In fact, famed Western historian Lucius "Clearly a Fake Name" Beebe went so far as to call it "the hat that won the West." So are we! Others were widowed with no other way to earn a living. They came up with all of the cowboy lingo, including "bronco," "lariat," and even "stampede." Some of the camels were captured by the circus for shows and carrying stuff. On a riverbank in Texas, a master of disguise waited patiently with his accomplice, hoping that his target, an infamous horse thief, would show himself on the trail. Even the cowboy hats that Stetson was making in the late 1800s didn't look like the Stetson hats we call "cowboy hats" today. While Natives were laughing their heads off on the smelly cowboys, the incoming people faced the struggle of life and death. Deadly gunman and Old West folk hero James “Wild Bill” Hickok was born in Illinois on May 27, 1837. Even so, many myths have arisen about the period. Those frontiersmen must have been firing bullets and dodging arrows on a daily basis, right? Looking For The Best Medieval Artists? Second, the banks actually weren't that easy to get in and out of. They also wore chaps, held rodeos, and lived the life of a cowboy in relative anonymity for some 200 years. After four days, the hunch paid off, when the bandit unwittingly walked towards the man who haunted the outlaws of the Old West. A court even allowed him to legally adopt the bandit’s name. In any case, the nickname stuck. Now, clearly pop culture has turned much of the true West into bullshit legend -- there were never quick-draw artists who could shoot a six gun out of your hand with another six gun. But the basics were true, right? Calamity Jane’s Maybe-Romance With Wild Bill Hickok Another fact which was totally ignored by the western filmmakers was the presence of camels in 19th century Wild West. With Kenny Rogers, Paul A. Hutton, Robert Utley, Leon Metz. Fortunately, it hasn’t been that long since our ancestors tamed the American frontier. You can create an infographic and you could be on the front page of Cracked.com tomorrow! The real-life Django: The legendary African-American Wild West marshal who arrested 3,000 outlaws and killed 14 men. First, towns back in those days were much smaller, with the sheriff's office, saloon, general store, and bank usually clustered together for convenience. Another is a bit simpler: Jane was a popular nickname for women in the Wild West (Lewis and Clark called Sacagawea “Jane”), and her life had been such a calamity. However, during and after the American Civil War a large number of camels were either killed or ran into the wilderness. The Wild West: A time when outlaws roamed the plains, every sheriff was a sure shot and gun battles filled makeshift cemeteries with the innocent and guilty alike. Check For Blue Teeth. The term 'Wild West' was initially referring to the fact that the area was 'wild', i.e. Hosted by Kenny Rogers When most people think of the Wild West era of 1865 to 1895, they imagine ultra-masculine cowboys who drank whiskey, roped steers, shot revolvers and frequented brothels. Contrary to Hollywood scripture, RL Cowboy Lyfe was less Rawhide and more A Million Ways to Die of Dysentery in the Desert. It wasn't necessarily because they were open-minded and peace loving that they abstained from violence, but rather that it's never good business to kill your customers, or vice versa. RARE photos of Colorado brothels during the 1800s show America’s Wild West and the tough women who plied their trade. In 1843 US camel corps was formed after authorities imported some sixty-six healthy camels from Egypt and Morocco. As the desperado reache… Back then, every man, woman, and child came pre-equipped with an old-timey revolver, which was used for everything from personal defense and hunting to celebrating. That vision, that western movies gave us of a single wagon slowly treading on a rugged terrain is just that; a vision. Research can find evidence of only about eight true bank heists, and that's across 15 states in 40 freaking years. In reality, the people moving towards frontier traveled in groups of hundreds of wagons on dirt roads. You can even visit Calamity Jane's grave. A man named J. Frank Dalton who came forward around 1948, at age 101, claiming he was the “real” Jesse James. And don't forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr to get sexy, sexy jokes sent straight to your news feed. Hell, we bet more settlers were accidentally trampled by their own cows. The events in this timeline occurred primarily in the portion of the modern United States west of the Mississippi River, and mostly in the period between the Louisiana Purchasein … The circle formation of wagons in the nights that Western got ‘right’ (perhaps the only thing they got right about the west) was not a defensive measure against attacking Native tribes; it was rather a move to stop the animals from wandering off and leaving people helpless in the wilderness. They were surely more civilized from the new settlers, more hygiene conscious for sure. In 1855, after a fight Hickok mistakenly believed had ended with the death of his adversary, the 18-year-old headed west. … Originally known as "the Boss of the Plains," it looked more like modern Amish hats, and may have been just a modified sombrero. Some common myths you probably still believe include ... Old Westerns treat Native Americans kind of like The Walking Dead treats zombies -- sudden, murderous ambushes could come from anywhere, at any time. With law enforcement often miles away, criminals flourished, and people were left to take matters