Wild West Podcast
Wild West Podcast
Michael King/Brad Smalley
A Handful Of Men Mark The Gateway West
3 minutes Posted Apr 10, 2026 at 1:00 am.
Welcome And Set The Scene
April 10, 1865 On The Plains
Digging Riverbank Shelters To Survive
Why This Muddy Post Matters
From Outpost To Future Cattle Country
Closing And Goodbye
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3:47
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Show notes
Send us Fan Mail Mud, rain, and a riverbank so soft every step sinks, that’s where Fort Dodge begins. We rewind to April 10, 1865, and follow Captain Henry Pearce and a tired group of soldiers as they plant a military post on the Arkansas River while most of the country’s attention is fixed on the war’s end in Virginia. This is Kansas frontier history at ground level, where “progress” sounds like shovels scraping clay and feels like cold water pooling on the floor. We talk through what the e...