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Bill Downing wasn’t just another outlaw in the Arizona Territory—he was the most hated man in the state. From his violent temper and lawless saloon to his connections with the outlaw/lawmen Burt Alvord, Downing carved out a reputation for brutality that left scars on every town he touched. He ran crooked games, taught his women the art of pickpocketing, and wasn’t afraid to beat anyone—friend or foe—who crossed him. Even the law despised him. By the time his story ended, Arizona was united in celebration at his downfall.

In this episode of Wild West Deep Dives, we explore the rise and bloody fall of Bill Downing, why he became a symbol of everything rotten in frontier Arizona, and how his own reckless choices made him an outlaw remembered only for his cruelty.

Check out the Youtube Channel! This episode's video goes live Wednesday, the 10th of September at 6pm ET!

Thank you all for the support recently, I know I say it a lot but y'all are absolutely amazing! I couldn't do it without y'all!

Sources;

o https://truewestmagazine.com/bill-downing-six-shooter/ (1)

o https://truewestmagazine.com/article/jeff-milton-burt-alvord-gang/ (2)

o https://www.historynet.com/the-lowdown-on-quarrelsome-bill-downing/ (3)

o https://www.myheraldreview.com/downing-tops-willcox-bad-man-list/article_b75c6802-d347-5f2a-9046-1a043761bcca.html (4)

§ Article by Phyllis De La Garza

o https://www.legendsofamerica.com/az-cochiserobbery/ (5)

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Frank Butler wrote a book titled, The Life of Dave, As Told by Himself.

It’s a short story of his life from his perspective and I thought it would be a fun little episode.

But I will warn you, it is his full life, from when Frank picked him up, to his death. I talk about people dying in shootouts, from accidents, but man, I struggle when talking about dogs, so just wanted to give everyone a heads up but it’s still a fun book.

Dave lived one heck of a life, hunting, admiring Annie and Frank, doing tricks and getting into some trouble, as ever good boy does!

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Howdy and Welcome back to Wild West Deep Dives.

This is our final part of our Revised Deep Dive into the life of Annie Oakley.

Last week, we discussed the Buffalo Bills Wild West Show going to England, Annie’s rivalry with another woman sharp shooter, which resulted in her leaving the show temporarily… Her return, how she saved the shows hide and their return trip to East.

This week, we will discuss the end of the Wild West Show, some accidents she was involved in, her later years and the impact she had on the world.

This has been an unbelievable series, a ton of work went into it and it took a long time to produce but I wanted to make sure I did a good job with it.

I think things like this is what makes history so interesting, for a hundred years, we all believed that the story of Annie Oakley was the truth, all the things we talked about, her childhood, how she met Frank and had the long told shooting match, how she started as a shooter, all of it, then through diligent research, we find new information that completely changes the story.

I hope y’all enjoyed this special series on Annie Oakley. If you did, please leaving a rating and review, it is an amazing way for this podcast to grow! Thank you for all the support!

Check out the video we made on this series on Youtube! It is absolutely amazing, filled with pictures of Annie, the Wild West Show and some never before seen pictures!

As always, please join me on Pateron, for the recent future, you will get access to episodes one week early, so the final part is already available and as always access to some bonus episodes that are only available on Pateron!

If you enjoy Wild West Deep Dives, please leave a rating, it is an amazing way for this podcast to grow and don’t be afraid to share us with someone you love, I appreciate y’all.

Please email me with any comments, corrections, concerns that you may have, and I’ll get back to you quickly, you can email me at wildwestdeepdives@gmail.com

Lastly, another huge thanks to the Annie Oakley Center for all their help, they are an amazing group and I feel very thankful that they brought me into the museum and Ellien made me feel welcome and thank you Ellien, Karen, Brenda and Don who helped me tremendously in putting this together with the correct information.

Go check out the Garst Museum in Greenville! You won’t regret it!

Sources;

Annie Oakley by Shirl Kasper

Annie Oakley Center, Eileen Litchfield, Chairman, Cathy & Don Wagner, Historians, Brenda Arnett, Historian, Karen Besecker, Historian

Annie Oakley by Courtney Riley Cooper

Annie Oakley by Captivating History

Autobiography by Annie Oakley

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Howdy and Welcome back to Wild West Deep Dives.

This is our 3rd Episode of our Revised Deep Dive into the life of Annie Oakley, there will be one more episode next week and that’ll be the final part!

