50 Facts About The American West By William Carroll

Buffalo 1)The Indians used buffalo horns and skulls for head-dress ornaments for religious ceremonies. 2)For some buffalo hunts the Indians would dress as buffalo to allow them to get closer. 3)The hunt is always extremely organised to make sure no buffalo get away. 4)If you took away the buffalo from the Plains Indians they would not have survived as they relied on them for almost everything. 5)The Indians left the buffalos heart on the ground once it was killed to give new life to the land.

Beliefs 6)The Indians believe they returned to the land when they died. 7)The Sioux believed in Wakan Tanka, the Great Spirit. 8)Women had contact with the spirit world, which made them more important. 9)They had a sun dance for guidance but it could be interpreted as being savage. 10)Indians do not believe in ownership of the land.

Manifest Destiny 11)Texas was taken over in 1845 and California was taken from Mexico in 1846. 12)Mountain Men were American pioneers. 13)A push factor was that New York had an economic crisis in 1837. 14)A number of Mountain Men turned to cannibalism. 15)The Mountain Men were important to the later settling of the west because of their vast knowledge of the land. They were used as guides.

Gold Rush 16)In January 1848 James Marshall spotted gold. 17)25,000 people went to California by boat. 18)5,000 people died on the wagon journey. 19)There was claim jumping which was stealing someone else's land or mining stake. 20)There was also racial prejudice to Mexicans, Chinese and Indians.

Mormons 21)They believed in: Polygamy (1844) (more than one wife) 22)Proselytisation (conversation) 23)Politics (running for office) 24)Property (10% of their wealth is given to the church) 25)People of God (their the chosen ones)

Settling In The West 26)The Timber Culture Act, 1873 – can give people 160 acres of free land, provided they planted 40 acres with trees. 27)The Desert Land Act, 1877 – the right to buy 640 acres cheaply where there is lack of rain. 28)The Homestead Act, 1862 – gives people 160 acres of land free, but they have to live on it for 5 years. 29)American Civil War, 1861-65 – South vs. North. On the plains there are volunteer soldiers. 30)Aboloition Of Slavery, 1865 – the cattle breed rapidly.

The Johnson County War 31)It was a war which took place in April 1892. 32)It was a a battle between small settling ranchers and larger established ranchers. 33)Conflict over the land was a somewhat common occurrence in the development of the American West. 34)In the early days in Wycoming most of the land was in the public domain, open to stock rising as open range and to homesteading. 35)Ranchers would hold a spring roundup where the cows and the calves belonging to each ranch were separated and the calves branded.

Cowboys 36)The term cowboy came into use in the 1870s. 37)Average wages were $25-40 a month. 38)They were very hard working men. 39)Cowboys didn’t have much of a family because they were on the move a lot and didn’t have time to settle down. 40)The weapon of choice for a cowboy was a revolver, usually two with one each side.

Forces Of Law And Order 41)Sheriffs – Elected for two years locally, served wide areas. 42)Pinterton Detective Agency – Hired detectives to protect towns, banks, catch gun slingers. 43)Judges – Federal/supreme appointed by Potus. Locally trials were delayed and prisoners murdered. 44)Pontus – Elected every four years, sends US Cavalry. 45)Town Marshalls – Appointed by townsfolk, served one year terms.

Types Of Crime 46) Bank robbery – James Younger Gang (series of robberies 1866-1882) 47)Cattle rustling – Led to Johnson County War. 48)Fence Cutting – 1880s and 90s Homesteaders and small ranchers. 49)Shootings – 1866-1900 20,000 dead from shootings. 50)Train Robbery – 1870-1880 Outlaws regularly robbed trains.