The Old West
• The most recognizable and popular period in US history• Gave Americans that “cowboy” image throughout the
world• Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Congress of Roughriders of
the World brought the stories and lifestyles to audiences all over the world.
• The dime novels and the film industry would play the most important role in keeping the legends and myths alive.
Buffalo Bill’s Wild West
The Pony Express
Rode in relay fashion
183 men employed ( $100/month)
Telegraph replaced in 1861
Wild Bill Hickok
Gambler , lawman , gunfighter
Shot dead during a poker game in 1876 (Deadwood , South Dakota)
Billy The Kid
Gambler, cattle rustler, gunfighter
Shot dead in 1881 by Pat Garrett
Jesse James
Robber , gang leader
Shot dead in 1882 by Bob Ford
The Earps and the OK Corral – Tombstone , Arizona 1881
Tom McLaury, Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton – deceased. (Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne lived)
Morgan , Virgil , Wyatt , Doc Holliday