In Search of History - Salem Witch Trials (History Channel) (A&E DVD Archives) (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)This History Channel documentary is a good introductory history to the infamous witch trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. It gives a broad overview of the major events and characters in this tragic episode of fear and suspision in early colonial America.
The Salem Witch saga began in the winter of 1692 with the strange behavior surrounding a number of young girls living in Salem Village, several of whom were living in the household of the controversial village minister Samuel Parris. The girls were given to bizarre fits that the local physician was at a loss to explain except by the actions of witchcraft. Soon accusations were leveled at the minister's Carib Indian slave woman, Tituba, who, under torture, admitted to being a witch in league with the Devil. Before long, hundreds of people from the surrounding countryside were arrested and dragged into court to answer to charges of witchcraft. In the end, 19 people died as a result of the tumultuous trials before public sentiment finally turned against the accusers.
The Salem Witch Trials have loomed large in American history since the time they occurred. There have been many different attempts to explain the causes of the witchcraze that swept Salem, but the debate continues to this very day. This documentary gives a clear and basic understanding of the historical events that took place and serves as a good introduction to this material for anyone interested in this notorious event in American History.

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History -- Wild West Tech : Gunslingers, The Review

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(More customer reviews)The gun clearly was the most important piece of Wild West technology. "The Gunslingers" takes viewers through a review of each major gun development, illustrating its use in an important fight.
The first product illustrated was the ball and cap pistol, favored by Abilene, KS Marshall Wild Bill Hickok, who reloaded it every day because evening moisture and coolness could shrink the powder, causing a misfire. Unfortunately, immediately after a face-to-face gunfight (rare - usually shootings were by surprise), Hickok heard footsteps behind him, and turned and fired - killing his own deputy en route to help. Hickok lost his job, and was killed five years later in Deadwood, S.D.
Repeating firearms were a major advance, with the Colt pistol and Henry rifle, using self-contained cartridges offering major improvements in offense. The DVD illustrates the advantage of repeating weapons in two conflicts with Indians.
Holsters also evolved, though their role in Western towns was somewhat limited because carrying guns was illegal in most locales. (Violation of this ordinance led to the famous OK Corral shootout in Tombstone.)
Any discussion of gunslingers would be incomplete without reference to former ace marksmen. John Wesley Hardin, son of a preacher, practiced regularly and killed his 40th man on his 21st birthday. In one gunfight he killed his opponent with a shot through the heart at 75 yards. Jailed for 17 years in El Paso, he studied law, then became an attorney - only to be shot in the back of the head.
While pistols were easier to use, rifles were more accurate at a distance. The Northfield, MN. attempted bank robbery by Jesse James and Cole Younger's gang was foiled by alerted townspeople attacking with rifles from a distance that made pistols relatively ineffective.
"The Gunslingers" final vignette briefly covers the introduction of shotguns, and Billy the Kid's use of one in his 1881 jailbreak from a Lincoln, N.M. jail.

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