Wild West Podcast
Welcome to the Wild West podcast, where fact and legend merge. We present the true accounts of individuals who settled in towns built out of hunger for money, regulated by fast guns, who walked on both sides of the law, patrolling, investing in, and regulating the brothels, saloons, and gambling houses. These are stories of the men who made the history of the Old West come alive - bringing with them the birth of legends, brought to order by a six-gun and laid to rest with their boots on. Join us as we take you back in history to the legends of the Wild West. You can support our show by subscribing to Exclusive access to premium content at Wild West Podcast + https://www.buzzsprout.com/64094/subscribe or just buy us a cup of coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/wildwestpodcast
Wild West Podcast
Myra Maybel Shirley: What makes a woman ride with outlaws?
The remarkable transformation of Myra Maybel Shirley from educated piano player to notorious outlaw woman unfolds against the chaotic backdrop of post-Civil War Texas. What forces drive a respectable young woman into the dangerous world of outlaws? The answer lies in the unlikely sanctuary her family's farm provided to some of America's most wanted men.
Scyene, Texas was described as "a rendezvous of the reckless raiders of the Southwest," a perfect hideout for Missouri's Confederate guerrillas-turned-outlaws. When the James-Younger gang sought refuge at the Shirley farm, they found in May a woman hardened by war and displacement, who moved comfortably among them despite her formal education. Her friendship with Cole Younger sparked persistent rumors, while her marriage to former Quantrill raider Jim Reed cemented her connection to the outlaw world.
Reed's criminal career dragged May into an increasingly dangerous existence. As they fled from Texas to Missouri to California with their two young children, Pearl and Ed, May's options narrowed. When authorities issued a warrant for her arrest as an accessory to Reed's crimes, the line between being an outlaw's wife and an outlaw herself blurred. After Reed's violent death in 1874, May faced the ultimate challenge: surviving as a widow with two children in a society that offered little support for women in her position. These formative years, marked by hard choices and compromised morality, set the stage for her emergence as the legendary Belle Starr.
Join us for Part 3 of Belle Starr's story - "Younger's Bend: The Cherokee Queen" - where we'll explore her captivating years from 1875 to 1880. Subscribe now to follow this fascinating journey through the life of one of the Wild West's most misunderstood figures.
"Edward Masterson and the Texas Cowboys," penned by Michael King, takes readers on an exhilarating ride through the American West, focusing on the lively and gritty cattle town of Dodge City, Kansas. This thrilling dime novel plunges into the action-packed year of Ed Masterson's life as a lawman, set against the backdrop of the chaotic cattle trade, filled with fierce conflicts, shifting loyalties, and rampant lawlessness. You can order the book on Amazon.
The Shirley Farm in Skine, texas, became an unlikely crossroads for various people and activities. John Shirley worked hard to cultivate corn and sorghum and raise livestock in an attempt to rebuild a semblance of his former life livestock in an attempt to rebuild a semblance of his former life. However, the shadows of his past and the nature of his new surroundings brought an unexpected society to their doorstep. Skine itself was a raw and boisterous town, described by one contemporary as a rendezvous of the reckless raiders of the Southwest. It boasted numerous saloons and earned a reputation for frequent brawls and killings, creating an environment where a man seeking trouble could find it easily. Familiar faces from Missouri soon arrived in this chaotic setting. Men who had shared Bud Shirley's Confederate loyalties and experiences as guerrillas came to the farm seeking refuge. Among them were Cole Younger, a childhood acquaintance of May's from Carthage, along with his brothers Jim and Bob, as well as the infamous Frank and Jesse James. The Shirley home provided a convenient and sympathetic hideout as their wartime activities transitioned into post-war outlaw life. These visits were lengthy.
Speaker 1:The members of the James Younger gang often sought refuge from the law which was gradually trying to bring order to Reconstruction era Texas. May, now a young woman hardened by loss and displacement, moved comfortably among these rough men. Her formal education and piano skills might have seemed out of place, yet she entertained them, playing cards and perhaps finding in their rebellious spirit a reflection of her beloved bud. Her association with Cole Younger in particular became the subject of local gossip and enduring legend. With Cole Younger in particular became the subject of local gossip and enduring legend, a persistent rumor suggested that Cole fathered May's first child, pearl, although Younger himself steadfastly denied it. The truth about Pearl's paternity remained a topic of speculation. But the overall environment normalized May's interactions with men who lived outside the law. Environment normalized May's interactions with men who lived outside the law. This was not a world she actively sought to enter. Rather, it was a world that had come to her due to war and circumstance.
