Myths, legends and realities of the American frontier.
Discover the legendary saga of Oglala Chief Red Cloud—a fierce and proud Native American leader in both war and peace.
Torn apart by fur traders' desire for buffalo and white settlers' westward expansion along the Oregon Trail, the life of the Cheyenne morphed into a perpetual fight for survival.
Legendary warrior Crazy Horse's role in the Sioux victory over Custer at Little Bighorn.
Starved by the buffalo hunter's greed and driven from their homeland, the hardfighting Southern Cheyenne struggled to maintain peace on the plains. But for Colonel John Chivington, there could be no peace unti l every Indian was wiped out.
Find out how a disastrous shortcut doomed a group of pioneers heading westward—and what they had to endure to survive while trapped in the mountains.
Native American tribes lived and thrived in America's southeast for thousands of years—until Congress forced them off their lands and on a long walk to death.
"Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid, Jesse James, Geronimo and more legendary figures and tales of the Old West come alive through the use of film clips, photos, drawings and reenactments. "
Learn about the great Sioux warrior and medicine man who led his people in a bloody struggle for survival. Includes the story of his victory over Custer at the Little Bighorn.
An investigation into the brutal murder of 128 westward-bound pioneers in southern Utah, and how religious leaders conspired to keep the horrible crime a secret.
Discover the real-life adventures of the man who considered himself the smartest, funniest and most popular outlaw in the West, and his ladies' man sidekick—Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Explore the remarkable struggle of the Nez Perce Indians to remain free and protect their culture. Ordered off their land, the tribe was led by Chief Joseph on an arduous journey to find sanctuary in Canada.
See how in 1845, with Manifest Destiny his top priority, President James Polk annexed Texas from Mexico, sparking a two-year battle between the countries.
Go inside the wood and stone forts where pioneers found refuge during the great westward migration of the 19th century. Features such famed outposts as Bent's Old Fort and Forts Union, Laramie, Phil Kearny and Robinson.
Explore the bloody saga of the battle between the cattle barons and the homesteaders that raged in Wyoming in 1892.
Find out how newspapers sensationalized coverage of the West. Includes accounts of how reporters twisted the facts of the Indian Wars and how dime novels made Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok into household names.
Was James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok a hero or an outlaw? Learn about the life of the man who would become a legend, from his humble beginnings in Kansas to his drawing of a "dead man's hand" in Deadwood, 1876.
Examine how the Navajo survived one of the most brutally extensive military campaigns waged by the U.S. government against a native American people.
The colorful story of how the mighty steamboat helped open the West to pioneer settlement. Recounts how the steamers carried soldiers, homesteaders, cowboys, miners and supplies into the vast new lands of the Louisiana Purchase.
As homesteaders and miners went west to seek their fortunes, scientists came to look for dinosaur bones in the fossil-rich lands. Two rival paleontologists vied for the most startling discoveries.
Sweep aside the historical hype and confront the real facts and controversies surrounding Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, William B. Travis and the Texan defenders of the Alamo.
Soldier, professor and explorer John Wesley Powell led the first major exploration of the Colorado River in 1869, where he documented rock, plant and animal species unknown to man.
Discover the sagas of Sam Houston and Stephen Austin, the founders of the state of Texas and leaders of the American revolt against Mexico.
In a land of foreboding terrain and boundless dreams, strong-willed men forged a new nation. While some men brought peace amongst the Indian tribes, others started a Civil War in 1885 that almost broke Canada in two.
The saga of the windy prairie town that grew into one of the nation's largest cities. Rare photographs and records bring to life the long-lost Chicago of the 19th century.
Explore the legend of the notorious Dalton boys, who served as Western lawmen before becoming train robbers. Includes the tale of their violent deaths in 1892.
Get to know the frontier's most feared and fearless lawmen, who combed the wide-open spaces of Texas to track down some of the Old West's most vicious criminals.
Amidst one of the worst depressions in U.S. history, the massive Gold Rush to the Klondike began on July 16, 1897. One hundred thousand people set out for the gold fields, many of whom had no idea what challenges awaited them.
Discover how cattle barons rose to power by controlling vast ranches that were larger than some states.
