1 00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:02,680 Speaker 1: What do you know about the wild West? Do you 2 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:05,600 Speaker 1: even know why it's called the wild West? The real 3 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:08,840 Speaker 1: wild West period only lasted a little over thirty years, 4 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:12,440 Speaker 1: and there's a reason for that. The gunfights were legendary. 5 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:15,080 Speaker 1: But did you know that the infamous gunfight at the 6 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:18,599 Speaker 1: Ok Corral only lasted for thirty seconds. It was a 7 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:21,759 Speaker 1: very different period in our history than Hollywood would have 8 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:26,320 Speaker 1: us believe. But the personal stories are unbelievable. I'm Patty Steele, 9 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:30,280 Speaker 1: winning and losing in the wild West. That's next on 10 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:37,839 Speaker 1: the backstory. We're back with the backstory. If you're like 11 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:40,839 Speaker 1: most of us, you've probably seen a few westerns, maybe 12 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:44,479 Speaker 1: old school movies like High Noon, Butch Cassidy and The 13 00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:48,519 Speaker 1: Sundance Kid, Dances with Wolves or The Unforgiven, or TV 14 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:52,000 Speaker 1: shows like Bonanza, Gun Smoke, Wild wild West, or more 15 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:55,480 Speaker 1: recently eighteen eighty three. But the true story of the 16 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:59,120 Speaker 1: wild West is really different from what Hollywood has shown us. 17 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:03,280 Speaker 1: Firs folks to head west were mostly trappers and fur traders, 18 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:06,200 Speaker 1: as well as what they called mountain men, who were 19 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:10,560 Speaker 1: happy to leave civilization behind. But pretty soon farm families 20 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:13,640 Speaker 1: headed west looking for cheap land and a chance to 21 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:17,080 Speaker 1: create a life. The Bartles in Bidwell Party were the 22 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:21,040 Speaker 1: first to hit the Oregon Trail in eighteen forty one. 23 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:24,319 Speaker 1: In eighteen forty three, there was what historians call the 24 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:28,360 Speaker 1: Great Emigration, which saw a thousand dreamers hit the trail. 25 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:32,280 Speaker 1: But what really amped up the drive westward was the 26 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:36,120 Speaker 1: Gold Rush of eighteen forty nine. Tens of thousands of 27 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:41,039 Speaker 1: hopeful miners flocked west, changing everything. As words spread and 28 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:45,200 Speaker 1: people flooded in from America and around the world, California 29 00:01:45,319 --> 00:01:50,240 Speaker 1: transformed almost overnight. Everyone was looking for adventure and a 30 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:53,520 Speaker 1: chance to strike it rich. Not everyone went after the 31 00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: gold in the ground. The first guy to publicize the 32 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:59,720 Speaker 1: fact that there was gold in those there hills was 33 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 1: sand Brannan. He told the world about it and then 34 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 1: became California's first millionaire by opening stores and selling supplies 35 00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:10,720 Speaker 1: to all the miners rushing in. And you've heard of 36 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:14,120 Speaker 1: this guy, Levi Strauss. He owned a shop that catered 37 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:17,040 Speaker 1: to working folks, and he saw the need for gold 38 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:21,320 Speaker 1: and silver miners to have comfortable but durable, inexpensive clothes 39 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:25,240 Speaker 1: Voi la denim or blue jeans. It made him a fortune. 40 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:27,639 Speaker 1: And then there was a young woman by the name 41 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:31,360 Speaker 1: of Latta Crabtree. Her father had taken the family west 42 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:34,520 Speaker 1: from New York in his quest for gold. Raised in 43 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:38,079 Speaker 1: boarding houses that her mother ran in mining camps, Lata 44 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:42,679 Speaker 1: used her talent and personality to entertain folks. Eventually she 45 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:47,360 Speaker 1: started touring mining camps as a singer, dancer, and banjo player. 