Becky Coffield's Blog - True West Historical Society

The Gun Show

Maybe I've commented on this before - if so, forgive my forgetfulness. But I do want to say a few things here that I find mind boggling. Maybe it's just me.

I attended the Phoenix Gun Show last weekend. This is now the biggest show east of Oklahoma...or some big river. For two days (I couldn't bear three) I watched men prowl about looking at guns, buying ammo. and in general acting miserable.

So, I guess my first question is, why is it that when men go gun shopping they… Continue

Added by Becky Coffield on December 8, 2009 at 7:40pm — 3 Comments

Maxed Out on Louis L'Amour

I can't take it anymore...I need a break. Give me a good Elmer Kelton book (ha ha! I just got one.)

I like Louis L'Amour...but I just read my third Sackett book in a row. I like the Sackett books that are actually "Western." Okay? But, the other titles, the early ones of Barnabas coming to America (Sacket's Land, To the Far Blue Mountains, The Warrior's Path) just really don't suit my fancy all that much. Okay, the first title did, after that it was painful.

Part of the… Continue

Added by Becky Coffield on October 23, 2009 at 7:30pm — 3 Comments

Sex in a Classic Western??? Matt Braun Pulls it Off in Kinch Riley

Matt Braun’s Kinch Riley may well be one of the most underappreciated westerns written in modern times. Braun’s tale (St. Martin's Paperback Edition 2000) is based on a true story that took place in Newton, Kansas in 1871. Accounts of this episode vary widely, but the Topeka Daily commonwealth maintains that six men died in the space of ninety seconds and several others were wounded. Braun’s story makes this episode in Western history absolutely riveting and intriguing. Prepare for a… Continue

Added by Becky Coffield on August 10, 2009 at 11:00am — 1 Comment

Zane Grey's "The Mysterious Rider" Predictable, but Engaging.

For those who enjoy a good, classic western with clearly delineated characters, The Mysterious Rider will be sure to entertain.

Set in Colorado, Grey performs his usual magic of transforming the landscape into an irresistible kaleidoscope of sensual color and description for the reader. Bearing in mind that the setting is the main character in Grey’s novels, this story is nevertheless entertaining even though it tends to be quite predictable. It’s always rewarding to see good… Continue

Added by Becky Coffield on August 9, 2009 at 11:32pm — 5 Comments

Zane Grey's "To the Last Man" is Classic and Unforgettable

Zane Grey's "To the Last Man" may arguably be the finest western book ever written. Based on the Pleasant Valley War in Arizona, Grey also includes other controversy.

So enthralling, thrilling and exciting is Zane Grey’s classic To the Last Man, that it is difficult to know where to begin when discussing this amazing western/historical fiction novel of the bloody feud between sheepherders and cattlemen that raged in Pleasant Valley in Arizona’s Tonto Basin.

Love and… Continue

Added by Becky Coffield on July 22, 2009 at 10:57am — 4 Comments

Louis L'Amour's Mojave Crossing is an Enduring Western Classic

Louis L’Amour’s Mojave Crossing (Bantam Books, 13th printing) is truly a classic. Published almost fifty years ago, this book, like almost all classic westerns, is almost impossible to find in used bookstores. So what makes this book so good, besides the fact that it’s written by Louis L’Amour? What makes classic westerns so enduring in their appeal?

Classic Western Style

For starters, Mojave Crossing is written in a typical, classic western style. The… Continue

Added by Becky Coffield on June 28, 2009 at 6:30pm — 1 Comment

Hurrah for Texas and Texans!! I Salute You!

The Blazing Southwest is the third history book I've read recently by Paul Wellman. Like the other two books, Death in the Desert and Death on the Prairie, this one is also excellent.

The Blazing Southwest is divided into sections, each fascinating and informative, but the section on Texas really stood out. This is partly because much of the information in the other parts of the book is covered elsewhere in his work, but reading about Texans and their… Continue

Added by Becky Coffield on June 16, 2009 at 3:59pm — 3 Comments

Book Review: Geronimo's Life Story is Both Gripping and Tragic

Geronimo – My Life, as told to S. M. Barrett (Dover Publications, 2005) is a thin volume with a heavy heart. It is yet another overlooked book that details the betrayal and abuse of the Native American by the American and Mexican military/cavalry.

History, as taught in most schools, blithely skips over some real facts regarding the settling of America. While pioneers and incredibly tough, rugged men forged their way across the nation, thousands upon thousands of people who… Continue

Added by Becky Coffield on June 1, 2009 at 8:49am — 7 Comments

Endurance Riding, Mountaineering and Big Mouth Disease

Besides being impulsive and frequently out of control, I also suffer from Big Mouth Disease. I often get the feeling that lots of people don’t like this about me.

My last attack happened when a co-worker told me about his wife doing endurance races. It hit like a thunderbolt. Suddenly I heard not a word he said as I saw my destiny as a world-famous endurance rider!! Fabulous images crossed my mind as I envisioned myself galloping through the dell, trailering around the world to… Continue

Added by Becky Coffield on May 30, 2009 at 10:10am — 5 Comments

Louis L'Amour's Autobiography a Great Read

Louis L’Amour’s autobiography, Education of a Wandering Man, is an extremely interesting read for those who are L’Amour fans and even for those who want to see a slice of life that simply is no more.