Speaker 1:The turmoil of Reconstruction Texas, marked by weakened traditional power structures, rampant lawlessness and lingering resentments from former Confederates, created fertile ground for outlaws like the James Younger gang. They operated with a degree of impunity and were sometimes viewed with sympathy by a populace wary of the new federal authority. May's life became inextricably linked with this undercurrent of defiance, shaping her identity alongside men who believed they were still fighting a war or grappling with its bitter aftermath. Amidst the revolving door of outlaws at the Shirley Farm, one figure captured May's attention James C Jim Reed. She had known him from her days in Missouri, where the Reed and Shirley families were friends. Now, in Texas, reed was riding with the Youngers, having gained experience as a quantril raider during the war. Their reunion in the charged atmosphere of Skyn quickly blossomed into romance.
Speaker 1:On November 1, 1866, myra Maybel Shirley married Jim Reed in Collins County, texas, with the ceremony officiated by Reverend SM Williams. This documented event starkly contrasts with one of the earliest and most enduring myths surrounding Belle Starr the tale of a dramatic elopement with her parents objecting, the couple riding off with a band of outlaws and being married on horseback by a fellow criminal. In reality, according to Richard Reed, jim's younger brother and surviving marriage records, according to Richard Reed, jim's younger brother and surviving marriage records, the situation was much more conventional. John and Eliza Shirley apparently had no objections to the match. At that time, jim Reed was not yet a wanted man, despite his past associations. After the wedding, jim moved in with the Shirley family at Skine and shared the burdens of farm chores. He even attempted to work as a salesman for the Dallas Saddle and Bridal Maker.
Speaker 1:However, this brief period of domestic life did not last long. The allure of his former life, or perhaps an inherent restlessness, was too strong. While the legend of her marriage indicated the public's desire to view May in a sensational light, her choice of husband revealed more about her own preferences. Jim Reed, whose formative experiences were steeped in the violence and extra-legal actions of guerrilla warfare, was unlikely to remain a quiet farmer for long. May's attraction to him, knowing his background, suggested a comfort with, or even an attraction to, men who operated on the fringes of society, a pattern that echoed her deep admiration for her brother, bud. This union, although conventionally begun, set the stage for the turbulent next chapter of her life, drawing her even deeper into the world of outlaws.
Speaker 1:The quiet period of farming and salesmanship for Jim Reed was short-lived. By late 1867, he and May had moved from the Shirley Homestead in Texas to the Reed family homestead in Missouri. It was there, in early September 1868, that their first child, rosie Lee, was born. May adored the baby, affectionately, calling her Pearl, a nickname that would stick throughout her tumultuous life. However, domestic tranquility proved to be an elusive dream for the Reeds.
Speaker 1:Jim Reed, who was ill-suited to farm life, increasingly associated with old friends and new disreputable companions. He began racing horses and formed a close connection with Tom Starr, a Cherokee whose notoriety for violence, whiskey running and rustling in the Indian Territory was so pronounced that he was considered an embarrassment to the Cherokee Nation. Reed became involved in the Starr family's illegal activities, which deepened further when he killed a man in what he claimed was an act of vengeance for his older brother, scott Reed. With a warrant issued for his arrest on murder charges and for illegally bringing whiskey into Indian territory, jim Reed became a full-fledged fugitive, facing threats from both the law and friends of the man he had killed. Reed sought a healthier climate.