Last week, we discussed Annie and Frank falling in love, her encounter with one of the most famous Native Americans in history, them joining Buffalo Bills Wild West Show, what her act looked like and a near death experience that Annie faced.

This week, we will discuss the Buffalo Bills Wild West Show going to England, Annie’s rivalry with another woman sharp shooter, which resulted in her leaving the show temporarily… Her return, how she saved the shows hide and their return trip to East.

Thank you again to Ellien, Karen, Brenda, Cathy and Don from the Annie Oakley Center for their amazing help with this series.

Next week, we will discuss the end of the Wild West Show, some accidents she was involved in, her later years and the impact she had on the world.

As always, please join me on Pateron, for the recent future, you will get access to episodes one week early, therefore, episode 2 is already available and as always access to some bonus episodes that are only available on Pateron! Thank you thank you!

If you enjoy Wild West Deep Dives, please leave a rating, it is an amazing way for this podcast to grow and don’t be afraid to share us with a family member. I appreciate y’alls endless support.

Please, please email me with any questions, corrections, concerns that you may have, you can email me at wildwestdeepdives@gmail.com

Sources;

Annie Oakley by Shirl Kasper

Annie Oakley Center, Eileen Litchfield, Chairman, Cathy & Don Wagner, Historians, Brenda Arnett, Historian, Karen Besecker, Historian

Annie Oakley by Courtney Riley Cooper

Annie Oakley by Captivating History

Autobiography by Annie Oakley

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Howdy and welcome back to Wild West Deep Dives.

This is our 2nd episode of our Revised Deep Dive into the Life of Annie Oakley.

Last week, we discussed the new information that was found that completely changes what we thought we knew about the early life of Annie Oakley.

This week, we will discuss Annie and Frank falling in love, her encounter with one of the most famous Native Americans in history, them joining Buffalo Bills Wild West Show, what her act looked like and a near death experience Annie faced.

And again, thank you to Ellien, Karen, Brenda, Cathy and Don from the Annie Oakley Center for their amazing help with this series.

Next week, we will discuss the Buffalo Bills Wild West Show goes to England, Annie’s rivalry with another woman sharp shooter, which resulted in her leaving the show temporarily, her return, how she saved the shows hide and their return trip to East.

As always, please join me on Pateron, for the recent future, you will get access to episodes one week early, therefore, episode 2 is already available and as always access to some bonus episodes that are only available on Pateron! Thank you thank you!

If you enjoy Wild West Deep Dives, please leave a rating, it is an amazing way for this podcast to grow and don’t be afraid to share us with someone you know, I appreciate y’all more than I could ever describe.

Please, please email me with any questions, corrections, concerns that you may have, you can email me at wildwestdeepdives@gmail.com

Sources;

Annie Oakley by Shirl Kasper

Annie Oakley Center, Eileen Litchfield, Chairman, Cathy & Don Wagner, Historians, Brenda Arnett, Historian, Karen Besecker, Historian

Annie Oakley by Courtney Riley Cooper

Annie Oakley by Captivating History

Autobiography by Annie Oakley

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***NEW INFORMATION***

New information has emerged that radically alter our understanding of Annie Oakley's early life; the 1875 Shooting Match never took place... The notion that Annie Oakley began her career as a fancy shooter is also false, along with many other beliefs that have persisted for over a century!!

In 2023, Shirl Kasper, the author of the remarkable biography, Annie Oakley, uncovered new information through her thorough research. Although she couldn't modify her biography, she was able to include an afterword that rectified the misconceptions held by historians, writers, society, and even amateur podcasters like myself.

This series was created with incredible support from everyone at the Annie Oakley Center, and together we have collaborated to present the first TRUE life story of the Woman Buffalo Bill Cody referred to as 'Little Missy.'

Next week, we will discuss Annie and Frank falling in love, her encounter with one of the most famous Native Americans in history, them joining Buffalo Bills Wild West Show, what her act looked like and a near death experience that Annie faced.

As always, please join me on Pateron, for the recent future, you will get access to episodes one week early, therefore, episode 2 is already available and as always access to some bonus episodes that are only available on Pateron! Thank you thank you!

If you enjoy Wild West Deep Dives, please leave a rating, it is an amazing way for this podcast to grow and don’t be afraid to share us with a friend, or enemy, whichever you prefer, either way, I appreciate it greatly.