L’Amour spends most of his time in the book recounting his days as a drifter doing odd jobs, hopping freights and working occasionally as a merchant marine. This is very surprising, as most people don’t expect a world famous author to be such a knockabout, high school drop out… Continue

Added by Becky Coffield on May 25, 2009 at 4:00pm — 7 Comments

Probably Should Have Some Horse Sense to Own and Care for a Horse

My shoer, Wayne, came by the other day to do the new shoe thing on my horse, and while he was tapping and filing he told me about a book he was planning on writing entitled: So You Think You Want to Own a Horse. He explained that each chapter would cover details about horse ownership that prospective new owners might not know.

I found his idea instantly attractive considering my own astounding ignorance about horses when I bought my quarter horse… Continue

Added by Becky Coffield on May 19, 2009 at 12:36pm — 6 Comments

Dressage, Anyone? BEWARE!

Let me tell you, it was a lot harder than it looked. Here’s a person in the cutest outfit riding around in circles, acting just as calm as can be. Someone tells them where to turn and how fast to go, which never seems to be much faster than a trot. Piece of cake, I figured. So, I signed up for my first dressage lesson.

I opted to go to a complete stranger and use one of my many aliases. That way if things didn’t quite work out, I’d never have to… Continue

Added by Becky Coffield on May 14, 2009 at 9:11pm — 11 Comments

Searching for the Perfect Saddlebags

What is currently being sold as saddlebags is pathetic. What are these things supposed to hold? A roll of toilet paper maybe? Not much else. You see, most people are woefully unprepared when they ride out that driveway into the wilderness, but I, well, judge for yourself whether you wouldn’t rather be lost with me and my saddle bag contents any day of the week compared to being lost with just about anybody else.

For starters, I never leave home without aesthetic items. If one is… Continue

Added by Becky Coffield on May 12, 2009 at 11:27am — 9 Comments

"A Cowboy's Trail Guide to Westerns"

A Cowboy’s Trail Guide to Westerns, by David F. Matuszak is an excellent addition to any western film buff’s bookshelf. Matuszak has taken his love of the western film and shared his experience, opinion and wisdom on these remarkable, truly American, works of art.

The art of the Western Film is obviously a life long passion of Matuszak’s. He catalogues and rates every movie made for the first one hundred years of western film. Besides developing a scoring guide for different… Continue

Added by Becky Coffield on May 9, 2009 at 8:07pm — No Comments

Backing a Trailer May Well Be a Testosterone-Driven Activity!

This backing of a horse trailer, or trailer of any kind, is simply not in my DNA. It’s not that I haven’t tried to back a trailer, or that my husband has not repeatedly tried to teach me. Anyway, he should know by now that he can’t teach me anything. But he tries, and the louder his voice gets the worse I do, wildly careening the trailer from one jack knifed position to another. Finally I close my window to shut out his booming voice. Then he tries to give hand gestures and rotates his fingers… Continue

Added by Becky Coffield on May 8, 2009 at 7:30am — 2 Comments

Wellman’s "Death on the Prairie" Exposes Shameful Deeds by the White Man

Death on the Prairie, The Thirty Years’ Struggle for the Western Plains will definitely take any reader to the edge of dismay and shame.

Cruelty and maltreatment of the Indian by the military and Indian Agents, along with disrespect and a complete lack of understanding and empathy for the misplaced, cheated American native, led the Western Plains Indians to wage brutal war with the whites. Time and again, however, Wellman points out that these wars were prompted by the white… Continue

Added by Becky Coffield on May 5, 2009 at 9:09pm — 3 Comments

Hard to Tell the Difference Between the Outlaws and the Lawmen!

Leon Claire Metz, author of The Shooters – A Gallery of Notorious Gunmen from the American West, has compiled an impressive list of famous, and infamous, American lawmen and outlaws. Each of the twenty-nine characters covered in this entertaining book, is a well known name to aficionados of Western literature and lore.

From Billy the Kid to Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp, Metz explores the facts and fables surrounding these well known personalities. Time has done much to… Continue

Added by Becky Coffield on May 4, 2009 at 11:24am — 2 Comments

Rodeo Runaway

I’m thinking of running away, but I can’t decide if I want to run off to Las Vegas, where I still might be able to get a job as a cocktail waitress, or to Costa Rica, where I might be arrested for camping on the beach. Actually, I should probably go to Costa Rica since I only know one person in Las Vegas and he’s a happily married man.

I’m not at all unhappy. In fact, I’m about the happiest person I know except for GMC employees who’ll get a 9 week paid vacation this summer. I’m just… Continue

Added by Becky Coffield on May 1, 2009 at 5:19pm — 8 Comments

Hire a Professional - Not Me - To Transport Your Horses!

Got an email the other day from Stoney Bowers in which he mentioned his horse transporting business. I got so rattled I had to stop reading midway through and go rest a spell. It brought back some BAD memories.

The summer after we moved to Arizona, I decided I just couldn’t leave my whinnies down here during the heat while I was up north for two months, so I got the great idea of taking my guys north too. I called all my former friends and promised them my next born offspring… Continue

Added by Becky Coffield on April 30, 2009 at 3:51pm — 4 Comments

Augustus, Houdini Ruined Meat for Me

Blame it all on Houdini. See, it all started back when we raised Texas longhorn and I had a pet steer named Houdini.

Houdini was so named because from the day he was born that critter could escape any pasture, corral or pen. When he was a baby, every single day I’d come home from work and find him snoozing under a bushy sage brush on neighboring property.

The mistake I made in the cattle business was in giving all my cows a name. We kept only a small herd of beautiful… Continue

Added by Becky Coffield on April 29, 2009 at 9:30am — 5 Comments

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