The old west has been used by Hollywood to show a wild time when gunfights were common and outlaws were rampant. From 1803 to 1890 is considered "the west". Let's dive into that and see what it really was.
To be fair to Hollywood and various others in the film industry, there were gunfights. That wasn't a lie. What is a lie is that the gunfight at OK Corral happened at OK Corral with rifles. Truthfully, it happened with handguns, beside a photography studio, and lasted 30 seconds. They were all six feet from each other or closer.
Westerns portraying the 1900s and violent times are significantly less accurate, too. The west was cleaned up far more by that time. It is around the first settlements that it was the roughest. Imagine single men with guns bought from the gold rush cash they acquired, all of them scarred from the Civil War and dealing with Native Americans defending their homes. Add the raiding parties and bandits, then we have a violent time. Most traveled with all their possessions, too.
The other most prominent lie we hear in film is the term "cowboy" as positive. It was derogatory, actually, and the good cattlemen preferred "herder". Rivalry and scuffles came with being a cattleman.
Billy the Kid most likely became an outlaw by being on the wrong side of a rivalry. It was possible to find yourself in that position if loyalties became strong enough. Forget the cowboy hats, too - they didn't wear them.
The Civil War
From 1861 to 1865 the war over slavery was less prominent in the west, but make no mistake, it still existed there. That war churned out raiding parties and experienced killers that later wreaked havoc. Jesse and Frank James, whom the Pinkerton Detectives couldn't catch, began their experience with a pro-confederate raiding party led by Quantrill (William Quantrill). Quantrill was one of the worst raiding parties of the Civil War and ran through Missouri and Kansas recklessly.
The other issues around the Civil War included PTSD that no one knew could exist, being desensitized to violence, and too many weapons out there. You can come home from war with your gun and your PTSD, in essence. No one wants that, but it happened. The training and trauma created outlaws and unhinged men in the process. Did everyone come back shooting up towns? No, but a few did and found friends to help. Most outlaws were opportunistic, driven by greed and alcohol, and lacked any restraining force.
 |
| Jesse and Frank James |
Law and Order
The Pinkerton Detective Agency took care of some of these outlaws. Their failure to get Jesse and Frank James was possibly their worst failure. Law had a hard time keeping track of everything, understandably, as more land was acquired. The Hole-In-The-Wall pass that several outlaw gangs used was never penetrated by the law. The Goldrush didn't help. The only outlets for social activity were saloons, brothels, and gambling houses. For the most part, each town had their own rules and sent posses for the outlaws around them. Vigilante justice and lynching were common. In 1851 the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance was created. This group consisted of 700 citizens and passed judgment immediately without a fair trial. Many were shot or hung. Similar groups began in several states and lasted for a long time. Some cities, like Tombstone, enforced the rule that no civilians can have guns in town.
Railroads
Late 1860 brought railroads, and then the first transcontinental railroad. They combined the Central and Union Pacific Railroad. When you see buffalo hunters being paid to hunt the buffalo they are being paid by the railroad. Not only did it feed railway workers, but it also made it possible to keep laying track on land where wild bison got in the way. They nearly killed the buffalo and starved Native Americans, who were eventually forced into reservations.
Camels
Did you just read the word "camel"? Yes, you did! The US Army ordered 75 of them to the tune of 30 grand. They were meant to help tame the west because of their durable constitution. They were originally only used in Texas for supply travel. They worked so well that they wanted more, but Congress killed that dream of getting more. Confederate Texas ended up letting the animals graze. One went to battle and died in battle, another was pushed off a cliff, and several were caught and sold. Some even ran around feral (wild).
Sources:
https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/wild-west-how-lawless-was-american-frontier/Pictures:
Society Pages
History
No comments:
Post a Comment