Few periods of American history are romanticized like the Wild West, and not even a whole genre of movie can do it justice. Those pioneering settlers lived a rugged life, and it's hard to comprehend what things must have really been like back then.
From cowboys to outlaws, from barren plains to hustling saloons, here are 29 vintage pics of the wild Wild West.
1
The Bob Saloon in Miles City, Montana, 1880.
2
Deadwood, South Dakota, 1870s.
3
One of only two certified photographs of Billy the Kid (the one with the top hat), playing cards, 1877.
4
Main Street of Tombstone, Arizona, 1880s.
5
Soapy Smith at a saloon in Skagway, Alaska, 1898.
6
Navajo riders crossing the desert in Arizona’s Canyon de Chelly. 1904.
7
A photo of the last reunion of the survivors of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, 1948.
9
Jackson’s Bar in Idaho 1890’s.
10
Somewhere east of Salem, Oregon in the 1890s. This is all farm land now. The robber barons cut it all down.
11
Leadville, Colorado, 1879.
12
Wild Bill Hickok: Best dressed in the West.
13
The Bar Room Saloon in Charleston, Arizona. 1885.
14
The final picture of Buffalo Bill Cody.
15
Las Vegas, Nevada, 1895.
16
In late 1887, Calamity Jane Canary and cowboy Teddy Blue Abbott, wearing each other’s hats, shared drinks at a saloon in Gilt Edge, Montana.
17
A Navajo boy riding horseback next to colt in Monument Valley. Arizona, 1950.
18
"The horse "Comanche." The only living thing left on the Custer battlefield after the Custer massacre, June 25, 1876. Most likely Montana.
19
Deadwood, South Dakota 1877.
20
Man riding an elk in Sheridan, Wyoming. 1910.
21
Encampment in South Pass, Southern foothills of Wind River Mountains, Wyoming. 1870.
23
"Old Flagstaff, Arizona" in 1883.
25
Crow's Nest Pass Lumber Co. lumberjacks on a log jam in Bull River. British Columbia. 1910 - 1914.
26
Photo from George A. Custer's Black Hills expedition in 1874.
27
A cowboy with a herd, Genesee, Kansas. 1902.
28
Orland Osgood Saloon, Carter County, Montana 1905.
29
African-American cowgirl Nellie Brown, and her horse. 1900-1915.
