Imagining life in the wild west.

bobcat

bobcat

Well-known Member
Location
Northern Calif
A good number of people enjoy watching western movies. It mentally transports you to a time so different from today. The Wild West wasn't for the faint of heart, as it demanded grit, adaptability, and courage from everyone—men and women alike, but it holds a certain fascination for us.

Horses and wagons were the only mode of transportation, which was slow and dangerous. Meals were often the best you could do with what you had. Health and medical care was often just home remedies and an occasional doctor visit (Assuming one could afford it), and hygiene was bathing maybe once a month . Housing was primitive, and there were many threats, and life was rugged.

Surprisingly, many left the east coast seeking a life with more freedom and opportunity. It was a wild mix of "humanity" with cowboys, farmers, miners, businessmen, preachers, teachers, lawmen, outlaws, and saloon girls. In most cases, there wasn't much structure. It was just cobbled together as they went. It wasn't the life for everyone, but it was for a great many.
 

In my younger days, I could have did it. I could always keep my focus on the goal ahead
and not let set backs stop me. I have my Grandpa to thank for that,
I watch my grandkids silently and I know you take away the internet and AC and they will crumble.
I don't blame them for it, every generation wants their children to have it better than they had,
so here we are.
 
My great grandparents went from Texas to Oregon - in a wagon. They did not like it there so decided to come back to Texas - in a wagon. They lost several children over the years from conditions and diseases we would most likely survive today. The average life span then was around 40 yrs. But all things considered I would probably have been on my way in a wagon too. I think they are the ones that gave me my desire to push the barriers.
 

It sounds thrilling, a grand adventure to a land of boundless opportunities. If I could make it through the long, arduous trek without my wagon constantly breaking down, being hot, dusty, and dirty, having to abandon most of my belongings along the way, contracting an incurable disease, or being attacked by Indians, outlaws, wild animals, and God knows who/what else, sign me up.
Yes, Catman, I've imagined it. I'm not that rugged. I'd be dead in a week.
Ok, cure me please: SPIDERS! - Page 7 Emotigal-fainting-gif


I think I'd rather stay in the East and work in my uncle's tailor shop. 🧵🪡🧥
 
If I was born into it, i probably would have been fine but I’m too spoiled to even consider such a thing today.

The smell of everything and everyone, including your bunk mate 😉, must have been an eye watering experience.

It surprises me that it really wasn’t all that long ago that some areas of this country were settled under the homestead act.

I do enjoy reading about it and learning about the basic daily life including the relatively monotonous diet.
 
Bella said:
It sounds thrilling, a grand adventure to a land of boundless opportunities. If I could make it through the long, arduous trek without my wagon constantly breaking down, being hot, dusty, and dirty, having to abandon most of my belongings along the way, contracting an incurable disease, or being attacked by Indians, outlaws, wild animals, and God knows who/what else, sign me up.
Yes, Catman, I've imagined it. I'm not that rugged. I'd be dead in a week.
Ok, cure me please: SPIDERS! - Page 7 Emotigal-fainting-gif


I think I'd rather stay in the East and work in my uncle's tailor shop. 🧵🪡🧥
Click to expand...
Oh I don't know ..... I think Bella-Oakley kinda has a classy ring to it. You just have to keep your eyes on the prize. Once you reach your destination, you could do your high kick number on stage at the Gilded Garter Saloon. Then you could give out a whistle, and your trusty painted pony would come a runnin, ..... then you run to the edge of the stage, do a flying leap onto your adorable pesto pony named Amaretto, and after doing a couple laps around the saloon, off you would go through the swinging doors with two six guns blazing as you blow a kiss to the adoring fans. Now isn't that worth a little discomfort on the trail? Hmmmm
 
Capt Lightning said:
In the 'wild west' of Scotland, there is the town of 'Tranquility' home of a wild west re-enactment group.
View attachment 463780

They put on shows at various events over the summer.
Click to expand...
Looks very cool. I suddenly had an image in my mind of two guys in kilts and gun belts facing each other in the street. Although, they would probably have enough sense to say: "This is stupid, let's go get a drink".
 
My great grands on my paternal side went west to Montana. My ggf and gf loved horse and sheep ranching and were very successful. I am 4th generation Montanian and Canadian. I've lived near where they ranched.

