Horace Greeley is believed to have coined this phrase in his newspaper in 1854 but the dates of the western expansion and, even more so, the period of the Wild West are hotly debated. The period of Western expansion as an American phenomenon could arguably be dated from 1801 and ended at the beginning of the American civil war 1861.
One school of thought is that the period of the wild west begins after the civil war in 1865 and ends at the beginning of the first world war in 1914, although Ameri... Read morecan wouldn't enter that conflict until 1917, others might dispute these dates.
The practical application of manifest destiny, the American idea of bringing their concept of civilization to the west, was only made possible by the accelerated development of new weapons driven on by the American civil war. The disenfranchised men of the south and the disillusioned men of the north provided, in large part, the labor for this expansion and the reconstructionist government backed by entrepreneurs like Rockefeller and Carnegie shaped and drove the movement.
Hollywood and spaghetti westerns have largely shaped our view of this period and to some degree warped it. For example, there were less than a dozen bank robberies in the 15 frontier states and territories between 1860 and 1900 and the gunfight at high noon was largely a myth, even the shootout at the OK corral didn't happen at the OK corral.
Another myth is that the Winchester rifle or colt peace maker where the guns that won the west, in reality the most popular gun by far was the single barreled shotgun. Although surplus civil war weapons and the new guns of Colt, Remington, Springfield, Winchester, Smith and Wesson did play a large part in the colorful history of the west less known and forgotten manufactures like Derringer, Harpers, Hawken, Henry, Hopkin and Allen, Joslyn, Sharpes, Spencer, Starr, Volcanic, Walch and many others contributed to the evolution of firearms during this period and beyond. The men that went west, their adventures and misadventures are the substance of the wild west and their choice of weapons gives a thought-provoking Insite to the period, It is always difficult to separate myth from fact when it comes to the larger than life gunmen of the wild west and this is more of a synopsis then an indebt biographical history. So here is a very subjective list of three examples of the Wild West's most popular architypes. James Butler Hickock. Born 22nd May 1817 in Illinois Died 2nd August 1876 in Deadwood, the Black hills Dakota Territory (today the State of North Dekota) has hundreds of books and films devoted to his exploits. Wild Bill was the architype cowboy being a lawman, gambler, army scout, and buffalo hunter. The Prince of Pistoleers ironically killed his first man with a rifle, a half stock percussion plains style rifle. Facing three hostile cowboys. Bill sent David C McCanles to his grave on July 12th 1861. McCanles two companions survived the incident but where wounded by Wild Bills iconic Navy Colt 1851 in 36 cal. At the trial the Judge determent that Bill had acted in self-defense. Hickock was also involved in the nearest thing to a Hollywood shootout on July 21, 1865 in Springfield Missouri and was the result of a gambling dispute with David Tutt. The two men strowed out onto opposite sided of the town square, drew and fired. Bills shot piercing Davids's heart. Wild Bill was so confident in his shot that before Tutt had even hit the ground he turned to face Tutt's friends, revolver in hand to discourage them from getting involved. Opinions differ about what gun Wild Billed used with different reports claiming it was either a 32 Caliber Smith and Wesson Model 2 rimfire revolver or a 44 Cal. Colt Dragoon other reports claim that he was packing his famous pair of 1851 colt navies. It was after this shootout that Bill got his nickname, Wild Bill. He would go on with serve with General Custer and his ill-fated 7th Cavalry and cement his place in history as a lawman, adventurer and gambler. The ultimate cowboy would meet his end at Saloon Number 10, Deadwood when he was shot from behind while playing poker. His hand of cards, aces over eights, even today is called the dead man's hand. Joaquin Murietta. Born 1829 in Alamos Mexico. Died 25th July 1853 in California maybe. If Wild bill is the architype cowboy than Murietta is the Bandito, although his criminal career ended before 1865, he set the standard for future Mexican bandits and for Hollywood's representation of Banditos. Joaquin's life is steeped in mystery and sifting truth from legend is almost impossible. Murrieta was well educated and spoke English well, unusual for a Mexican of that period. Murrieta moved to California in 1849 to become a miner and gold prospector. Like many Murrieta was struck by gold fever and his new wife Rosa Feliz, some of his family and he travelled to California in