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Find out what happened when “The Pathfinder” John C. Fremont loses his way, taking 35 men and 120 mules with him.

If you’d like to know more about the history behind this episode, check out the sources below:

Frémont’s Fourth Expedition: A Documentary Account of the Disaster of 1848–1849
Edited by LeRoy R. Hafen and Ann W. Hafen.
Taos County Historical Society – The Lost Men of Frémont (1987)
Pueblo Chieftain – Tragic Expedition (1998)
GJ Sentinel – Disaster Struck When the Pathfinder Got Lost in Colorado (2020)
http://backpacker.com/stories/fremonts-wrong-turn/
https://www.nps.gov/grsa/learn/historyculture/john-fremont-expeditions-1848-and-1853.htm

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The Oregon Trail was a test of endurance for everyone, but especially for women pioneers. What happens when one woman has had enough?

If you'd like to know more of the history behind this episode of The Wild Wild Death, please check out these links:

• https://www.theresahuppauthor.com/blog/2017/03/22/elizabeth-markham-one-womans-perspective-on-the-oregon-trail-and-on-matrimony/
• https://www.history.com/news/9-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-oregon-trail
• https://www.grunge.com/1650142/most-brutal-deaths-oregon-trail/
• https://octa-trails.org/articles/life-and-death-on-the-oregon-trail/?srsltid=AfmBOopVvj_a0djifEfgQhQqBO2DCH4fqK4vWe2ocRSnsTvPL_4Sg0Fa
• https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SJH18911211.2.34&srpos=2&e=------189-en--20--1--txt-txIN-elizabeth+markham-------1
• http://www.theragens.com/fifty_years/fifty_years_in_oregon_18-19.htm
• http://www.oregonpioneers.com/diaries.htm
• https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/History_of_Oregon_Literature/Chapter_27
• https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/edwin-markham
  

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In this episode of Wild Wild Death, we delve into the harrowing saga of the Sutton-Taylor Feud, a violent clash that tore through Southeast Texas during the Reconstruction era. Starting with a string of deadly encounters between the Taylor family and local lawmen, this feud spiraled into a bloody conflict involving ambushes, assassinations, and even the involvement of Texas Rangers and the notorious gunslinger John Wesley Hardin. By the time the dust settled, over 35 lives had been lost, leaving a trail of death and destruction that would haunt Texas history. Join us as we explore the origins, the battles, and the final bloody resolution of this epic and tragic feud.

If you'd like to know more of the history behind this episode of The Wild Wild Death, please check out these links:

• https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/sutton-taylor-feud
• https://www.legendsofamerica.com/tx-suttontaylor/
• https://www.frontiertimesmagazine.com/blog/the-taylor-sutton-feud?srsltid=AfmBOopCH3m8CWG4CTKjYpH9L8vDP7EElvp1dHwF-fE_kO2rinyfSSY3
• Chuck Parsons, The Sutton-Taylor Feud: The Deadliest Blood Feud in Texas (A.C. Greene Series) (UNT Press, 2009)
• James M. Smallwood, The Feud That Wasn’t: The Taylor Ring, Bill Sutton, John Wesley Hardon, and Violence in Texas (Texas A&M Press, 2008)

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Pearl Devere was the madam of a very successful and exclusive bordello in Cripple Creek. But even the most savvy of businesswomen can make a fatal miscalculation.

If you'd like to know more of the history behind this episode of The Wild Wild Death, please check out these links:

◦ https://www.legendsofamerica.com/co-pearldevere/

◦ https://usrepresented.com/2023/03/18/pioneer-profiles-pearl-devere/

◦ https://www.visitcos.com/directory/old-homestead-house-museum/

◦ https://www.grunge.com/365939/what-you-didnt-know-about-pearl-de-vere/

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Big Nose George Parrott yearned to be a famous outlaw. But his claim to fame was for something he never dreamed could happen.

