Wild west

[MD_Willington]

Wild West eh...

They hung horse thieves on a regular basis... I have not seen any public execution of car thieves around here..

 

[Vonderek]

During the "Wild West" era alcohol was heavily involved in most gunfights/homicides. If you stayed away from dangerous places (saloons) and dangerous characters (drunks and armed young men full of testosterone) you had a 99+% chance of living a safe and routine life. Just like today.

Chances were infinitely higher that you would get cut down at an early age by disease.

 

[Dravur]

Unfortunately, we also have horrific hailstorms 10 months of the year, no real opportunities for recreation of any kind, terrible traffic on the roads, an obscenely high cost of living, the hunting and fishing really suck, and the people are jerks.

Hey now, quit exaggerating. Boise is great! I wholly suggest all the whiny Californians who moved to Colorado should move to Boise.

 

[catspa]

ArmedBear:Unfortunately, we also have horrific hailstorms 10 months of the year, no real opportunities for recreation of any kind, terrible traffic on the roads, an obscenely high cost of living, the hunting and fishing really suck, and the people are jerks.

Member of the "Lesser Boise" committee, are ya?

Parker

 

[the iron horse]

I read an article in a history magazine a few years ago. It was debunking a lot of the myths about the wild west.

I can't remember the years, but in a ten year period(around 1870-1880) Dodge City only had seven or ten murders.

You killed another person back then and you paid for it the day after your conviction.

Gun fights were not everyday events. One of the themes in the novel Shane by Jack Schaefer.

 

[Blue .45]

This book has some great stories of how people dealt with criminals in the old days.

http://www.amazon.com/Outgunned-Stories-Citizens-Stood-Outlaws/dp/158182386X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239663867&sr=8-1

Editorial Reviews
Product Description

It's a classic story from hundreds of western shoot-'em-ups: a gang of outlaws rides into town, terrorizes local citizens, and finally meets their match when the heroic sheriff appears. In real life, it was different. Some of the most notorious western outlaws were killed or captured by townspeople. And the trend continued throughout the Prohibition era.

 

[navajo]

old west

Think about the James gang and Northfield , Minn.

 

[992]

In the old days,people took care of themselves,and the very young and very old.It was a natural thing to respect each other,and be accountable for your own actions,and those of your family.
Today, people expect the gov't to take care of them,and their family,and do not respect themselves,or anybody else.
Many people don't want freedom,because with freedom comes accountabilty,and you have to take care of yourself.
It is much easier to vote for someone who will take care of you,and rule over you,gently.

992

 

[largecaliber]

To find the stats. I gave, google "Dispelling the myths of the wild west".

 

[rondog]

Gotta remember that back then, antibiotics were non-existant, medicines were much cruder and scarcer, and medical care was still very primitive. A non-fatal gunshot wound could easily kill a person later on from infection or gangrene, not to mention amputations, other complications, etc. That would tend to make folks behave too.

 

[richyoung]

In most of those towns carrying weapons was not allowed

That is a bit of Hollywood "fiction" for the most part, and widely ignored in the few cases where it was tried.

 

[CWL]

Not for me.
Any of you guys ever have to use an outhouse? Toilet paper was just a 'concept' back then.

Want to die from a simple infection because doctors didn't know about germs?

Things smelled pretty bad, always.

Women didn't wear make-up.

Diet Coke didn't exist (although I guess you could spike your Cocaine Cola with Laudanum!)

JMB hadn't invented the 1911 yet!

 

[theotherwaldo]

Yeah, CWL, I've dug my share of outhouse holes, sprinkled lime in my time, been in the little brown building when an excitable bull knocked it over, fished and hunted for daily meals, had bears in the bunkhouse, had to walk to school because I couldn't afford to shoe my horse, boiled my drinking water (or added a bit o' bourbon), and all of the rest.

You get used to the smell. 'Til it's been gone for a while, anyway.

What make-up women did wear contained white lead and arsenic - I've found jars of the stuff.

-And opening those old-time REAL Coke bottles is a pain. All those fiddley little wires that held the cap down.

 

[ArmedBear]

Any of you guys ever have to use an outhouse? Toilet paper was just a 'concept' back then.

Want to die from a simple infection because doctors didn't know about germs?

Things smelled pretty bad, always.

Women didn't wear make-up.

Boise's like that, to this day.