Please, please email me with any questions, corrections, concerns that you may have, you can email me at wildwestdeepdives@gmail.com

Sources;

Annie Oakley by Shirl Kasper

Annie Oakley Center, Eileen Litchfield, Chairman, Cathy & Don Wagner, Historians, Brenda Arnett, Historian, Karen Besecker, Historian

Annie Oakley by Courtney Riley Cooper

Annie Oakley by Captivating History

Autobiography by Annie Oakley

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Little update for y'all on the Upcoming Series and my first Patron Episode on Caleb Greenwood.

I appreciate all the support y'all have given me on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, all the other platforms and Youtube!

My last video on Youtube, which was on the Bill Wilson Episode has over 6,000 views, over 100 likes and a bunch of comments!! Y'all are amazing!

Caleb Greenwood was my first ever Patron Episode that has only been available on Patron, I didn't want to leave y'all with nothing until the next series is available, hope y'all enjoy!

Caleb Greenwood

A tall, muscular, illiterate ‘lesser mountain man,’ says one report. A California Trail guide and part-time warrior, who scurried in and out of the pages of Western American history for eighty-seven years.

Today we will be talking about a little known character of the West.

A man who ran from trouble back East and made a name for himself as a pioneer, a fur trapper, guide, and even helped in the rescue of the Donner Party at age 84.

Patron Link; https://patreon.com/WildWestDeepDives?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

Youtube link; https://youtube.com/@wildwestdeepdives-z6y?si=Gkgjy1jzTRrWYFQV

Sources;

o http://www.bigskywords.com/montana-blog/lesser-known-fur-trappers-and-mountain-men (1)

o https://online.ucpress.edu/scq/article-abstract/48/2/213/85225/Review-Old-Greenwood-The-Story-of-Caleb-Greenwood?redirectedFrom=fulltext (2)

o Mark McLaughlin article in yourtahoeguide.com, Part 1 & 2, https://yourtahoeguide.com/2024/05/old-greenwood-tahoe-sierra-trailblazer-part-i/, https://yourtahoeguide.com/2024/06/old-greenwood-tahoe-sierra-trailblazer-part-ii/ (3)

o https://oregon.com/attractions/oregon-trail-timeline-1816-1830 (4)

o https://sitecore03a.its.uidaho.edu/-/media/uidaho-responsive/files/extension/county/bear-lake/about/history-information-sheet.pdf?rev=8ed4218f8a734ff28927a0e5c8dbeeb9 (5)

o https://oregon.com/attractions/oregon-trail-timeline-1816-1830 (6)

o http://www.oregonpioneers.com/1844.htm (7)

o https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/hatcher-john-l (8)

o http://oregonoverland.com/3-new.pdf (9)

o https://www.sdhspress.com/journal/south-dakota-history-6-2/fort-manuel-its-historical-significance/vol-06-no-2-fort-manuel.pdf (10)

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Howdy and welcome back to Wild West Deep Dives. This week, we are going to be talking about the Battle of Cieneguilla.

Along the trail between Santa Fe and Taos in the New Mexico Territory in 1854, Chief Chacon’s large contingent of Jicarilla (Hic-a-ria) Apaches engaged in a fierce battle against United States Dragoons under the command of Lieutenant John W. Davidson.

The Santa Fe Weekly Gazette would report… one of the severest battles that ever took place between American troops and Red Indians

Sources for this episode;

o https://www.historynet.com/battle-cieneguilla-dragoons-vs-jicarilla-apaches/ (1)

o The Battle of Cieneguilla, March 30, 1854 by John Pezzola, American Military University

o https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/this-old-gun-u-s-model-1847-cavalry-musketoon/ (3)

o https://www.nps.gov/fosc/learn/education/dragoon5.htm (4)

o https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2612/jicarilla-apache-creation-story--origin-of-the-ani/ (5)

o Campaigns Against the Jicarilla Apache, 1854, by Morris F. Taylor (6)

o https://www.britannica.com/topic/Jicarilla-Apache (7)

o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGbCkoXdn-4 (8)

§ Jicarilla Apache Creation Story

o https://californiapioneer.com/mormon-battalion/u-s-army-dragoons/ (9)

o https://tentribespartnership.org/tribes/jicarilla-apache-nation/ (10)

o https://nfsl.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p17053coll2/id/337811 (11)

o Final Report on the Battle of Cieneguilla by authors David M. Johnson, Chris Adams, Charles Hawk & Skip Keith Miller (12)

o Myths and Tales of the Jicarilla Apache Indians by Morris E. Opler (13)

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