C LAIMING THE W EST April 30, 2010

M YTHS VS. R EALITY Throughout the history of the Old American West, several myths were created and inspired to encourage settlement, or create a romantic picture of the west

M YTH #1: T HE G ARDEN P ARADISE American west originally seen as the “Great American Desert” “Experts” offset this myth by claiming that planting trees and crops would bring more rainfall. “Rain follows the plow” Unusually heavy rainfall in some parts of the west made this seem possible

M YTH #1: T HE G ARDEN P ARADISE Reality: Wet weather was only temporary Real weather was extremely hot summers, brutal winters, and 1/3 the rain as in the East. Many farers moved back east in the late 1880s. Other farmers coped by digging deep wells for water and

M YTH 2: F REE L AND Homestead Act, Acres land for settlers if they cultivate it for 5 years for $10 Was to help farmers work the territory in the West

M YTH 2: F REE L AND Reality: Land speculators took advantage of this system by paying friends or relatives to lays a few logs on the ground and scatter some corn to “improve” the land. Houses were the be built 12x14 – but the law failed to specify whether that was feet or inches Best land, near rail lines, was owned by the railroad companies

The Grange 1867 – Notional Grange of Patrons of Husbandry formed Farmers organization that tackled 2 main threats to farmers’ existence: Railroads and Grain merchants Established co-op stores, represented farmers in court, and operated grain elevators.

M YTH #3: C OWBOYS People in the East read about cowboys in dime novels Ideas portrayed were that cowboys were: Glamorous life Men White Wore “cowboy” attire Rode on the same horse all day

^Traditional view of the West

M YTH #3: C OWBOYS Reality: Many cowboys were African American, Chinese, or Mexican

M YTH #3: C OWBOYS Reality: Hard work – long 18-hour days and often very long and boring treks Women were often ranch hands Many horses were used for different purposes Although there was “cowboy attire”, people were generally not wealthy and wore whatever they could get

T HE C ATTLE I NDUSTRY Started in Texas – Skilled ranchers came from Mexico Cattle Drives – Ranchers would have to take cattle up north from Texas to the rail line to ship meat east. Routes became known as trails.

Chisholm trail from San Antonio to Abilene, Kansas 

T HE C ATTLE I NDUSTRY Cattle Herds: Might have totalled 2,500 cows with 8-10 cowhands, a trail boss, and wranglers (people who cared for the horses)

D ANGERS OF THE C ATTLE I NDUSTRY Any problems arose for cattle: Go blind from drought Drown in flash floods Die in stampedes Get an infection – Texas fever Decline of the industry Overproduction drove prices down Bad weather in the late 1880s made it impossible to heard cattle Cow herding turned into Cattle Ranches

T HE B UFFALO Bison was the main source of food for Plains natives Hunted for sport, later for industry – Robes and mechanical belts People would shoot at them from trains for sport Population Statistics: million before Europeans arrived Fell to 12 million by 1860s 1886 – Only a few hundred bison left, most in Canada

^Hunting for sport

^ Buffalo skulls

W OMEN OF THE W EST As a class, read “Women of the Wild West” Answer questions 1 and 2 in your text. (taken up in 15 min)

Mining the West After the California Gold Rush, prospectors went east to the Rockies and the plains to find gold and other resources: Gold in Colorado and South Dakota Copper in Montana Silver in many other places Led to mass migration and towns being sprung up overnight

^Guthrie, Oklahoma, built in a day

^Ghost town in Utah

Mining the West Wide variety of people lived in these make-shift towns: Chinese, British, Mexicans, and Americans traveled to the west Women worked in these towns providing services for miners

V IGILANTE J USTICE IN THE W EST Policing was sparse in the West – no way of enforcing the law Vigilante Committees – Self-appointed volunteers to provide law and order in the mining towns.

^Hanging of a cattle thief in Montana

Jessie James Guerilla fighter for the South in the Civil War From Missouri After the war for 15 years, he and his gang (the Younger brothers) robbed trains, banks, and stagecoaches Was well-liked by locals Gang dispersed in 1876, he was killed in 1882 for a $10,000 reward

Billy the Kid (Henry McCarthy) Born in New York, raised in Indiana, Kansas, and New Mexico. Participated in the Lincoln War (range war in New Mexico) where he killed several men Captured in 1880 but killed to guards and escaped. Captured and killed in July of that year (age 21) Became legendary as a cold- blooded killer and a romantic as well

Wild Bill Hickok A scout, frontier lawman, and gambler Alleged to have killed at least two dozen men during his career as a scout and marshal Town Marshall in Abilene, Kansas (Cow town) 1876 – shot in the back of the head while playing cards in a saloon

Wyatt Earp Buffalo hunter and gambler, and then a peace officer in Kansas (Tombstone) OK Corral – Gunfight where he killed 3 rustlers

John H. (Doc) Holliday Close friend of Wyatt Earp Was a dentist in the East, but, for unknown reasons, went west and abandoned his previous lifestyle Was a gambler and a shooter, but made his living off of gambling Lived in Tombstone, Ka with Earp and was in the OK Corral gunfight

Wyatt Earp Clip Settling Tombstone, AZ and the gun fight at the OK Corral (Chapter 4 & 5) 15 min