“I think it was the distinguishing trait of Wyatt Earp, the leader of the Earp brothers, that more than any man I have ever known, he was devoid of physical fear. He feared the opinion of no one but himself and his self-respect was his creed.”— W. B. “Bat” Masterson
“I wish I could find words to express the trueness, the bravery, the hardihood, the sense of honor, the loyalty to their trust and to each other of the old trail hands.”— Charles Goodnight
“My father had seen in a flash that they were all gunmen, so he told me to stand still, although we were right in a possible line of fire. If near a gun-fight and the weapons are wielded by amateurs, run for your life; if professionals are handling the trigger, stand still — they know where they are shooting.”― William S. Hart
“The past is sufficient to show that bushwhackers have been arrested… charged with bank robbery, and they most all have been mobbed without trials… I have lived as a respectable citizen and obeyed the laws of the United States to the best of my knowledge.” — Jesse James in a letter to a frontier editor
“Wild Bill was a strange character, add to this figure a costume blending the immaculate neatness of the dandy with the extravagant taste and style of a frontiersman, you have Wild Bill, the most famous scout on the Plains.” – General George Custer
“I am aware that my name has been connected with all the bank robberies in the country; but positively I had nothing to do with any one of them. I look upon my life since the war as a blank, and will never say anything to make it appear otherwise.” – Cole Younger
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History, Texas, Pioneers, Genealogy
From award-winning Texas author Cynthia Leal Massey.
Clever Journeys 
When I was a kid, I always wanted to be a cowboy when I grew up.
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“I think it was the distinguishing trait of Wyatt Earp, the leader of the Earp brothers, that more than any man I have ever known, he was devoid of physical fear. He feared the opinion of no one but himself and his self-respect was his creed.”— W. B. “Bat” Masterson
The above quote is great. Fear is the Mind Killer (from the Movie Dune). We spend much time fearing but often what we feared did not even come close to being a reality. Fear can cause people to be careful, it’s not without merit, but so many of the daily things we’ve feared represented wasted time and effort.
Loved the quotes, great blog.
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Good quote and thought enhancer. Thanks.
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I was hitchhiking in Idaho a number of years and this truck driver picked me up. He said that his grandmother met Jesse James in Missouri when she was a little girl. The truck driver said that Jesse James wasn’t killed by Bob Ford. Jesse James faked his death and then moved to California.
I was hitchhiking in Wyoming a while back and this guy picked me up. He dropped me in Cody, Wyoming. He said that his grandmother used to work for Buffalo Bill Cody when she was younger. She said that Buffalo Bill Cody was the meanest man she had ever met. There is a place in Cody called the Irma Hotel. It is named after Buffalo Bill’s daughter. It has a restaurant; I ate their once. I used to hitchhike through Cody quite a bit.
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A Scout for Colonel George Custer
28 November 2015
Yesterday I was walking north of Sugar City, Idaho on U.S. 20 when this pickup pulled over to give me a ride. The guy’s name was Ted and he looked like he was in his late sixties or early seventies. He was driving from Utah to Billings, Montana. I told him that I was heading to Belgrade, Montana.
Ted spent 12 years in the Special Forces (Green Berets). He did four tours in Vietnam. Ted was from the Crow Reservation south of Billings (he was 15/16 Crow and 1/16 French). I told Ted that I had hitchhiked across the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Reservations a number of times over the years.
Ted told me that when he saw me, something hit him in the head and told him to pick me up. Ted is a Christian and we had great fellowship all the way to Belgrade.
I told Ted that I was involved in intercession/spiritual warfare issues. He told me that he had been working on a project on the Crow Reservation for 20 years to help the Crow Nation become independent of federal welfare programs. Ted has met with a lot of opposition. I told him about the power of prayer and we talked more about the things of God.
We stopped at a gas station in Henry’s Lake, Idaho. Ted bought me some biscuits and gravy and something to drink. We then walked back to the pickup and he handed me a plate of Thanksgiving dinner. He told me that his friends in Utah gave him that plate of Thanksgiving dinner for him to eat on the road. Ted knew it was for someone else. As he drove through Utah he saw this homeless guy (maybe in Salt Lake City) and offered him that plate of food. The homeless guy told him that he had just eaten dinner. So Ted gave me the plate of food; I was very grateful.
Ted told me something interesting. He said that his great grandfather was a Crow Scout for Colonel George Custer; his great grandfather had fought with Custer at Little Big Horn. His name was Gozerhead. We talked more on the Crow, the Sioux, the Northern Cheyenne and the Blackfoot tribes. I told Ted that I enjoyed reading military history.
I love it when the Lord puts someone in your path and you have a lot in common with them and you have this great conversation for hours. When this happens, either you will say something that they were supposed to hear or else they will say something that you were supposed to hear. It may be one word or one sentence and then the Lord engrafts it into your spirit and your grow stronger from it. Some Christians call it a Rhema word. You could also call it our daily bread. Jesus is the Word of God and He is the Bread from Heaven.
Ted dropped me off just south of Belgrade and continued to Billings. I walked to the McDonald’s and got some tea to drink and sat and read the Bible till it got dark. I then walked to this junk pickup on the far side of town and hunkered down for the night. It got down to minus 3 degrees F that night. My two water bottles froze solid, my loaf of bread froze solid, my sandwich that Ted bought for me froze solid, but I did not freeze solid. It had been a very blessed day on the road.
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I so much enjoy your The Road stories and glad you shared some here. Yes, I love those serendipitous moments the Lord provides.
As much as you’ve traveled, I’ve wondered, where is your home base?
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I am no longer hitchhiking. Since January of 2020, I have been working for a friend in Idaho.
During the years of my hitchhiking (most of 23 years), my home bases were: Ames, Iowa; St. John, Kansas; Jackson, Wyoming; Cedarville, California. That’s all that I remember.
I had three books self-published:
My Books
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