The West in the 19th century

The West in the 19^th century.
A long time ago, my father offered me a treat every month and took me to a movie theater in the neighborhood to watch a “cowboy movie. “It was wonderful, and I was ready to follow the cowboy’s life. The endless prairie, the camp’s fires with the night full of stars, the riding on your favorite horse, and at the end, the arrival in a “town” with all the “amenities of civilization”.
However, years passed, and I read more about this time in History…. which was not the same as my dreams.
We will discover the daily life of different professions in the 19^th century, some still alive.

The life of a cowboy.
A cowboy was a young man, ready for adventures, who did not mind rough times. He worked at a ranch, taking care of the animals, cattle, and horses, repairing fences, keeping the farm going and called at branding time. He shared a bed in the bunk house with other cowboys and ate with them. The evening was often spent singing around the campfire.
When round up days arrived, some of the staff went on the cattle drive and new cowboys signed for it.
Thousands of heads of cattle were driven to the closest railway station which was ready to receive the animals and put them into wagons for the big cattle yards in Chicago or other destinations. The cowboys spent hours on the saddle, making sure the cattle were safe. Travel was done during the day, about 10 miles a day, stopping in he evening to let the cattle graze. Water had to be found regularly. Rivers had to be crossed and that was a dangerous operation. The worst danger was the storms with thunder and lighting, which afraid the animals. The cowboys would sing and hum to the cattle, riding slowly around them to quiet them down. Sometimes they attach small bells to their spurs. It had a calming effect on the animals. We must not forget the rustlers, who tried to steal the cattle. Your gun became handy.
Cowboys, during the drive, had very little sleep, especially if the animals were restless. They slept with their clothes on, rolled inside of a blanket, with the sky as a roof. If it rained, they put a canvas around them for better protection.
What about food for these hungry young men? As a bell rang, all came to the “chuck wagon”. The cook served beans, dried meat, bread, and coffee. Fresh meat was served sometimes, but the men did not like it so much (It was not aged) and it was too much meat at one time. The chuck wagon cook was a very special person on the cattle drive. He was also the “barber” and the “doctor”.
The chuck wagon, as we know from the movies, was invented in 1866 to improve the old food wagon. It was equipped with drawers and shelves to store the food.
After months on the cattle drive, the end was in the town where the cattle were put into railroad cars to their destination.
For the cowboys, it was a feast, anticipated for months. They were paid. Before anything else, the cowboy went to the barber for a bath, a shave, and a haircut. What a great feeling after months of dust. The exception had been to plunge in a river or a lake during a stop on the drive. Then you went shopping… buying what needed to be replaced. A new hat, boots with high heels (a safety feature for the boots to stay in the stirrups), new bandannas to protect his neck and face. (It could be wet if needed.) The saddle and gun were the man’s property, but each cost one month pay. You had to decide if you need one before heading to the saloon and his gambling tables. The horses, the cowboy used, were the property of the owner of the ranch.
 

The covered wagon.

In the 1800 families were moving west to settle in new land, build a farm and raise their families. They came with covered wagons across the land. Many chose to join groups for safety, others went alone. If you had to cross the Rockies on the Oregon Trail, you chose a smaller wagon, but if you took the Santa Fe Trail, you used larger wagons.
Imagine for an instant your whole family packing up bed, stove, clothes, cooking supplies, a precious gift (like a little statue or a vase given by your mother) and your Bible. Leaving your house, family and friends and stepping into your wagon to ride for the unknown.
 
The Stagecoach.
To travel in the old days was not easy and we have a difficult time to realize you had only few possibilities. If you were young and had a horse, you were lucky… but for the others they only could rely on the stagecoach. The Company took paying passengers on a set up route, with stopping stations where you could have food and rest. They had been used in Europe for centuries and were adapted to the large distances of the American continent.
 
The Pony Express
The idea of the Pony Express is found in old civilizations, the Persian Empire, the Roman Empire or China, where the Great Khan established stations, a day’s ride apart.
The US took the idea before 1850 but the main years were around 1860, only to be used for about two years. It took 10 days for the mail pouch, attached to the rider and his horse, to cover the distance between San Francisco and St Joseph, Missouri, going through Salt Lake City. Home stations were shared by the stagecoach’s offices, 65 to 100 miles apart. Relay stations (just a shack) provided a fresh horse and a bag of food every 15 miles. “The mail must go”.
The telegraph started in 1861, building its poles and “talking wires” on the same route as the Pony Express…. and the Company was in serious debts and a financial failure. This meant the end of this adventure. It had played a large part in American History. In 1861 the riders had brought news of battles, lists of wounded and dead soldiers at the beginning of the Civil War, which started in April 1861. It will be remembered as a courageous adventure which helped to connect the States before the expansion of the railroad.
 
The Railroad. 

The first railroad was the Baltimore and Ohio railroad in 1828, followed by the Union Pacific in 1862, as well as the Central Pacific in California. The first Transcontinental railroad was completed in November 1869. We all know the importance of the railroad which made the US a great country.
 
The artists of the West.
Three of the most famous American painters and sculptors of the West in the 19^th centuries were Frederic Remington (1861 – 1909), Charles Russell (1864 – 1926) and Fritz Winold Reiss (1886 – 1953)
Among many, I will choose two. Frederic Remington, painter, sculptor, and writer who depicted the American West. He lived in Connecticut and New York. President Ronald Reagan had one of his sculptures in the Oval Office at the White House.
Charles Russell, whose studio-house is in Great Falls, Montana. I visited this lovely place and was delighted by the museum showing so many paintings and sculptures of cowboys, Indians, and fur traders he had known so well. He had been a mountain man and a cowboy himself and wanted to show the disappearing world he had known. He was a good storyteller and had a good sense of humor. He was not a good businessman, giving away his work…. Until he married in 1896 a tough young lady who took care of promoting his art, organized exhibitions and made her husband the artist he deserved to be
Winold Reiss came from Germany and settled in the Blackfeet Reservation in Browning, Montana. He quickly earned the trust of the Indians, who called him “Beaver Child”. They allowed him to paint them on regular days and with their ceremonial clothing’s. He painted later in New York City, where he had a studio, and chose people of all backgrounds. Many of his paintings were published on the “Great Northern Railroad Calendars”.
This photo shows his sculpture of the “Bucking Bronc” made in clay in 1931. It is exhibited in the Charles Russell Museum in Montana.
If you happen to be travelling in Great Falls, Montana, do not miss this great Museum as well as Charles Russell’s built next to one another. You will enjoy them.