My maternal great greats went to the west over he Oregon Trail,,, they were all from Netherlands and got land and did truck farming till my grandfather was killed ny being run over by a train in 1923.

I've heard stories from both sides and I can't say I'd love the trips but certainly do love the family history from both sides.
 
bobcat said:
Oh I don't know ..... I think Bella-Oakley kinda has a classy ring to it. You just have to keep your eyes on the prize. Once you reach your destination, you could do your high kick number on stage at the Gilded Garter Saloon. Then you could give out a whistle, and your trusty painted pony would come a runnin, ..... then you run to the edge of the stage, do a flying leap onto your adorable pesto pony named Amaretto, and after doing a couple laps around the saloon, off you would go through the swinging doors with two six guns blazing as you blow a kiss to the adoring fans. Now isn't that worth a little discomfort on the trail? Hmmmm
Click to expand...

Oh boy, bobcat, you have a vivid imagination!
Ok, cure me please: SPIDERS! - Page 7 Cracki10


The only thing that could conceivably happen in that wild scenario is the Amaretto part... but it wouldn't be a pony; it would be in a glass on the rocks! 🥃
 
Capt Lightning said:
In the 'wild west' of Scotland, there is the town of 'Tranquility' home of a wild west re-enactment group.
Click to expand...
That made me curious about when would Scotland have had its own 'wild west'. I asked Google and got this answer, does it sound correct to you? Do you have 'reenactment' groups that pretend they are in these periods?

Scotland does not have an official historical period known as the "Wild West" in the same way as the American frontier. However, the period most commonly cited as a historical equivalent due to its lawlessness and frontier nature is the time of the Border Reivers, which spanned from roughly the late 1300s to the early 17th century. ​
​
Key characteristics of this era that draw comparisons to the American Wild West include:​
  • Lawlessness: The border region between England and Scotland was a frontier where central government control was weak, and justice was often arbitrary or settled through family arbitration rather than state law.
  • Feuding Families: Rival families (the Reivers) engaged in cattle rustling, raiding, and violence with little loyalty to either the Scottish or English crown.
  • Tough Environment: The people in this area were known for their toughness and martial culture, often wearing light armor and engaging in constant skirmishes.
  • End of an Era: This period of lawlessness was brought to an end by the strong enforcement of law under King James VI of Scotland (who became James I of England in 1603), when the two crowns were united.
​
Another period sometimes mentioned in a "wild" context, though less directly analogous to the American Wild West, is the time of the Highland Clearances (approx. 1750-1860), a period marked by forced evictions and significant social and economic upheaval, leading many Scots to emigrate to North America and play a role in the actual American frontier. ​
 
bobcat said:
Yeah, it was a different world for sure. On the plus side though, no taxes, traffic, utility bills, mortgages, or car maintenance, so at least there were some perks.
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There were taxes by the 1880's, and there were mortgages on some homes. There were credit vouchers to pay at the end of the month when homesteaders had to pay up for the prior month. Crops failed so there was no money coming in at times, and as far as no car maintenance, there were horses and oxen to replace for ranch/homestead work. Some ranchers had hired hands to feed house and pay.

My ggf was an salesman to be sure---he would buy buildings or businesses in town and then either sell them or hold a 2nd mortgage on them making interest. He left the ranch when his son, my gf, took over with his boys. My gm had native american girls for cleaning and for helping with childbirth and wet nursing.

My father told meabout being taken to school in a wagon with and hot foot warmer as a kid in -40 degrees. I can attest to the trmp as I lived there and the temp was -40.
There were very difficult times and very good ones. All I can say is that I admire my ancestors grit and determination...and success.
 
dusty said:
There were taxes by the 1880's, and there were mortgages on some homes. There were credit vouchers to pay at the end of the month when homesteaders had to pay up for the prior month. Crops failed so there was no money coming in at times, and as far as no car maintenance, there were horses and oxen to replace for ranch/homestead work. Some ranchers had hired hands to feed house and pay.

My ggf was an salesman to be sure---he would buy buildings or businesses in town and then either sell them or hold a 2nd mortgage on them making interest. He left the ranch when his son, my gf, took over with his boys. My gm had native american girls for cleaning and for helping with childbirth and wet nursing.

