In December 1883, five outlaws attempted to rob the A.A. Castaneda Mercantile establishment in the fledgling mining town of Bisbee in the Arizona Territory. The robbery was a disaster: four citizens shot dead, one a pregnant woman. The failed heist was national news, with the subsequent manhunt, trial and execution of the alleged perpetrators followed by newspapers from New York to San Francisco. The Bisbee Massacre was as momentous as the infamous blood feud between the Earp brothers and the cowboys two years earlier, and led to the only recorded lynching in the town of Tombstone--John Heath, a sporting man, who was thought to be the mastermind. New research indicates he may have been innocent. This comprehensive history takes a fresh look at the event that marked the end of the Wild West period in the Arizona Territory.

ANOTHER TOMBSTONE IN TOMBSTONE After the O.K. Corral shoot-out in 1881 and the Massacre of '83, Tombstone's pretty boring on Clint Adams's first visit back. But no sooner has he settled in than a local rancher named Hudson is sent to meet his Maker. Turns out Hudson was more than neighborly with the Riggs woman next door, who is also involved with her father-in-law—and her husband's figured them out. And that's where things stop making any kind of sense. But there's one thing the Gunsmith does know: it's all in the family...

Nicknamed the "Queen of Copper Camps" for having the richest copper mining operations in the world, Bisbee also was the scene of dastardly crimes. From drunken shootouts in saloons to strikers clashing with mining executives, the town's past is filled with stories of vengeance and street justice. The aftermath of an 1885 lynching led directly to the establishment of the Copper Queen Library, too late to deter the infamous Bisbee Massacre of 1883. In Lowell, an argument about an alleged affair ended in murder, while the Fly-Swatting Contest of 1912 encouraged a different kind of killing. Author, journalist and historian Francine Powers uncovers the real-life dramas of Wild West Bisbee.

The Oatman massacre is among the most famous and dramatic captivity stories in the history of the Southwest. In this riveting account, Brian McGinty explores the background, development, and aftermath of the tragedy. Roys Oatman, a dissident Mormon, led his family of nine and a few other families from their homes in Illinois on a journey west, believing a prophecy that they would find the fertile “Land of Bashan” at the confluence of the Gila and Colorado Rivers. On February 18, 1851, a band of southwestern Indians attacked the family on a cliff overlooking the Gila River in present-day Arizona. All but three members of the family were killed. The attackers took thirteen-year-old Olive and eight-year-old Mary Ann captive and left their wounded fourteen-year-old brother Lorenzo for dead. Although Mary Ann did not survive, Olive lived to be rescued and reunited with her brother at Fort Yuma. On Olive’s return to white society in 1857, Royal B. Stratton published a book that sensationalized the story, and Olive herself went on lecture tours, telling of her experiences and thrilling audiences with her Mohave chin tattoos. Ridding the legendary tale of its anti-Indian bias and questioning the historic notion that the Oatmans’ attackers were Apaches, McGinty explores the extent to which Mary Ann and Olive may have adapted to life among the Mohaves and charts Olive’s eight years of touring and talking about her ordeal.

Once the world's richest mining site, Bisbee is now one of the most haunted towns in America. From an entity that screams in anguish in Zacatecas Canyon to the glorious woman that floats through a wall in the School House Inn, spirits lurk around every corner. A firefighter still haunts his beloved Bisbee Fire Station No. 2, saving lives even after death, while a vengeful apparition keeps guard over his family plot at Evergreen Cemetery. Copper mining might have faded, but the memories of those drawn to Bisbee live on. Join Francine Powers, award-winning journalist, author and paranormal historian, as she uncovers the truth behind the old ghost stories of her beloved hometown.