Speaker 1:In early 1869, with May and their infant Pearl, he fled to California. Their nomadic existence continued and it was on the Pacific coast in Los Nietos, los Angeles County, that their second child, james Edwin, known as Ed, was born on February 22, 1871. However, california did not provide lasting sanctuary. In late March 1871, jim was accused of passing counterfeit money and an investigation quickly revealed that he was wanted for murder in Texas. Once again, the family was uprooted. Reed fled to Texas on horseback, while sending May and the children back by stagecoach, with Cole Younger reportedly assisting in settling them on the farm near Skine. Throughout these turbulent years, pearl and Ed were often separated from one or both parents, left in the care of relatives, sometimes with their paternal Reed grandparents in Missouri and at other times with May's family, the Shurleys, in Texas. This constant upheaval and fragmented family life left deep scars on young Pearl and Ed, shaping their troubled futures and their complex, often fraught relationships with their mother.
Speaker 1:May's decision to follow her fugitive husband while leaving her children behind for extended periods, demonstrated either fierce loyalty or the desperate pragmatism of a woman with few viable options in a society that offered little support for the wives of outlaws. This period marked a significant step in her journey, solidifying her identity as someone perpetually on the run, accustomed to evading the law and increasingly alienated from the mainstream society. As Jim Reed's notoriety grew, so did the questions surrounding Myra Maybel's role in his affairs. Accounts from this period diverge, painting a confusing picture of her involvement. Some sources suggest that she disapproved of his increasing entanglement in crime. Others, however, place her more squarely within his circle of operations, alleging that she ran a livery stable in Dallas that served as a front for selling horses stolen by Reed and his associates. If true, this would indicate a more active and knowing participation in his criminal enterprises, moving beyond mere association to direct facilitation.
Speaker 1:The most dramatic and brutal crime attributed to Reed's gang during this time was the robbery of the Watt Grayson family in the Choctaw Nation on November 19, 1873. Reed and two accomplices reportedly tortured the wealthy Creek Indian and his wife until they revealed the hiding place of $30,000 in gold. Some sensationalized biography of Bell's star later claimed that she participated in this heinous act disguised as a man. However, eyewitness accounts from the Grayson family and their hired hands at the time made no mention of a woman or a slightly built man among the assailants. This discrepancy highlights a recurring theme in Bell's story the gap between the alleged reality of her actions and the burgeoning legend. It raises questions about how much of her outlaw persona was self-cultivated, how much was attributed to her by association and how much was pure embellishment by later chroniclers eager for a sensational tale.
Speaker 1:Regardless of her direct participation in violent acts, the law certainly viewed her as connected to Reed's crimes. In April 1874, a warrant was issued for her arrest as an accessory in the daring daylight holdup of the Austin San Antonio Stagecoach, a crime attributed to her husband and others, although she was not named as a direct participant in the robbery itself. Others, although she was not named as a direct participant in the robbery itself, even if she wasn't holding the guns during these robberies, her operation of a livery stable dealing in potentially stolen stock and her general association with known felons placed her firmly within a criminal network. This accessory role, while perhaps less direct than that of a gun-toting raider, was nonetheless vital for the functioning of these outlaw gangs. It provided a crucial link in the chain of illicit commerce, a place, a network of contacts and a degree of nerve, all characteristics frequently attributed to Bell. It also represented a form of female agency, albeit illicit, within a male-dominated criminal underworld, allowing her to carve out a niche that utilized her intelligence and connections, even as it exposed her to constant legal peril.
Speaker 1:The line between being an outlaw's wife and an outlaw in her own right was becoming increasingly blurred. Marriage of May and Jim Reed was on the brink of collapse, regardless of the law's pursuit. By 1874, may had reportedly reached her limit with Jim's escalating life of crime and, more pointedly, his involvement with another woman, rosa McComas. And, more pointedly, his involvement with another woman, rosa McComas. She left him, taking their children, pearl and Ed and moved back to the relative safety of her parents' farm in Skine. This decision to leave before Reed met his demise suggests that May was asserting her own boundaries and seeking a degree of independence, rather than blindly following her husband down a path of self-destruction.
Speaker 1:Meanwhile, jim Reed's outlaw career continued on a violent path. He committed stagecoach robberies and stole livestock, often evading posses by retreating into Indian territory, only to re-emerge in Texas. However, his luck finally ran out in August 1874. Unaware that a former acquaintance, john T Morris, had been deputized specifically to capture him, reed was traveling with Morris near Paris, texas. While they were eating, Morris ordered Reed to surrender. Ever defiant, reed reportedly flipped the table and attempted to flee, but was shot and killed by the deputy. A persistent tale claims that when May was called to identify her husband's body, she denied knowing him to prevent Morris from collecting the reward money. However, contemporary newspaper accounts confirm that those familiar with Reed did indeed identify his corpse.