My father told meabout being taken to school in a wagon with and hot foot warmer as a kid in -40 degrees. I can attest to the trmp as I lived there and the temp was -40.
There were very difficult times and very good ones. All I can say is that I admire my ancestors grit and determination...and success.
Click to expand...
Yeah, those things did come later. I was thinking more in terms of being a cowpoke, sleeping under the stars, letting your horse graze on wild grass, and having a beer at the end of the cattle drive. I'm sure it was no picnic, but it wasn't all bad. Seeing the wide-open spaces and riding across an unspoiled land would be something to experience.
 
bobcat said:
Yeah, those things did come later. I was thinking more in terms of being a cowpoke, sleeping under the stars, letting your horse graze on wild grass, and having a beer at the end of the cattle drive. I'm sure it was no picnic, but it wasn't all bad. Seeing the wide-open spaces and riding across an unspoiled land would be something to experience.
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:cool: (y)


 
It all sounds like a great romantic adventure, until it isn't. No toilets, no showers, no refrigerator, no stove, maybe get a chance to rinse your self and your clothes off in a watering hole or creek every couple of weeks. I me for a lifetime. went for a 10 day rustic camping trip with my inlaws back in the 70's. That was enough for a lifetime.

Here's a good Wagon Train movie.

 
Cowboys at the Bar.jpg

Cowboys getting refreshment. Only the guy on the very left might have a gun strapped on, but it's probably just the belt for his chaps. If he does have a gun, he might be the town sheriff... the other fellas don't seem to be wearing pistols. Historians say few real cowboys of the old west packed six guns... usually they might have a rifle for shooting a wolf or some other carnivorous animal out on the range, if occasion required it.
 
bobcat said:
Yeah, those things did come later. I was thinking more in terms of being a cowpoke, sleeping under the stars, letting your horse graze on wild grass, and having a beer at the end of the cattle drive. I'm sure it was no picnic, but it wasn't all bad. Seeing the wide-open spaces and riding across an unspoiled land would be something to experience.
Click to expand...
My grandfather left Minnesota be on on his own at 16 with a horse, a saddlebag and a bedroll. His father told him that if he wanted to come home that home would be in Montana and to look for the family there. He was gone for 2 years all by himself. During that time he rode the west working as a cowboy for different ranches while he worked his way around, learning the 'ropes'.

He told me all about it when I was a pre teen and I loved hearing it. He was a smallish Irishman and could do anything. I wrote a story that was published about him several years ago. He ended up at the new ranch in northern Montana where he found he could use all that he had learned on the trail. What a wonderful way to have lived!!!
 
HoneyNut said:
That made me curious about when would Scotland have had its own 'wild west'. I asked Google and got this answer, does it sound correct to you? Do you have 'reenactment' groups that pretend they are in these periods?

Scotland does not have an official historical period known as the "Wild West" in the same way as the American frontier. However, the period most commonly cited as a historical equivalent due to its lawlessness and frontier nature is the time of the Border Reivers, which spanned from roughly the late 1300s to the early 17th century. ​
​
Key characteristics of this era that draw comparisons to the American Wild West include:​
  • Lawlessness: The border region between England and Scotland was a frontier where central government control was weak, and justice was often arbitrary or settled through family arbitration rather than state law.
  • Feuding Families: Rival families (the Reivers) engaged in cattle rustling, raiding, and violence with little loyalty to either the Scottish or English crown.
  • Tough Environment: The people in this area were known for their toughness and martial culture, often wearing light armor and engaging in constant skirmishes.
  • End of an Era: This period of lawlessness was brought to an end by the strong enforcement of law under King James VI of Scotland (who became James I of England in 1603), when the two crowns were united.
​
Another period sometimes mentioned in a "wild" context, though less directly analogous to the American Wild West, is the time of the Highland Clearances (approx. 1750-1860), a period marked by forced evictions and significant social and economic upheaval, leading many Scots to emigrate to North America and play a role in the actual American frontier. ​
Click to expand...
The 'Northern roughriders' are simply a group of people who have an interest in the American 'Wild west'. To this end, they built the town of 'tranquility' which has its saloon, general store and Sheriff's office. They make a few short films and put on shows at various event round the country. It's just a bit of entertainment and You can read about them on the web.

As for a Scottish 'Wild west', Google is basically correct in its depiction of feuding clans and border skirmishes. My own family name is strongly associated with the border Reivers, though we don't go round stealing cattle these days.
 

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