Episodes

  • The Shortcut

    The Shortcut
    Aug 27 2024
    Stephen Meek convinced a wagon train to let him guide them on a short cut across Oregon to the Dalles. Within days it went bad. Feed and water were scarce. Hard sharp rocks cut the animals feet. The immigrants soon realized Meek was lost. A typhus outbreak began to take lives. Abandoned and starving, it fell to Mose Harris to lead a rescue party. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    26 mins
  • Sarah Walden

    Sarah Walden
    Aug 20 2024
    Dr. Marcus Whitman and some friendly New Perce Indians helped prevent the hostile Walla Wallas from attacking their wagon train. On reaching the Columbia River, she joined her husband in taking the cattle over the Cascade Mountains. Their food was stolen, a blinding snowstorm nearly froze them, cold and starving they finally made it to Oregon City. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    25 mins
  • Cowgirls

    Cowgirls
    Aug 13 2024
    Mildred Douglas was a champion bronc rider and appeared in films. Kitty Canutt, nicknamed "Diamond Girl" because she had a diamond set in a tooth, would sometimes pawn to pay her entry fee. Pearl Biron was a master of the Australian bullwhip. Bonnie Gray could perform the "under the belly crawl" stunt. Mamie Francis and her horse jumped from thirty feet into a tank filled with water. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    26 mins
  • Fox Hastings

    Fox Hastings
    Aug 6 2024
    Cowboys have been killed bulldogging, but that didn’t stop 138 pound Eloise "Fox" Hastings from competing against men. She traveled with Wild West shows throughout the country riding and roping. She suffered concussions, broken legs, crushed ribs and fractured arms, but said, "I like the thrill when I match my 135 pounds against a half ton of brute force." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    26 mins
  • Lucille Mulhall

    Lucille Mulhall
    Jul 30 2024
    America's first cowgirl. There wasn't a horse she couldn't ride. She performed at age 13 in her father's wild west show, but she wanted to compete in steer roping. She competed against men, including Will Rogers. She drew large crowds wherever she performed her riding and roping skills, including steer roping which she often won. She was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    23 mins
  • Alexander Mackenzie - Part Two

    Alexander Mackenzie - Part Two
    Jul 23 2024
    Mackenzie abandoned the river and began the trek westward. Some Carrier Indians agreed to guide the group. They meet the friendly industrious Bella Coola tribe, who agreed to guide them the rest of the way. Trouble began when they met the Bella Bella tribe who attacked and tried to kill them. They reached the Pacific, and after 74 days and 1,200 hundred miles returned to the fort where they began. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    26 mins
  • Peter Pond

    Peter Pond
    Jul 16 2024
    Washington Irving caused a lot of excitement about the Northwest with his book. The North West and Hudson's Bay Companies established the fur trade in Canada. Pond was a celebrity with a violent temper, but a frontier genius who blazed trails across half the continent and set up as a fur trader. He also led an expedition discovering an enormous region full of fur bearing animals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    19 mins
  • Alexander Mackenzie - Part One

    Alexander Mackenzie - Part One
    Jul 9 2024
    In 1789 he set out to reach the Pacific by way of the great "River of the West" but failed. In 1793 he made a second attempt with ten men and a dog in a single canoe. Some of the rivers were impassable, but they portaged around the rapids. They crossed the continental divide, low on rations, they set out on foot to reach the Pacific. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    23 mins