This week we are looking in depth at America's experience as it progressed westward across the nation. There were technological innovations that proved how far we had come (i.e. Transcontinental Railroad) but also many terrible social interactions (natives vs. army).
Take a look at this website this week. Choose any story, beginning with the Pony Express story, and explain in the comment section what it taught you about the "old west".
Make sure your post is at least 200 words and the word count is included.
On the morning of December 29, 1890, the Sioux chief Big Foot and some 350 of his followers camped on the banks of Wounded Knee creek. Surrounding their camp was a force of U.S. troops charged with the responsibility of arresting Big Foot and disarming his warriors. The sioux had been struggling and felt their land had been taken and their lives would never be the same. Wovoka had a dream that led the Natives to believe there was a way for them to get their land and lives back. Wovoka called himself the messiah and because of this when he shared his dream the people believed this was a sign for them. Wovoka dreamed that all the whites and natives would be taken up to the cloud and the heavens would swallow the whites leaving only the Natives, which then would ,etc them take back their land. The natives then believed that if you did a dance, the ghost dance, the dream would come true. They believed doing this dance and wearing brightly colored shirts would save them from the Americans. This dance spread all throughout the reservations and became a huge deal. The whites soon became very afraid and had to put a stop to it. An order went out to arrest Chief Sitting Bull at the standing rock reservation and next on the list was Chief Big Foot. When Big Foot heard of the death of Sitting Bull he order his people to move south to gain protection from Pine Ridge Reservation. Smoke filled the air and around 300 sioux were killed in the battle including Big Foot.
ReplyDeleteAs i’ve been learning about the different battles I’ve been seeing how everyone in this time always resulted to war. Wether it was the Sioux or the US the answer to any disagreement seemed to be war ending with death in ones favor. This horrified me because to me, all they were doing was trying to protect their people. Wether what the whites or natives were doing, right or wrong, all they were trying to accomplish was getting land and protecting their people but it seemed that back in the day, any disagreements ended with war and death which frightens me terribly. Although i’m very thankful that we have the land we do today, and the freedom with it, so many people died on both ends. I always wonder what things would be like now if history wasn’t like this, if their weren’t wars or if even...the Natives had won all the battles.(424) sorry i got carried away.
The California gold rush started in 1846 and took place all throughout the West. James Wilson Marshall discovered gold along the west cost while constructing a mining plant. But it actually became popular when Sam Brannan on May 1848 ran around telling people they found gold. As soon as the word got around the they found gold out west people from all over the place to mine for gold. It took around a year for people to hear and come to California and they made up San Francisco. This is where the name “the California 49ers” came about. This epidemic sparked new jobs for many people and gained a lot of money for America. The gold rush became such a big this that two news paper companies shut down because the staff caught “gold fever.” Ghost towns started popping up all over the east because of the California gold rush. The gold rush also sparked many other jobs like farming, mining, and many other jobs that the gov. Needed them to do. Their was about 10 miles of river that miners used to pan out the gold. The California gold rush was extremely important for many reasons. It gave people jobs, money, and happiness for families. Although the journey for the miners and their families it was worth it because it developed the Americans west.(225)
ReplyDeleteThis article tells the story of Mark Twain, and his brother Orion, as they ride west on the latest in modern transportation, a stage coach. (Mark Twain’s real name is Samuel Clemens.) Riding on a stage coach in the year 1861 was very difficult. This was especially true if you were making the trip to the far west from St Joseph, Missouri. The trip was dirty, hot and dangerous. Passengers endured long hours of hard bumps and violent side-to-side sways. Frequent stops to change horses was of little relief because of the lack of facilities. The primary purpose of the trip was to deliver the mail and passengers had to ride with huge bags taking their space. The driver and the conductor, who were responsible, often left lots of the mail along the way to lighten their load. At night, the coach stopped at a primitive "way station" which offered very little to the passengers. There was a wash basin and soap, but no towels. The food they ate was just a little more than bread and bacon. Despite the primitive conditions, the stage coach was still considered to be the fastest and best way to travel at the time. (200)
ReplyDeleteI read about the pony express. This was basically where one person would ride 10 to 15 miles on horseback carrying mail. Every 10 to 15 miles he would change his horse or the person would change riders. These riders were putting their lives in danger because they could get killed by Indians. Bandits who would try and steal the mail. Most times these riders would barely make it to their destination without getting killed. In 1861 the telegraph was completed which meant that the pony express would no longer run. This was more than likely a relief to the riders because of the conditions that they had to deal with. They had to deal with winding on rough terrain, weather, no sleep and Indians. When they would ride into town they would be introduced to people waiting on him. They clap and applaud him for his efforts. So times these riders would not make it with all the mail. The pony express wanted people under 18, people who were skinny or wiry, and people who were willing to risk their lives to get the mail to the towns. These had to brave people who could endure strenuous long and tiresome rides during the hot and cold days also during the rainy nights.(213)