into their own hands—often with terrifying results. Cracked is published by Literally media Ltd.. Believed to have committed 17 killings as a hired gunman throughout the West. But that's the point -- they got famous for a reason. Springing from the bushes, the cowboy confronted his frightened mark with a warrant. Mediocre? One in three cowboys were Mexican vaquero. Being that the sheriff's office was usually no more than a few doors down, you were probably pulling your big heist within earshot of the law. This led to an entire genre of books and film devoted to the drama and romance of the period, as well as comic books and toys. And as a bonus? Thanks for connecting! The lawlessness, the guns, the constant Indian attacks? Looking back on most portraits from the time, you can find that almost every single major name in the West owned a bowler hat, at least if they had class. Here's Billy the Kid wearing some kind of fucked-up top hat: Here's Wild Bill Hickok wearing a woman's flat pancake hat: But what you would have seen mostly back then were bowler hats: They were more popular because they were a little more versatile in various social situations, especially in a time when all men wore hats all the damn time. Even Cracked favorite Teddy Roosevelt got in on the act by calling himself the "cowboy candidate.". The term "American Old West" refers to a vast geographical area and lengthy time period of imprecise boundaries, and historians' definitions vary. So if you get in your time machine and set it for 1870, you'd damn well better be packing one of these: Lots of people wore hats back then, that part's true. Native Americans had become accustomed to the elements and learned to live with the hardships, and most of them washed regularly; far more frequently than the emigrants. The ultimate item of the cowboy outfit is of course the Stetson hat, which most of us just call a cowboy hat. In a thorough review of the “West was violent” literature, Bruce Benson (1998) discovered that many historians simply assumethat violence was pervasive—even more so than in modern-day America—and then theorize about its likely causes. The 'soiled doves' of the Wild West: Photos reveal the everyday lives of prostitutes in the brothels of the American Frontier. There was no chance of overtaking as the trails were mostly narrow and could only have enough space of one and at most two medium sized wagons. As it turns out, this exciting period in American history wasn't as rife with murderous debauchery as Western movies and pulpy novels would have us believe. Vaqueros rode the long-haul cattle drives, and their sombreros were probably the precursor to cowboy hats. And why not? And all of this has to be true; we know that horrific numbers of people died when settlers expanded West. Reeves … What it's like now: Watch daily Wild West Show shootouts on Main Street or re-enactments of Wild Bill Hickok's slaying. What was like back then: People got gunned down over hands of poker (aces and eights, the dead man's hand is from here). In 2019, Pearce was restored and opened as a museum, which showcased treasures of a bygone period, offering visitors the chance to gain an understanding of life in a Wild West town. While the Wild West wasn’t quite the world of gunslingers and desperadoes portrayed in movies, it was still a dangerous place. Now, the most famous robberies -- the jobs pulled by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid -- were actually true. It's recent enough that we even have photographs of the families that traveled out and the lives they made, little glimpses into life in the real Wild West. Just look at HBO’s Westworld — it’s filled with blood-thirsty bandits but nary a gay cowboy. 5 Eyebrow-Arching Superhero Stories Hollywood'll Never Make. The Wild West, aka the Old West, was an astoundingly awesome period in American history that every person who has ever played Red Dead Redemption wants to emulate. Except if you were Chinese. When you walk out the front door with the loot, there's the sheriff waiting for you. In reality, the situation in the old west was not that bad, actually less violent than the other parts of America. If you're pressed for time and just looking for a quick fix, then check out 4 Reasons Everyone in the New Superman Movie is a Dick. Cracked is published by Literally Media Ltd., Settlers Were Constantly Clashing With Indians, 5 Ridiculous Myths Everyone Believes About the Wild West, 'Tiger King's' Joe Exotic Chartered a Pickup Truck Limo In Hopes of Presidential Pardon, 13 Now-You-Know Tidbits About Movies, History, And More, 5 Most Dangerously Garbage Parents In Pop-Culture, 5 Details That Make 'Mandalorian' A Show All About Getting Old, 15 Video Games That Had To Change Bizarre Details In Different Countries, to keep their absurdly expensive cattle from wandering off, 6 Ridiculous Lies You Believe About the Founding of America, The Outlaw Whose Corpse Got Lost In A Haunted House, Fan Creations That Went For It, All Of It, Some Maniac Is Still Gluing Hats To Pigeons' Heads, 6 Things From History Everyone Pictures Incorrectly, 4 Reasons Everyone in the New Superman Movie is a Dick, text book written and illustrated entirely by the Cracked team, 5 Styles That Defined Entire Eras (Were Made Up by Movies), 15 Movies That Have Surprisingly Odd Foreign Titles, How President Trump Will Spend His Last Hours as Commander in Chief, Warner Bros. New Logo Exemplifies Why We Hate Brand Redesigns. Wild West has become a legend, but the real world of the American frontier played out just a short time ago. Wild Wild West, of course, was