Many people think of the Wild West as an exciting saloon-filled hodgepodge of towns used as the backdrop for real life Cowboys vs Indians.
But that reality is a Hollywood creation. For instance, far more people on the frontier died from starvation and disease than violence.
The common thread between fact and fiction is that people yearned for the freedom of the frontier. So here it is.
Here are 23 Wild West photos that get increasingly wild as you go.
1
A “Hotel”
The Wild West, 1893.
2
A Man and His Dog
The 1870s.
3
A Peco Texas Saloon
The 1880s.
4
Pouring Some Coffee
OR Ranch, Arizona. 1909.
5
Seven Crow Chiefs
Outside a building, Montana, 1887.
7
Camp Wagon
Doing a rest stop in Texas.
8
A Cowboy
The Dakota territories, 1888.
9
Two Apsáalooke
On horseback outside of a tipi in a snow-covered forest in Montana, 1908.
10
Boss Caswell's Monkey Saloon
Granite, Colorado, early 1880's.
11
Navajo Cowboys
Racing without saddles, in Denver.
12
Two Navajo
On horseback near the base of Shiprock in New Mexico, 1914.
13
The Bar at the Notorious Gem Theater
Deadwood, South Dakota. 1880s.
14
Navajo Riders
Crossing the desert in Arizona’s Canyon de Chelly. 1904.
15
Lincoln County War Fighters
They likely participated on both sides. 1878.
16
Cowboys Capture a Wolf
Wyoming, 1887.
17
A Sod Homestead
Custer County, Nebraska, 1888.
18
Cowboy
Aiming rifle at a herd of buffalo, 1935.
19
Two Navajo
Viewing the ruins of Casa Blanca in Canyon de Chelly, Arizona 1913.
20
Roundup Camp
Arizona. 1909.
21
A Wild Bronco
LS Ranch, Texas. 1907.
22
Working the Herd
Shoe Bar Ranch, Texas. 1912.
23
Death Valley
A 20-mule team. The Great Basin Desert, 1870s.