If you'd like more information about the history behind this episode of The Wild Wild Death, check out these resources:

• https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/14910
• https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/big-nose-george-grisly-frontier-tale
• https://owlcation.com/humanities/The-Wild-West-Outlaw-Who-Was-Turned-into-a-Pair-of-Shoes
• https://www.sweetwaternow.com/outlaw-george-big-nose-parotts-body-was-skinned-after-his-death/
• Mark E. Miller, Big Nose George: His Troublesome Trail, (Glendo, WY: High Plains Press, 2021).
• Peter Netzel, Lesser Known Outlaws of Wyoming, (Scotts Valley, CA: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017).
• Richard M. Patterson, Historical Atlas of the Outlaw West, (Boulder, CO: Johnson Books, 2000).
• R. Michael Wilson, Outlaw Tales of Wyoming: True Stories of the Cowboy State's Most Infamous Crooks, Culprits, and Cutthroats, (Helena, MA: Two Dot, 2013)

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On January 12, 1888, Nebraska farm children headed off to their sod hut schoolrooms under sunny and warm blue skies. None of them knew that a massive blizzard was barreling toward them... and it would test everyone’s survival skills.

If you'd like more information about the history behind this episode of The Wild Wild Death, check out these links:

• https://www.farmersalmanac.com/schoolhouseblizzard
• https://blog.reformedjournal.com/2024/01/12/january-12-1888/
• https://weather.com/science/weather-explainers/news/2025-01-14-blue-norther-cold-front-texas-plains
• https://vlab.noaa.gov/web/nws-heritage/explore-nws-history#event-protecting-lifeand-propertyfor-150-years
• https://www.minnpost.com/minnesota-history/2013/01/125-years-ago-deadly-children-s-blizzard-blasted-minnesota/
• https://history.nebraska.gov/looking-back-on-the-blizzard-of-1888/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94gLaNesbSs
• https://ntx.exprealty.com/blog/220901/Unraveling+The+Mystique+Of+The+Blue+Norther%3A+Texas%27+Chilling+Phenomenon

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In this episode of The Wild, Wild Death, we unravel how the Wild Bunch gang went from pulling off million-dollar heists to accidentally sabotaging their own careers with one ill-advised glamour shot. It’s a story of hubris, high fashion, and the dangers of being too photogenic when you’re on the run from the law.



If you'd like more information about the history behind this episode of The Wild Wild Death, check out these links:

• https://www.legendsofamerica.com/butch-cassidy/
• https://truewestmagazine.com/cassidys-first-crime/
• https://www.history.com/news/butch-cassidy-sundance-kid-robberies-death
• https://pinkerton.com/our-insights/blog/the-fort-worth-five-the-iconic-photo-that-ended-the-wild-wests-most-notorious-gang

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In this episode of The Wild Wild Death, we explore the hilariously tragic saga of Elmer McCurdy, the outlaw who was better at botching robberies than being a criminal mastermind. But Elmer’s story didn’t end with his final, drunken shootout. Instead, his mummified body embarked on a posthumous career more successful than anything he managed while alive. From sideshows to movie sets, and even a stint as a funhouse prop, Elmer’s corpse had a more eventful afterlife than anyone could’ve imagined. Tune in for the strange, darkly funny journey of the outlaw who became famous in death after failing spectacularly at life.

If you'd like more information about the history behind this episode of The Wild Wild Death, check out these links:

• https://www.cowboysindians.com/2018/10/25-mysteries-of-the-west/
• https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2018/07/elmer-mccurdy-traveling-corpse/
• https://www.npr.org/2015/01/09/376097471/the-long-strange-60-year-trip-of-elmer-mccurdy
• https://www.kcrw.com/news/shows/greater-la/halloween/elmer-mccurdy
• https://www.okterritorialmuseum.org/ELMERMC.html
• The Misadventures in Life and Afterlife of an American Outlaw (Svenvold, 2002)