, the famous "Spider Dancer," Charles Russell was famous for his art, but one of his dearest friends, Will Rogers thought of him as an equally gifted storyteller. "Bet A Million" Gates whose bold Texas wager transformed the entire face and future of the American West. In this fascinating listen, you will learn about explorers, adventurers, the famous and almost famous, and about legends like Joaquin Murieta.

Our American West, Volume 2 begins with America's first colonizers, the prairie dogs, and how out on the ranges they were so hated by ranchers that they were almost made extinct. Conestoga Wagons were once called "prairie schooners" crossing America long before the famed Pony Express. The indomitable courage of Sarah Winnemucca, the "Prairie Princess" rivals that of a tall Swede named Showshoe Thompson who skied the snowy river passes of the Sierra Nevadas for over twenty years packing the mail and saving lives. Almost no one knows of Esther Hobart Morris, but Wyoming proudly claims her as its Mother of Women's Suffrage. Marvel at the transcontinental railroad race between the Union Pacific's Chinese laborers and the predominately Irish Central Pacific Railroad crews and about how a one-armed Civil War hero named John Wesley Powell was the first explorer to run the mighty Grand Canyon deep within its corridors of stone. Doctors called "sawbones" struggled to save their patients with little more than poultices and prayers. Tom Horn was a tall, handsome hired gun but did he hang for a crime he did commit? Are mules smarter than horses? Clay Allison was every bit as deadly as Billy the Kid. Native American stories featuring Chief Sitting Bull. Buffalo Soldiers, The Ghost Dancers and Mark Twain, Frederick Remington and The Infamous Bandit Queens round out Our American West, Volume 2.

Our American West, Volume 3 is filled with western frontier stories you'll find entertaining. The Roadrunner – Our Sagebrush Clowns reflects on the speedy and often comical bird of our southwestern deserts. Wild and wicked Calamity Jane lived up to her reputation as the West's most infamous outlaw woman. "The Donner Party – Frozen Horror" describes the horror that led to cannibalism. The 49er Gold Rush ruined the lives of two ambitious and well-intentioned men, John Augustus Sutter and John Marshal and then the Big Bonanza took place under Nevada's mighty Sun Mountain. Cynthia Ann Parker watched Comanche slaughter her family and was taken captive; thus became so loyal to her new culture that she did not want to return to the white culture. Was John Wesley Hardin the most dangerous gunman on the western Frontier? Geronimo was a great Apache chief who sought vengeance and not without good reason while the People of the Shining Mountains wanted only peace and to remain in their hunting grounds. Camels – A Really Bad Experiment will make you laugh as the cowboys try to introduce the camel into the West.

Our American West, Volume 4 completes this collection of stories written by Gary McCarthy. The Lewis and Clark Expedition proved once and for all that the storied and hoped for "River across America" didn't exist. Long before the Forty-Niner Gold Rush a diminutive but courageous priest named Fr. Junipero Serra sacrificed everything to bring Christianity to the gentle coastal Native Americans while faithfully establishing a string of beautiful California missions. Old Time Snake Oil Peddlers and Con Men were artists of deceit, trying to peddle elixirs and cures without liberal doses of alcohol. The First Hollywood Cowboys takes us back to B-grade movies and stars like William S. Hart, Bob Steel, Hoot Gibson, Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. Visit the Custer Battlefield, which reminds us that foolish pride and ambition can lead to tragedy. Jesse James and Sam Bass fear the famed Texas Rangers while Wyatt Earp and His Deadly Brothers had a reputation for being fast and deadly with a sixgun. From the First Mountain Men to the great Texas Longhorn drives and on to the visionary naturalist John Muir who advocated the National Park system after falling in love with Yosemite.