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