Longfellow
The Author of The Last Best West

Old West Historian, Entertainment Gunfighter, Old West Performer and Cowboy Hat Expert, Longfellow's American and French ancestors were two families out of millions of immigrants to come to Western Canada in The Last Best West Years - 1896 - 1914.

Here's some of the most common questions I get asked.

When did you first become interested in the Old West?

When I was five or six I learned that Jesse James and I share the same birthday, September 5. From that moment on I was hooked on the Old West, and any facts I came across seemed to stick to me like stink on a skunk.

When I was 17 I learned my families background, how my American ancestors moved from Virginia to Sagemon County, Illinois, in 1842. After the Civil War my great-grand parents met and wed in Illinois, and years later they moved their young family to the Devils Lake area of North Dakota - where my Grandfather Cyrus was born in 1893. In 1903 my great uncles, Ealand, and Daniel, took to horseback and rode north and west along the border and into the southern Northwest Territories of Canada. My Great-Uncle Ealand was quite an adventurer: He was a Cavalry Trooper and served under Teddy Roosevelt in the 1898 Spanish-American War. When they returned it was decided that the entire family (minus Ealand) would relocate into western Canada, and did so in 1905 on horse back and in covered wagons. My Grandfather was 12 at the time, and 1905 was also the same year that the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were formed from the Northwest Territories of Canada.

What makes you an expert on the Old West?

Read my novel, The Last Best West, and then you'll know. If you don't know after that then I'm afraid anything else I say is useless.

When for you did the old west start and finish?

I go against the norm here - well the finish anyway: I believe the old west years started with the first Texas Longhorn cattle drives in 1866 and went to 1908 when Butch and Sundance were killed in Bolivia. Most think the Old West ended in 1900, but it seems to me there was still a lot of "Wild" out west for decades to come. You could even argue convincingly that it lasted till May 14 1916 when George Patton engaged in perhaps the last Old West gunfight in Mexico.

What do you think the rudest thing you could ask a traditional cowboy?

Three things: To explain himself, anything about his name, or where he came from. The Code of the Old West

What's the most memorable old west show you've done?

That's easy - and not because it was the best show we ever did. In 2004 the RCMP celebrated the 130th anniversary of their ride west to Fort Macleod (southern Alberta about 100 miles from the Montana border) to stop the illegal whisky trade and establish Canadian control of this enormous wilderness area. We were asked to come out and give about 30 minutes of entertainment which always includes a marshals outlaws confrontation. Everybody likes a good shoot 'em up. The event was held at the rodeo field in Fort Macleod, and all the best people were there, including the commissioner of the RCMP. Anyway to cut to the quick: I played a rowdy outlaw, and after harassing the crowd for a number of minutes our "Gang" was chased off by the Marshals. . er. . .Mounties. When we were walking back down the bleachers, the RCMP Commish was eyeing me pretty good, so I eyeballed him pretty hard back and snarled loudly, "What are YOU looking at!" Which cracked up the other two "Outlaws" I was with. Kind of odd ;} that we've never been invited back; but we still laugh about that one.

Why don't you have a Blog?

Just don't have the time (I'm hard pressed to update this page twice a year) - besides can't believe that people would be interested in my day to day activities, or what my current rant is on. I can't understand those people that have the time to do daily blog's. I mean come on hug some leather and get a life. My Grandfather used to tell me there was two types of people: Talkers and Doers. I like to think I'm a Doer. Now, fair dinkum, Grandpa Albert was also the one that told me that there was three types of people - them's that can add, and them's that can't.

Longfellow Notes

• Stampede 2007: We're pushing 30 shows for the 10 days starting July 6th, not to mention participating in the Calgary Stampede Parade. Is it August yet?
• June 2007: All three lines of wanted posters are being put up in Flames Central during the Calgary Stampede 2007. Flames Central is a state of the art bar/entertainment complex that can handle 2000 people on the premises. The saloon is inside a refurbished Victorian era Theatre, and later a movie theatre, called the Palace. Now that's whatcha call a watering hole, with private booths and the whole shebang!
• Spent the first week of May 2007 in the Black Hills of South Dakota, making hats with Brad Montague, of Star of the West Hat Company, and finalized our agreement for Star of the West to make our Last Best Cowboy Hats. Great relationship with Monty; we see eye to eye on how to do business, and it's always reassuring when you see yer preaching to the converted. . . .
• After growing my hair for almost 3 years on an impulse I shave it off and go back to a marine flat top. In the middle of a Canadian Winter. Big Mistake - now I have first hand knowledge why trappers, scouts, and mountain men always had long hair. Much warmer in the winter, and in the summer it keeps yer neck from getting burnt.
• NOV 2006: The Cowboys invade Vegas! Me and my friend Bill head down to Vegas for the Global Gaming Exposition. Riding with us were; Ranger Rod, Black Benny, Rhonda Lee, Bernadette, and Mary Ann. The Skipper and Gilligan were unable to attend. . . . They wouldn't let our horses in there - go figger! - so we had to hoof it - and my dogs are still barking!  
• NOV 2006: My new crown working - The Rocky Mountain Ranger debuts on the cowboy hat pages. We think it looks dang nice - something new and unique for a Cowboy Hat design.
• 23 Shows in ten days - that's the challenge of the Calgary Stampede 2oo6. Including an actual shotgun wedding at Rafter Six Ranch - congratulations to Mike and Ebbe!
• May 2006 - We do a promotional video with Chief Jack Beaton - for the Calgary Police Service. Great bunch of guys and gals and we certainly Back the Blue!
• I get 3 days work on the Brad Pitt western, The Assassination of Jesse James, filmed here in Calgary in the fall of 2005. I'm thrilled - Jesse and I share the same birthday. . .man that's cold work - but seeing Zooey Deschanel in garters and heels - now that was a warming site! Look for me in a saloon scene or two - near the end of the film. That's of course if I don't end up on the cutting room floor. . .film is due out for Fall 2007.
• Shows! Parades! Shows! Calgary Stampede 2005:
  Parade; The Gunfight At Rope Square 2005
  Private Shows - Morning Television - a crazy 10 Days!
• The Last Best West Complete is reviewed in the Nov/Dec 2004 issue of True West Magazine.
• Sept 2004: The Silver Spur Gunfighters debuted their own brand of wild west shows at the Cody Gunfighter Rendezvous, at the Irma Hotel - Cody Wyoming.
• July 2004: Longfellow Founds The Silver Spur Gunfighters.
• June 2004: Promotional Tour through the Black Hills including: Deadwood, Hill City, and Four Mile; South Dakota.
• Longfellow's a Gunfighter with Guns of the Golden West.
• Invited to be included in The University of Toronto's Books In Print - March 7, 2003
• The Last Best West by Longfellow Deeds published January 14, 2003
• Author's Site of Excellence - Predators And Editors - October 2002

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Chief Jack and his Posse at Heritage Park

The "Mouthy Gambler" skit at the End of Trail Festival in Cody, Wyoming, 2006
Photographer: Tyson Irion - Lone Wolf Photography, Cody Wyoming.