Speaker 1:Now, a widow at 26, with two young children, pearl, age 6, and Ed, just 3, mae confronted an uncertain future For a time. She reportedly operated a livery stable in Dallas, a demanding endeavor for a woman alone. During that era, the years between Reed's death in 1874, and her next significant chapter, her marriage to Sam Starr in 1880, are somewhat obscure, referred to by some historians as the Mystery Years, some historians as the mystery years. May's father, john Shirley, passed away in 1876, further diminishing her family support system. Following this, her mother, eliza, sold the Skine farm and moved to Dallas. May is also said to have sold her own farm and apparently spent a lot of time at the Reed home in Missouri, possibly seeking support from her late husband's family or simply drifting in search of a new sense of stability.
Speaker 1:During this period of instability, pearl and Ed were likely shoveled between various relatives. Their upbringing was undeniably fragmented, marked by their father's violent life and death and their mother's precarious situation on the fringes of society. These formative years, characterized by an inconsistent parental presence in the shadow of outlawry characterized by an inconsistent parental presence in the shadow of outlawry, would inevitably shape their personalities and their later, often troubled, relationships with their mother. For May, this time as a young widow stripped of male protection and a clear path forward, was undoubtedly filled with challenges that required every ounce of her resilience and pragmatism. It was a period of searching, making do and perhaps a growing realization that her survival and that of her children might depend on forging new, unconventional alliances. And I wasn't watching and I couldn't see All the darkness Around you and me. Now my eyes are open and my will.
Speaker 1:Wild West Podcast has just unveiled two stunning illustrated books that are sure to captivate young readers and spark their imaginations. Dive into the enchanting world of Native American ledger art as Michael King takes you on an exhilarating journey through the lives of remarkable Native American artists. These books shine a spotlight on the rich heritage and culture of the Cheyenne and Kiowa people during a transformative era. With a fascinating blend of fictionalized stories and true accounts, you'll uncover the inspiring journeys of influential figures who shaped this vibrant artistic tradition. Don't miss out on the chance to explore these incredible narratives. Check out the links in the podcast descriptions to grab your copies today.
Speaker 1:Save the date for an inspiring event on Thursday, July 17, 2025. Join us for Pioneering Women, triumph and Tragedy, a captivating program led by the talented Marla Matkin at the Kansas Heritage Center in Dodge City, kansas. Marla Matkin, a Kansas native and proud descendant of homesteaders, brings her passion for history to life. With a background as a teacher and respected historian, she has a unique flair for storytelling, particularly through her celebrated portrayal of Elizabeth Libby Custer, wife of General George Armstrong Custer. Marla's blend of history and theater promises to captivate and inspire everyone in attendance. This special program shines a spotlight on four extraordinary women from the Western frontier, each with their own remarkable stories to share. Meet Lottie Joel, greta Grasam-Dix, lydia Spencer-Lane and Martha Gay Masterson women whose voices deserve to be heard and whose experiences enrich our understanding of history. Join us on July 17th at 2 pm in the Kansas Heritage Center, located at 1001 North 2nd Avenue, dodge City, kansas.
Speaker 1:Don't miss the opportunity to connect with history in an engaging and unforgettable way. For more details about the program, please call 620-225-0248. We can't wait to see you there. Hey there, wild West enthusiasts, don't miss out on our exciting upcoming podcast shows where we dive deep into the thrilling tales of the Wild West. You can catch every episode on popular platforms like iTunes and directly on our website at wildwestpodcastbuzzsproutcom. Join our growing community on Facebook at facebookcom slash wildwestpodcast and be sure to check out our YouTube channel for even more content. Thanks for being part of our adventure. We can't wait to have you back for the next installment as we continue our journey through the remarkable life of Belle Starr in Part 3, younger's Bend, the Cherokee Queen, where we'll explore the captivating years from 1875 to 1880.