46 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:52,040 Speaker 1: Her mom controlled the income, collecting Lotta's pay in gold, 47 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:55,200 Speaker 1: which she carried in a steamer trunk. By the end 48 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:58,040 Speaker 1: of her career, at the age of forty five, Latta 49 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 1: was the highest paid actress in America. She died at 50 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:05,400 Speaker 1: seventy six, leaving a fortune that today would be worth 51 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:08,840 Speaker 1: around seventy five million dollars. So by the end of 52 00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:13,880 Speaker 1: eighteen forty nine, California's population had exploded from a mere 53 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:18,200 Speaker 1: fifteen thousand to more than one hundred thousand. Towns like 54 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:21,919 Speaker 1: San Francisco, which had been just a sleepy little trading post, 55 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:26,440 Speaker 1: became crowded cities filled with excitement and with little in 56 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:30,519 Speaker 1: the way of law enforcement, lots of chaos, right lawlessness 57 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:36,360 Speaker 1: ran rampant as prospectors fiercely defended their claims. Frontier justice prevailed, 58 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:39,280 Speaker 1: and that's when we saw the first signs of what 59 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:43,320 Speaker 1: would become the Wild West. But what really kicked it 60 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:47,040 Speaker 1: into gear was the Homestead Act of eighteen sixty two, 61 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:50,160 Speaker 1: offering land grants to men and women as long as 62 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:54,320 Speaker 1: they'd never fought against the US government, meaning Confederate soldiers 63 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 1: need on apply. Then the Civil War ended, it was 64 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:02,520 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty five. Soldiers were looking for the next adventure 65 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:05,240 Speaker 1: in a way to make a buck. At the same time, 66 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:08,240 Speaker 1: the first coast to coast railroads were being built, so 67 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:12,520 Speaker 1: workers were needed for that. The West was filled with opportunity. 68 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:16,400 Speaker 1: Problem is, it was every man for himself and his family. 69 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:19,960 Speaker 1: Every small town and outposts had to find a way 70 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:25,520 Speaker 1: to defend themselves from hustlers, robbers, and general troublemakers. Outlaws 71 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:29,240 Speaker 1: like Jesse James, Billy the Kid, and Pusch Cassidy terrified 72 00:04:29,279 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 1: but also fascinated the public, giving the Wild West its name. 73 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:37,240 Speaker 1: Trying to keep some order. Law enforcement folks like Wyatt 74 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:40,960 Speaker 1: erb and Bat Masterson were considered heroes as they tried 75 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:44,120 Speaker 1: to keep some kind of order in frontier towns plagued 76 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:47,839 Speaker 1: by violence and crimes. The shootouts we see on movie 77 00:04:47,839 --> 00:04:51,280 Speaker 1: and TV westerns weren't near as often or deadly as 78 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:54,200 Speaker 1: Hollywood makes us think, but boy, they sure did happen. 79 00:04:54,839 --> 00:04:57,599 Speaker 1: Probably the most famous shootout was the gunfight at the 80 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:01,720 Speaker 1: Ok Corral, which took place in Tombstone, Arizona, in eighteen 81 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:05,560 Speaker 1: eighty one. Wyatt Irp, his brothers Morgan and Virgil, along 82 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:09,159 Speaker 1: with Doc Holliday were lawmen and interested in keeping the peace. 83 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:13,360 Speaker 1: But a vicious clan known as the Clanton Gang, famous 84 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:17,080 Speaker 1: for robbing and murdering anybody they pleased, went after Erp 85 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 1: and his party for interfering with their illegal operations. It 86 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:25,080 Speaker 1: all ended in battle. The gunfight lasted to total of 87 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:29,800 Speaker 1: get this, thirty seconds, but it was thirty seconds of chaos. 88 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:33,040 Speaker 1: In the end, three of the outlaws were dead, including 89 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:36,279 Speaker 1: nineteen year old Billy Clanton. Wyatt Irp merely had a 90 00:05:36,279 --> 00:05:39,200 Speaker 1: bullet hole in his jacket, while his two brothers and 91 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:43,120 Speaker 1: Doc Holliday were all wounded, but they survived. Then there's 92 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:46,400 Speaker 1: a pretty bizarre shootout that took place in Abilene, Kansas 93 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:50,480 Speaker 1: in eighteen seventy one. Now, usually shootouts were over things 94 00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:54,480 Speaker 1: like robberies, gambling disputes, or women, but this one's a 95 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:58,200 Speaker 1: whole different animal. Literally, the gun battle was over an 96 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:01,920 Speaker 1: advertisement that featured close your ears if you're the sensitive 97 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:06,880 Speaker 1: type or very young a ridiculously well endowed bull. The 98 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:10,120 Speaker 1: two guys that owned the Bull's Head Saloon had painted 99 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:13,320 Speaker 1: the huge mural on the side of the building's wall. 100 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:16,080 Speaker 1: The town, of course, was shocked and appalled, and they 101 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:19,280 Speaker 1: went to their Marshal, wild Bill Hiccock, to ask him 102 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:23,560 Speaker 1: to get the thing removed. Problem is, the owners refused, 103 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:27,080 Speaker 1: so wild Bill took it upon himself to remove the mural. 