Tough Times in Rough Places: Adventure, Death and Survival on the Western Frontier

by Neil B. Carmony (Editor)

Western lore is replete with romanticized, revisionist, second-hand accounts of the notable events of the Old West, but how were these events experienced and recorded by those who were there? In this anthology the editors focus on fifteen of the most captivating incidents in Western history, each offering an authenticity and immediacy that only a participant can bring to a story. In "Custer's Last Battle," Captain Edward S. Godfrey renders the most complete and even-handed account by a soldier of what happened on June 25, 1876, along the Little Bighorn River in Montana. Further south, in New Mexico, Pancho Villa's raid on the border town of Columbus is recounted by Colonel Frank Tompkins, one of the cavalry officers who pursued Villa into Mexico. From Arizona, two stories are herein presented in book form for the first Wyatt Earp's own version of what happened at the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral; and William S. Oury's unapologetic account of the vicious slaug! hter of Apaches at the Camp Grant Massacre. From a woman's perspective, Virginia Reed Murphy's gripping, bitter-sweet account of the Donner Party tragedy reveals humanity even in the worst of times. And from Mexico come two of the lesser known but most horrifying events in Western George Naegle's eye-witness account of a grizzly hunter killed by a bear; and Jack Hoffman's incredible story of endurance, death and survival on the Sonoran desert. For these and eight other narratives the editors provide succinct, incisive introductions, illuminating but never changing the stories, which stand as they were written. The sum is a unique, first-hand look at the frontier, 1835-1916, an era when men and women were lured west by romance and adventure, only to find "tough times in rough places."

Genres: History

296 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1992

Reviews

[David Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit, I grabbed this book for research so I only read the story about Pancho Villa all the way through. Although I was curious about his take on the Mountain Meadows Massacre so I had to skim that one. Carmony definitely doesn't take a high image of Villa, but he did seem to resort to low means toward the end. These are some very interesting and harrowing tales from the old west though.