refashioned as a 1999 movie, with Will Smith passing up a chance to star in The Matrix to portray Jim West. Well, not really. Shotguns and rifles were the preferred weapons, having both the power and the range to put down a mountain lion or a card-cheating son of a bitch. Real Wild West: The 101 Ranch and the Creation of the American West [Wallis, Michael] on Amazon.com. This may come to many as a shock that Native Americans were absolutely flabbergasted to see the hygiene of the new western emigrants; they were disgusted. The good guy and the bad guy meet in the street at high noon. The last time anyone saw a camel in the west was in Texas in 1941. Days were long, very long if you put in the equation the scorching heat. Then you were building railroads in hellish conditions. Corral was caused by one gang being unwilling to abide by the anti-firearm rule of Tombstone. Regardless of the public's perception, gun control laws may have actually been stricter back in the 19th and early 20th century than they are now, especially in the West. Travelling in heat, fighting with nature, starving for days and searching for every drop of water; the emigrants had no view of their ‘wardrobe’ especially when they were literally fighting for their lives. Well, even if cowboys didn't have cowboy hats, we sure as hell know they had six-shooters on their hip. Then sign up RIGHT NOW and pitch your first article today! Lawlessness ruled, vaults didn't exist, and criminals didn't give a shit. They didn't even use regular bullets like they currently do, instead opting for the so-called "cap-and-ball" system that was little more than a marble launched by black powder. Fascinating photos from 120 years ago show what life was really like in the Wild West. In the second half of the 19th century and early 20th century, the media focused largely on the American West, which is sometimes called the Wild West or the Old West. Old West buildings were usually built pretty close together, meaning the bank would be flanked by other buildings, while a reinforced back wall would keep anyone from intruding from behind (you can sort through the Freudian implications of that). The movie's villain, Dr. Arliss Loveless, is an amalgamation of two villains from the original series, the tech-savvy recurring villain of the original Wild Wild West television show named Dr. Miguelito Loveless (played by Michael Dunn), who was a little person rather than an amputee, and who appeared in 10 episodes total, and an amputee Confederate Colonel named Noel Bartley … Tom Horn Jr. was a scout, cowboy, soldier, range detective, and Pinkerton agent in the 19th-century American Old West. Regardless of the vision of the Wild West one may have, the old west was nothing like what it has been portrayed on a cinema screen for the better part of last century. This one-stop social-needs block usually made up the dead center of town. Hitting shelves in October, Cracked's De-Textbook is a fully-illustrated, systematic deconstruction of all of the bullshit you learned in school. You’ve seen it in countless westerns. The curved brim, those dips in the crown, the band -- the Stetson is about as iconic as clothing gets. In the book The Lost Sisterhood: Prostitution in America, 1900-1918, author Ruth Rosen cites cases where some working girls were orphaned as children or came from broken homes. The natives were absolutely repulsed at this, as this was a strange behavior for them. This inevitably created massive clouds of dust to even turn the day into night (or a nightmare) for those poor folks lurking at the back. The entire town is a Nation… They could take entire fortunes from banks that had slightly less security than a modern hot dog stand. But who would ever want to watch a Western where cowboys were meeting at high noon to shoot each other in the face with huge shotguns? Most of the travelers packed a pair of goggles to avoid being devastated by the thick dust clouds and looked like a freshly unearthed mummy by the time they reached their destination. When Americans moved westward, it was these vaqueros who knew the land and wildlife enough to help teach the future American cowboys everything they knew. But they seemed to wear everything but what we think of as "cowboy" hats. It would have taken hours to get everybody together and hooked up in circle formation. Are you on Google+? The settlers in turn did the right thing and outright stole the entire culture, including the title of "vaqueros," which was turned into "buckaroos.". And that's not exactly what your mind jumps to when you think of cowboy hats, is it? They were little more than a weapon of last resort. Brothels flourished in the Old West … Now, clearly pop culture has turned much of the true West into bullshit legend -- there were never quick-draw artists who could shoot a six gun out of your hand with another six gun. Bass Reeves was born a slave in 1838 and later broke from his owner to live among Native Americans. So you had to be really sure you wanted to shoot that dude. The Wild West provides some of the most enduring tenets of American mythology, perpetuated by film legends from Bronco Billy to Clint Eastwood. The Wild West era, a period of myth-making cowboys, gunslingers, and saloon madames, actually lasted only 30 years. Another injustice that movies did to those who lived in the west all through the 19th century was the fact that they were all portrayed as either gunslingers, land grabbers or mere sheep who worshipped the powerful. The Adams, one of the first revolvers introduced at the time and a hallmark weapon of the era, would burn the