Meet the real Buffalo Bill, not the myth, and discover how his traveling show influenced the modern perception of the "Old West."
What would make someone want to be a lawman in the West? Here are the motivations and sometimes questionable methods of the people who wore a badge and tried to tame the wild frontier.
The American West was settled with great violence, but the Canadian frontier barely saw a shot fired. Find out why.
The colorful and dangerous history of the wagon train, the means by which the frontier was extended.
Was Custer a bold hero or an egotistical renegade? See how the events of his famed military career led to his infamous Last Stand.
Forced off his Arizona land, embittered Geronimo launches raids against settlers.
Explore the lifestyles and influence of female folklore legends and how their showmanship, thievery, and lascivious behavior helped to change the face of the frontier.
Stagecoach drivers and the pony express brave bandits and Indian attacks.
Take a close look at how the building of the railroad changed the frontier. Fortunes were won and lost, entire towns sprung up and disappeared and legends were made as the old West gradually faded away.
The gold rush makes fortunes for a few but spells disaster for most.
Explore the myths and realities of the lawmen, outlaws, ladies of the evening and famed gun-slinging confrontations that made Dodge City the archetypal Old West town.
United States Army officer George Crook served throughout the Indian Wars and worked to promote the advancement of Native Americans during peacetime.
The saga of mining and cattle towns on the new frontier, which thrived for a time, but went bust when economic conditions changed.
They were called "Wolves for the Blue Soldiers" by fellow tribesmen. They were scouts for the "White Man's Army." Were they traitors or peacemakers?
A profile of the city that attracted silver miners and became one of the great boomtowns of the 19th century.
The tale of the James boys, disenchanted Confederate soldiers whose daring bank and train robberies made them the most notorious outlaws of the American West.
On December 29, 1890, the U.S. Army massacred over 150 Sioux Indians at Wounded Knee. This tragic and avoidable massacre is widely considered the final defeat for the American Indian.
The story of the Wild West's most famous cowboys and their world of stampeding cattle, blazing gunfights and dangerous days on the range.
The bloody story of a murder in a sleepy New Mexican town that led to five days of violence and sealed the doom of Billy the Kid.
Founded in Chicago in the 1850s by Allan Pinkerton, the Pinkerton Agency developed methods for tracking down counterfeiters, bank robbers and criminals like Jesse James and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
A look at how the men who robbed stagecoaches, trains and banks planned and pulled off their crimes.
A chronicle of the last Comanche leader to surrender his tribe to white authorities. Parker later became a cattle rancher and court judge.
A look back at the lives of Kit Carson, Jim Bridger, John Wesley Powell and the other mountain men, trappers and pathfinders who blazed the trail westward for pioneers to follow.
In response to the white intruder, Native American warriors who'd spent their youth using bows and arrows to procure food and defend their families were forced to become even more dangerous warriors.
A vivid look at one of the rarely told sides of the Civil War—the bloody battles between North and South that took place west of the Mississippi.
A tribute to Buffalo Bill and the other colorful show folk whose Wild West shows entertained audiences around the world.
Revisit the dramatic conflicts of the last half of the 19th century that led to the systematic destruction of the Native American way of life.
Meet Elizabeth Custer, the woman behind the legend and the making of the myth of General George Custer.
Discover the story behind the most important voyage of discovery in American history: the journey of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to chart the vast, unknown West from 1804-1806.
The story of how four obscure men—Leland Stanford, Collis Huntington, Charles Crocker and Mark Hopkins—found fame and fortune as railroad builders.
Explore the colorful, chaotic history of the City by the Bay, from rough-and-tumble frontier town to sophisticated cosmopolitan city.
Were they well-meaning missionaries or political appointees betraying the people they were sent to protect? Learn more about the impact that agents had on reservation life.
Chronicles the colorful lives of Wyatt Earp and his five brothers, who left their marks on the Old West. Includes their controversial trial and exploits in Dodge City and Tombstone.
The story of how Colt, Remington and Smith & Wesson became the weapons that truly won the West.
Remarkable firsthand accounts and rare photographs tell the real stories behind the 19th century's greatest warrior nations - and the forces that destroyed their way of life.