DeleteThe pony express started in 1860. The Pony Express was a long path where stagecoaches and pony express riders road. These riders had to fit a few requirements to become Pony Express riders. Some of these requirements were they had to be under 18 they had to be skilled horse riders, and they had to be lightweight. They had to be able to fit all of these requirements for they were riding just one horse for about 12 miles. The Pony Express riders range went from 70-80 miles to get to their final destination. One rider who went by Buffalo Bill Cody was a pony Express Rider and famous for his horse shows. Buffalo Bill Cody was riding to his final destination one day and was jumped by Indians. He said that the Indians did not give up and he was glad that his horse outran them. Buffalo Bill and his horse went a total of 22 miles to get away from the Indians what is double what they would normally put on one horse but because of the Indians killing the stockers ahead and letting the stock go he had too. Buffalo Bill also had to do his fellow riders distance because he got in a fight and was killed so he had to do a total of 322 miles of riding just to get back to his starting destination. (231)
ReplyDeleteI read about the pony express, the pony express strted on the 1860s, and was a form of mail or delivery. Basically the pony express was a major jump in the ways of delivery. The rider would get whatever he is delivering, and ride 10 to 15 miles before switching horses or riders. In total, they would ride for about 70-80 miles. There were certain requirements though, one is that you had to be under the age of 18, you had to be skilled at horse riding, and you had to be lightweight. Buffalo Bill Cody was a very famous member of the pony express, he was known for the tricks he could do on his horse. He had many tough experiences though, he was jumped by Indians one time and had to run for 22 miles away from them. Many riders had to deal with indians, lack of sleep, and tough riding areas. They had to ride across the country, so they had to deal with a lot of different heats and weather types, they never could get used to one type of weather. They were always on the move and didn’t get much rest at all, they had one of the toughest jobes back then.(207)
ReplyDeleteThe story of the execution of tom horn is about a man who was hanged for the accidental assassination of a 14 year old boy during the old west in 1903. He made his way from his birthplace in missouri to the wild west in 1876 when he was 16. He found employment as a scout for the U.S calvary and took part in a search party looking for an apache chief. During this time he perfected his firearm skills. From 1895 to 1901 he worked as a bodyguard for cattle interests. His job was to track down and do “justice” to thiefs. He was on a mission the morning of July 18, 1901 in iron mountain, his intended target was Kels B, nickell, a rancher who had put sheep on the range. During the early morning hours he was nestled in a group of rocks infront of the nickells gate to their house, he saw his victim approach on horseback, he lined up his rifle sights, but it was not his target it was his 14 year old son. The boy turned around and saw him with his gun and took off running, making a split second decision Horn fired a volley of shots at the boy, killing him. (211)
ReplyDeleteI read about the the Piny Express. The Pony Express first started on April 3rd, 1860, and was the top of its game at the time. Although it would only had a short eighteen month period, it would still be very important and have a huge roll it what America is today. Pony Express riders would normally cover a seventy-five to a hundred mile range. The Pony Express ranged all across the United Stated at two-thousand miles, and the riders would also switch horses every ten to fifteen miles. Normally, the riders were young, no older then eighteen, and skinny too, the Pony Express preferred orphans riding their horses. The riders would also carry barely anything and close to nothing besides the mail. There were also special custom saddles made for Pony Express riders that were very light weight and could hold a lot of mail. Pony Express riders were also very dedicated and courageous, cause to be a rider, you had to risk death every day and ride through everything no matter what. Buffalo Bill was actually a Pony Express rider before it stopped in 1861 due to the telegraph. One time, there was a rider who died, and Buffalo Bill took his place in an instant, that’s just proof of there dedication. (220)
ReplyDeleteI read about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid and a train robbery in 1899. There real names, Robert Leroy Parker (Butch) and Harry Longbaugh. This story is an eyewitness account from a mail clerk on a train on the Union Pacific Railroad about a train robbery made by them and their gang “The Hole in the Wall Gang”. It pretty much goes like an old west train robbery you would see in movies. They all wear masks and blow up the safe on the train and ride off while yelling. However, one of the things that I learned was the determination of the crew, engineer, and conductor. They never complied with the robbers and were very difficult but eventually had to get out of the train car to avoid being blown up with the safe. