Famous People

WELCOME!

Thanks for visiting Notes from the Frontier! This blog is for history lovers fascinated by the American West
and pioneer and Indian life on the frontier. I started this new blog in 2019 and it grew very quickly
to more than 100,000 readers! Today it has nearly 400 posts.
I spent many years of researching my just-released debut historical novel, Blood to Rubies
about Chief Joseph and his heroic struggle to save his people in 1877. (It's already bestselling and award-winning! Press the blue button below for more info.) During my research, I discovered that so much of what we'd been taught in history books and by Hollywood was just plain wrong. So I decided to start a history blog. And it's been a pure joy and a life's passion project for me.
We'll cover many topics: from "soiled doves" to slavery, firearms to freak show, home brew to homosexuality, tough men and tougher women, cowboys and Indians, childbirth and death, dreams and desperation, myths and the truth. And, as they say, truth is stranger than fiction!
It's sure to be a wild ride! So hang on to your hat and let's GIDDYUP!

SPECIAL NOTE: Go to the Directory to view more specific categories .

Here's me, author-to-be, Deborah Hufford, at 16 and the Dayton Rodeo Queen in Iowa (which was the U.S. National Rodeo of the Year that year! My childhood horse was named Sundance, and was a celebrity among all the children in my small farming town. He even carried the Iowa governor in our rodeo parade one year.

When Sundance died at the ripe old age of 30, our town newspaper ran his obituary. I was so lucky to have the best horse in the world 💙

Take a wild ride into America’s past.

Grizzly Adams

Movies, television series, and books have extolled the legendary mountain man-turned-bear-tamer, Grizzly Adams.

3 min read

Gall, The Mightiest Warrior

Elizabeth Custer said of the great Hunkpapa Chief: "I never in my life dreamed there could be...so fine a specimen of warrior as Gall."

5 min read

Who Killed Custer? It might surprise you.

Female Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors fought at the Battle of the Little Bighorn-Custer's Last Stand-with distinction.

1 min read

Tecumseh, The Great Shawnee Chief

The name is legion. One of America’s greatest generals was named after him. An early American folk hero and two U.S. Presidents admired him.

8 min read

Daniel Boone, Frontier Icon

Baby boomers grew up on the 1964 Daniel Boone tv series and the theme song. Some of you may even be able to sing along.

6 min read

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

Today is the 138th anniversary of the gunfight at the OK corral on October 26, 1881. It was only 30 seconds of fury and flying lead.

10 min read

The Incredible Saga of Sacagawea

Sacagawea is one of the most famous figures in American history. Nearly all American school children and adults recognize her name.

9 min read

The Stunt King of Hollywood

For a century, American Westerns have captured the blood-and-thunder of the Wild West, cowboys and Indians, outlaws and outlanders.

7 min read

The Grisly Tale of Big Nose George

Frontier justice could be harsh, but few Wild West legends ended as badly for a bad guy as did the life of Big Nose George.

6 min read

10 Facts About Johnny Cash You Didn't Know

In the frontier of American music-making, Johnny Cash was a pioneer. As a musician, he was an icon.

7 min read

The True Story of Katie Elder

The truth about the real Katie Elder is far more spectacular than any Hollywood fiction.

9 min read

The Legend of Johnny Appleseed

Johnny Appleseed was born John Chapman in 1774 in Massachusetts. His father was a Minuteman under George Washington.

5 min read

The True Story of Pocahontas

Few legends in American history embody the power and poignancy that Pocahontas does.

7 min read

The Saga of Jackson Sundown

It turns out that Angela Swedberg is one of the leading Tribally Certified Indian Artisans in the country.

6 min read

In the Steps of Chief Joseph

Hundreds of riders on spotted Appaloosa horses, are saddling up to retrace the steps that Chief Joseph and his Nez Perce tribe took.

6 min read

In Honor of Chief Joseph

Chief Joseph’s saga is an “unparalleled story in the annals of the Indian's resistance to the greed of the whites.

7 min read

Stagecoach Mary

The legend was a towering, six-foot-plus black woman named “Stagecoach Mary.” And she could drink, smoke, cuss, fistfight and shoot.

5 min read

Uncle Sam: Birth of An Icon

Most Americans know Uncle Sam as a tall, upstanding, elderly man, stern-faced, gritty, with a white beard and mutton chops.

5 min read

Dances with Wolves - Part 3

No one was really prepared for the incredible success of Dances with Wolves. I know Kevin was blown away by the reception.

7 min read

Dances with Wolves - Part 2

Dances with Wolves was not only revolutionary for the western genre, it was a watershed for Native American actors and actresses.

6 min read