Picture this: Glasgow, Scotland, where an old Scotsman named Jim, with a white beard as rugged as the Rockies, traded jam and toast for tales of the Wild West.  That was a few years ago, but foreigners   have often asked me about cowboys, a topic that hits close to home. Growing up in Prescott, Arizona, where the dust still whispers of the first rodeo in 1888, I never aimed to be a cowboy. My childhood dream? To be an astronaut, boldly going where no one had gone before. Little did I know, the uncharted territories of the Wild West were waiting to be explored.

     It wasn't until adulthood that Dad shared the enigmatic stories of Bill Long, our very own family cowboy. The narratives, woven by my great grandmother Luzernia Jackson, hinted at gunfights, stolen identities, and a hailstorm of bullets that could fill a room. Then there's the intrigue of William McCarty, a face from the pages of Charles Kelly's book on western outlaws – a face eerily resembling Uncle Bill's. Grandma Luzernia yearned to uncover Bill's roots, a mysterious figure who entered our family wounded in the desert, healed by the hands of a widowed ancestor.

     At the heart of these narratives stands the quintessential American Cowboy – a tough rider, a hard drinker, with a trigger-happy finger, bowlegged stance, often an illiterate lad donning a round-brimmed hat and sturdy riding boots. And standing shoulder to shoulder with the cowboy is his legendary and infamous counterpart: the Outlaw.

Our journey in search of Bill Long has been nothing short of a Wild West odyssey, spanning decades and driven by sheer determination. Who was this man? Could he have been a McCarty, possibly the legendary Sundance Kid himself? And was "Long" truly his last name? We embarked on this quest with more questions than answers, ready to put our hearts into the search.

The year was 2007 when we took a deep dive into the unknown. With legal permission from other family members, we undertook the momentous task of exhuming William (Bill) Henry Long from his resting place in Duchesne, Utah, nearly seven decades after his demise. Our sole purpose was to unveil the true identity of this mysterious figure.

     Since that pivotal moment, our journey down the outlaw trail has transported us to places beyond our wildest dreams. According to Bill Long's obituary, he hailed from the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming, where he worked as a cowpuncher in his youth. The Bighorn Basin, a notorious breeding ground for the Hole-in-the-Wall outlaw gang, was home to legendary figures such as Butch Cassidy, The Sundance Kid, Tom McCarty, Harvey Logan, "Flat-nose" George Curry, and Matt Warner. Bill Long even claimed to know the very tree where Cattle Kate met her fate in 1889 and mentioned his employment at a place known as the KC Ranch. The clues began accumulating like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

The year 1892 marked the onset of the Johnson County War in central Wyoming, triggered by the murder of US Deputy Marshal George Wellman. However, tensions between small-time ranchers and wealthy cattle barons had simmered for years. A horde of hired gunslingers from Texas descended upon Buffalo, Wyoming, intent on tipping the scales in favor of the cattlemen. Peaceful resolutions were never entertained, and local cowboys paid the price. These gripping tales kept us firmly anchored to our research, as we engaged with descendants, scoured historical records, and scrutinized vintage photographs and newspaper articles. While we were not the first to traverse the outlaw trail, we possessed a unique advantage — Bill Long's story.

     We've sifted through a plethora of accounts detailing train heists, bank robberies, dynamite disasters, and merciless lawmen. We've poured over thousands of Pinkerton notes, property records, bank notes, and family narratives, and our search is far from over. With all of this history behind us, the time has come to share the untold story of the Wild West. We've uncovered parts of this narrative that no other researcher or enthusiast has ever laid eyes on. Gunslinger's Shadow is our conduit for bringing these revelations to you.

   So, step into the dimly lit saloons, feel the leather creak beneath the saddle, and hear the rhythmic jingle of spurs — welcome to the Gunslinger's Shadow Podcast. I'm your host, David Nickle, joined by my brother Adam and our father, Ross. Join us as we unravel the tales of the American cowboy in a world where the line between hero and outlaw blurs like the horizon at sunset. Saddle up, partner, and let's ride through history's dust storms together.