Blazing West #12

This instructional feature walks you through the practical steps of breaking a wild bronc—from roping and throwing the animal to the patient, skillful work of training it to accept a rider—with hard-won wisdom about staying alert to a horse's dangerous tricks and using gentleness rather than force to earn its trust.

The Apache Kid, once a trusted sergeant of the U.S. Apache Scouts, descends into outlawry after a fateful morning at the White River Agency—and spends years as the territory's most wanted renegade, hunted relentlessly by cavalry, posses, and his own people alike. Pursued across Arizona, New Mexico, and into the Sierra Madres, the Kid leaves a trail of violence in his wake, until his path finally crosses with a man named Walapai Clark in the Galiuro Mountains. This is the story of how a man's quest for vengeance transforms him into a hunted killer with nowhere left to run.

This article breaks down the real work of calf branding on the frontier—from hazeing calves out of the main herd and roping them one by one on horseback, to the brander applying a hot iron with a steady hand while the brusher stands ready with creosote to protect the wound. It's a look inside one of the West's most famous and demanding jobs, showing exactly how cowboys mark their stock as belonging to the home ranch.

Clay Allison, the deadliest shot in Cimarron territory, finally meets his match when the lightning-fast Chunk Colbert calls him out in a restaurant showdown. The two gunslingers engage in a tense standoff over coffee and pistols, each knowing only one will walk away from the table.