the hopes of making it rich Murrieta run into prejudice and antagonism in California which would colour his view of Americans for the rest of his life. The event that changed his life was when he was robbed by American miners who beat him and raped his wife. Murietta is then believed to have turned to crime, killing his wife's rapists before forming his gang that would terrorise California and would help him avenge his brother who was wrongly accused of horse theft and lynched by a mop. The gang began to by steeling horses in California and trading them in Mexico. The band of desperados also robbed and killed the gold miners that had ill-treated Murrietta when he arrived in California. The band of outlaws is believed to have killed up to 28 Chinese and 13 Anglo-Americans. The exploits attributed to him are unlikely to all be true. Like many other outlaws there where copycat that also roamed the west and antics were attributed to Murrieta. The death of Joaquin Murrieta ...or maybe not. In 1853, the California state legislature formed the California rangers its 3 month mission to bring to justice the "Five Joaquins", (Joaquin Muriati, Joaquin Ocomorenia, Joaquin Valenzuela, Joaquin Botellier, and Joaquin Carillo, and their gangs). The 20-man rangers were led by Captain Harry Love, an ex Texas ranger, sherif and veteran of the Mexican war. There was a problem however, few people knew what Murrieta looked like so the rangers enlisted the help of William W Byrnes a longtime friend of Murrieta. On July 25, 1853, the rangers come across a gang of banditos near Arroyo de Cantua. The Rangers took the Mexicans by surprise and claimed one of the men killed was Murrieta, and another Manuel Garcia, also known as Three-Fingered Jack, one of his most notorious associates. The bodies were identified by Byenes. After the incident the penniless Byenes suddenly had enough money to buy a ranch. Some historians believe that he was bribed by his friend Murrieta and falsely identified one of the Mexican banditos as Murrieta while the real Murrieta escaped to Mexico and lived out the rest of his life as a wealthy rancher. As proof the Rangers cut off and preserved in a jar of tequila the alleged head of Murrieta to demonstrate to the authorities, they had killed him and claim their reward. Some years later Murrieta's sister then she saw the head said that the displayed head was not her brother's. Murrieta is believed to have inspired the character of Zorro of book and film fame but I Imagine he would be spinning in his grave at his portrait as a pro American, fighting Mexican authorities. Bass Reeves Born July in 1838 Arkansas died January 1910 Oklahoma. If Wild Bill is the cowboy and Murrieta the outlaw then Bass Reeves has to be the lawman. With over 3000 confirmed arrests, Bass was the lawman's lawman. He was born a slave and would fight in the civil war, for the Confederates. Escaping to the Indian lands before the end of the war where he learnt the to track, Native American languages and skills that would put him in good stead during his time as a territorial US marshal. He also tried his hand as a farmer but by 1875 he was a deputy US marshal, a job he excelled at for the next 32 years during which time he was so committed to the law that he arrested his own son who served 11 years for murder. Although it's clear from his arrest history that he tried to bring them in alive. Bass used numerous weapons during his long career but his favourites where Winchesters both the model 1873 and later iconic Model 1892, like a lot of men on both sides of the law he also favoured the colt peacemaker in 45 Long Colt. Bass was a victim of prejudice throughout his long career, he was arrested for murder but was later acquitted. Reeves also had his supporters like the famous Hanging Judge, Isaac C Parker whose colourful 20-year career is deserving of an a book or two all by itself. and Federal Justice W. H. H. Claydon who was the brother of the Arkansas Governor and later became a Judge himself. During his career which ended with his retirement in 1907 Bass had arrested over 3000 criminals is testimony to his skill as a tracker, it is a testimony to his skill as a detective that he only had to kill 14 times during his long service to the law.
It is believed that the Frans Striker based his iconic caricature the lone ranger (first aired in 1933) on Bass reeves.
The Wild West has more than its share of great caricatures, enthralling history, myths and legends and thousands of books, films and songs have been written about the period. Who as a child didn't play cowboys and Indians? Today Gold Reef Rangers part of Western Shooters South Africa has regular western themed shoots and talks. If the Wild West is of interested to you, please consider attending a shoot with Gold Reef Rangers as my guest, keeping the spirt of the west alive the last Saturday of every month.
