Kit (Christopher) Carson was an American frontiersman who
helped develop California. He was illiterate
(and embarrassed by the fact) and spent a lot of time with
Natives (even marrying Native women twice). His third
wife was Mexican. Kit had a total of 10 children.
This photo, called “The Cow Boy,” was taken by former miner
John C. H. Grabill, and is still considered to be one of the most
realistic depictions of cowboys. Notice the leather chaps and
the cloth neck wrap he’s wearing to keep cool.
Rose Dunn, also known as Rose of Cimarron, fell in love with a
wild west bandit named George “Bittercreek” Newcomb after
being introduced to him by her brothers. In 1895, George was
killed by the brothers after they became bounty hunters.
Rose later married a politician.
Wyatt Earp (sitting) is seen photographed with his friend Bat Masterson.
Wyatt is known for his role in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral where he,
along with his brothers Morgan and Virgil, as well as his friend,
Doc Holliday, squared off against four outlaws.
Jesse James was first a Confederate bushwhacker who later
was the most famous member of his gang of outlaws.
He was killed by another member, Robert Ford, who
wanted the bounty on James’ head.
Every western movie has gotten it wrong. Cowboys did not play
poker in the 1800s but a game called Faro. Faro was invented
outside the United States and after being imported, gained popularity.
Tibercio Vasquez went on a 20-year criminal career and managed
to escape the authorities that whole time. The hispanic outlaw
was eventually captured and hanged in 1875.
In the middle of the Civil War, the U.S. began to build a
railroad from Iowa to San Francisco, CA. The objective
was to create a transcontinental railroad to facilitate
transportation. It took six years to complete and was a
resounding success.
In 1871, wild west photographer, Timothy O’Sullivan, photographed
Lieutenant George Wheeler and his crew as they were conducting a
survey of the Colorado River in Black Canyon. Timothy
(the photographer) is the fourth man from the left.
This old west saloon in Michigan looks just like one of today’s
many bars. That’s because the general layout of saloons and
bars has not changed much in the 150 years since. There’s a
counter with a bartender who sells alcohol.
A perfect combination.
The Navajo have inhabited a very inhospitable environment for
a long time. Today’s Navajo Nation is the largest reservation in the
United States. Here, you can see a family of Navajo riding across
the Canyon de Chelly near the turn of the 20th century.
This photo of General George Crook, the Army’s preeminent Indian
fighter during the Indian Wars, was taken in Arizona in 1886. He is
shown here with two Apache scouts, Dutchy and Alchesay, along
with his favorite mule, Apache.
Geronimo was the leader of the Apaches and united a number of
Native tribes against their American and Mexican enemies.
Before his defeat at the Battle of Little Big Horn, while he was still a Lieutenant Colonel,
George Custer rode with his crew to the Black Hills of South Dakota in search of
a location for a fort.
The author of the tell-all book, “A Cowboy Detective,” Charlie Siringo, was a former
Pinkerton Detective Agency member who left the business and revealed the agency’s secrets.
The agency went out of its way to try and stop him from revealing what he knew.
Once Native Americans saw how popular their weaving was with the white colonists,
they began to make blankets and rugs to trade for other goods. Before this,
the weaving was used to make clothing for the tribe.
This picture of some members of the Paiute tribe shows some of the effects that
colonization of the Americas had on the local population. Western hats and some
western garb is mixed with traditional Native clothing.
During the Old West, cameras were a very new invention, and were extremely rare.
Timothy H. O’Sullivan was one of the era’s most important and prolific photographers,
and he traveled around with his own mobile darkroom in a wagon, shown here being
carried by four mules through the Carson Sink in Nevada.
Death Valley in California is one of the most inhospitable places on Earth.
It’s 282 feet below sea level and has recorded the highest air temperature on Earth…
134 degrees Fahrenheit. 19th century businessmen went to Death Valley in
search of borax.
Deadwood, Dakota Territory, had this celebration, captured by wild west photographer,
John Grabill, when the town completed the Deadwood Central Railroad and the
streetcar railroad.
The Canyon de Chelly National Monument, found within current day Navajo Nation,
is one of the most visited national monuments in the United States.
This picture depicts a true cowboy, Charlie Nebo, along with Nicholas Janis.
Charlie never tried to inflate his achievements and was happy to live like a
true frontier man.
This tintype photo is circa 1870, and depicts an unidentified Cherokee
(which is one of the so-called Five Civilized Tribes that were relocated to Indian Territory)
wearing the “civilized” clothing of the white man, which his people had adopted by
that time. He seems to be very prominently brandishing a gold-tinted knife.
In the years immediately following the Civil War, the Texas Rangers’ principle
adversaries were not actually outlaws, but Comanches. Photos of real Texas Rangers
taken prior to 1870 are very rare. This one is of James Thomas Bird (left) and
John J. Haynes (right), and was taken in 1868. You can see that they are wearing
outfits more suited to Civil War guerrillas than the later Texas cowboys.
One of the earliest forms of photography was called ambrotype. It was used for
about 10 years before tintype became more popular. Ambrotype was done on
glass. Here is an example of an ambrotype photograph.
Buffalo Bill, whose real name was William Cody, started a very popular “Wild West”
show in 1883 that lasted for several decades. The show toured around the U.S.
and had many acts, including gun fight re-enactments.
Traveling across the wild west was very dangerous. Many rich travelers had to
hire armed men to protect them on dangerous routes.
Buffalo Bill’s biggest attraction was his cowboys and their gun fight re-enactments.
Only the best cowboy sharpshooters made it into the show and only after an audition
to prove their skill. Once in, they no longer had any financial worries as the
show paid them well.
Pearl Hart gained notoriety just before the turn of the 20th century as a female
stagecoach robber. She cut her hair short, dressed in men’s clothing, and was
eventually sentenced to five years in prison, but pardoned after three years.
She had two kids.
There were countless gangs in the wild west and all of them carried guns.
While the name of this gang is no longer known, some researchers believe
the man in the middle is John Kinney of the John Kinney Gang.
No one knows for sure, though.
Chuck Norris did not found the Texas Rangers — they’ve actually existed since 1836.
Near the beginning, each Texas Ranger was expected to provide his own ammunition
and equipment. They were paid in property.
In the late 1800s, you could make a lot of money mining gold, silver or copper.
Owning the mine netted you the biggest profits, but the miners themselves also
made out big, regardless of how bad conditions were.
Born in 1840, Bloody Bill became the leader of the gang, Quantrill’s Raiders,
during the Civil War (on the Confederate side). He had a lot of pent up rage
and slaughtered Union soldiers whenever he could. On one occasion,
he killed 20 soldiers with his gang and then massacred another 100.
Semper Fidelis
USMC
USMC
Nemo me impune lacessit