104 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:30,920 Speaker 1: The saloon owners were furious, and one of them, trying 105 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 1: to intimidate the marshal, said he could kill a crow 106 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:38,599 Speaker 1: on the wing. Marshall Hiccock famously replied, did the crow 107 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:41,839 Speaker 1: have a pistol? Was he shooting back? I will be. 108 00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:44,720 Speaker 1: One of the owners pulled out his gun and took 109 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:47,680 Speaker 1: aim at Hiccock in the street, but Hiccock drew his 110 00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:51,000 Speaker 1: six shooter first and killed him. But there's no winner 111 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:54,479 Speaker 1: here because moments later, seeing a man rushing him out 112 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:57,520 Speaker 1: of the corner of his eye, Hiccock reactively fired his 113 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:00,719 Speaker 1: gun and the man fell to the ground dead. It 114 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:04,720 Speaker 1: turns out wild Bill had accidentally killed his friend and 115 00:07:04,839 --> 00:07:09,200 Speaker 1: associate Deputy Marshal Mike Williams. Hickock was haunted by that 116 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:12,600 Speaker 1: episode for the rest of his life. Dying was the 117 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:14,640 Speaker 1: name of the game in the wild West for a 118 00:07:14,680 --> 00:07:17,960 Speaker 1: lot of outlaws like Jesse, James Busch, Cassidy, and the 119 00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:22,040 Speaker 1: Sundance Kid, Billy the Kid, and female gunslinger Bell Star. 120 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:25,680 Speaker 1: But how and when did the wild West fade away? 121 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:29,360 Speaker 1: By the eighteen eighties, the Frontier gave way to towns 122 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:33,520 Speaker 1: and cities with law enforcement, rules and infrastructure, as well 123 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:37,840 Speaker 1: as the Transcontinental Railroad. And believe it or not, there 124 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:41,960 Speaker 1: was one invention that had a monumental impact on ending 125 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:47,400 Speaker 1: gunslinging Frontier battles. It was barbed wire. Yeah, barbed wire. 126 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:51,160 Speaker 1: It allowed ranchers to section off their land and keep 127 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:55,640 Speaker 1: their cattle together, ending the era of open range cattle drives, 128 00:07:55,960 --> 00:07:59,680 Speaker 1: which often led to violent disputes. The government declared the 129 00:07:59,800 --> 00:08:03,080 Speaker 1: end of the Frontier and open land in eighteen ninety. 130 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:07,360 Speaker 1: The wild West, with all its pros and cons, is 131 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:11,320 Speaker 1: a major part of American culture and identity. Both heroic 132 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:17,640 Speaker 1: and villainous stories from that period continue to influence pop culture, movies, literature, 133 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:22,880 Speaker 1: and storytelling. But the pull of freedom, exploration, and possibility 134 00:08:23,360 --> 00:08:27,080 Speaker 1: is a huge part of our American mythology. I hope 135 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:30,000 Speaker 1: you're enjoying the Backstory with Patty Steele. Please leave a 136 00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:33,600 Speaker 1: review and follower. Subscribe for free to get new episodes 137 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:36,920 Speaker 1: delivered automatically. Also feel free to dm me if you 138 00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:39,560 Speaker 1: have a story you'd like me to cover. On Facebook, 139 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:46,120 Speaker 1: It's Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm 140 00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:50,719 Speaker 1: Patty steel The Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premier Networks, 141 00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:54,760 Speaker 1: the Elvis Durand Group, and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer 142 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:58,120 Speaker 1: is Doug Fraser. Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new 143 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:01,679 Speaker 1: episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free to reach out 144 00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 1: to me with comments and even story suggestions on Instagram 145 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:08,400 Speaker 1: at Real Patty Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. 146 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:11,760 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to the Backstory with Patty Steele. The 147 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:14,800 Speaker 1: pieces of history you didn't know you needed to know.