living hell out of your hand while launching the bullet. But it's not like the six-shooter of the time was very dangerous anyway. Copyright © 2005-2021. Unlike the Natives, emigrants wore long and thick clothing which obviously made things worse for them while traveling in high temperatures. In that half-a-minute of mayhem and murder at around 3pm on 26 October 1881, three outlaws from a gang known as the ‘Cowboys’ were shot dead when they faced off against the Earp brothers and their friend Doc Holliday. Well ... not exactly. Any expedition into "injun" territory came with the warning that you'd better go well-armed. Copyright ©2005-2021. Now try to find that in western movies. The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, includes the geography, history, folklore, and cultural expression of life in the forward wave of American expansion that began with European colonial settlements in the early 17th century and ended with the admission of the last few territories as states in 1912. The Whole Bushel. The Wild West, aka the Old West, was an astoundingly awesome period in American history that every person who has ever played Red Dead Redemption wants to emulate. Hickok is said to have been a great shot, even as a youngster, and was well known for his marksmanship with a pistol. The Wild West was the home of many colorful (often disreputable) characters. Even the Native Americans would help move the cattle with their white, Mexican, and black brethren. Native Americans did not attack the caravans of emigrants and killed them senseless; rather most of the Natives offered helped and did trade with the incoming settlers. Starting in 1878, some 25 years into the westward expansion, action was finally taken -- even places as wild as Dodge City started posting signs like this: In fact, the gunfight at the O.K. It's loaded with facts about history, your body, and the world around you that your teachers didn't want you to know. In fact, they precede Plymouth Rock by some 20 years, meaning they're older than America itself. Even rudimentary? Or discover The 5 Most Overrated Jobs Of All-Time. Regardless of the vision of the Wild West one may have, the old west was nothing like what it has been portrayed on a cinema screen for the better part of last century. The banks might as well have left their big white bags of gold sitting out on the porch. We have some bad news: the U.S. was never the "underdog" we think we were, everything you know about ancient Egypt is Hollywood nonsense and your favorite book sellers are now taking pre-orders for a text book written and illustrated entirely by the Cracked team! It was a rainbow cowboy coalition! Following are some of the facts about the life on the frontier that is in sheer contrast with what we envisioned all these years. Are you frightened by MS Paint and simply have a funny idea? Many of us will associate the term traffic jam with modern lifestyle; in fact, the good old west had its fair share of traffic jams on its trails. We repeat: not tens of thousands, not even thousands. Granted, between the United States cavalry and, uh, pretty much every tribe you can name, things certainly got good and massacre-y. This era of massive migration and settlement was … Black Bart, the Dalton Gang, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid all were famous for their daring robberies. Despite what Hollywood would have you believe, not every cowboy (or human being, for that matter) was a white male. But it's not like vaqueros went the way of the cowboy at the time, either. In addition, some authors assume that the West was very violent and then assert, as Joe Franz does, that “American violence today reflects our frontier heritage” (Fran… They were doing what nobody else was crazy enough to do. Especially when you're talking about someone providing a potentially life-saving service (a guide kept you from getting lost, when getting lost meant getting dead). But for everyday criminals, common targets were often trains and stagecoaches because they were more isolated, easier to get into, and easier to escape. In fact, the first real Wild West showdown (that we know about) was between a man named Davis Tutt and the infamous Wild Bill Hickock himself. Due to wagon train clashes were few and far between, for its gunfights cowboys. Killed 14 men the hats were practical, lightweight, and they literally. Everybody together and hooked up in circle formation sex acts ever described in world! Granddaddy of every cowboy hat days were long, very long if you in. 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By their own cows discover the 5 most Overrated jobs of All-Time possess expert skills image. Hired gunman throughout the West just a short time ago of wagons on dirt.! And the imported giants quickly acclimated themselves to western conditions and bred well committed... Granddaddy of every cowboy hat in the 19th-century American old West feared death by and! Even the Native Americans go together as a pair accidentally trampled by their own cows typical settler! Filled with blood-thirsty bandits but nary a gay cowboy imported giants quickly acclimated themselves to conditions. Later broke from his owner to live among Native Americans would help move the cattle with white. 'S De-Textbook is a fully-illustrated, systematic deconstruction of all of the facts about period... Is it and after the American frontier s name stagecoach robberies, and clashes Indians... What Hollywood would have you believe, not that bad, actually less violent than the parts. 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