Did the Wild West exist in America like it is portrayed in movies? The Wild West in movies is about as accurate as Lost in Space is about space exploration.
Cowboys looked after cattle. They helped the mothers give birth, branded them, herded them, gelded them, treated their ailments, and delivered them to the railroad. They didn't get into gunfights with each other all the time. They didn't go out after native Americans either. They didn't have stagecoach chases. Barroom brawls were not harmless punch-ups in which nobody really got hurt and prostitutes did not have hearts of gold. Men could not whip a pistol out of a holster while sauntering along and shoot another man accurately, one-handed, without sighting, at fifty yards. Especially not with the cruddy revolvers they carried. The main purpose of their weapons was to kill wild animals that posed a risk to the cattle, and they would much prefer a rifle if they had one.
There were occasional fights between rival groups, and there certainly were some bad people beyond the frontier, especially ex-Confederate raiders who went on raiding after the war was over. But it wasn't constant murder.
Here's the back story of the above photo, with the names of the men in it.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.americancowboychronicles.com/2017/01/william-owen-buckey-oneill.html
Elmo, thank you very much.
Delete"Cruddy revolvers"? I respectfully disagree.
ReplyDeleteThe Old Guy, not my opinion either.
DeleteSam Colt didn't monopolize the six shooter market with cheap firearms. Nor did Christian Sharps (with breech loader rifles), Christopher Spencer (with Civil War repeaters), or Benjamin Henry/Oliver Winchester with lever action rifles.
DeleteAfter being used as a convenient hammer on occasion, even the best revolver can develop accuracy problems.
Deleteedutcher, that's good to know.
DeleteAnon, they even use them as hammers in the movies.
DeleteHorse feathers. The Indian Wars were Hell, a lot of young Texas kids with six shooters just out of the Confederate Army led to a lot of trouble, a rope was the law in a lot of places, most hookers were girls fresh off the farm and just wanted something better (most of them eventually figured the farm wasn't so bad after all and went back to with a boy who was one of their regulars), rifles were carried in the bed wagon, "They helped the mothers give birth, gelded them, treated their ailments" (you really buy that?), and, once cattle became big money, a lot of blood was spilled.
ReplyDeleteI hate Lefty revisionists, they lied through their God damned teeth (pardon my language, but how do you think we built the greatest country in the world from Jamestown to the Pacific?).
PS You don't bad mouth cowboys around me.
edutcher, whoa! I've never bad mouthed a cowboy.
DeleteDude! It sure sounded like it.
DeleteThin skinned little rascal, ain't ye?
DeleteDude might need a Midol, like my ex. Lol
ReplyDelete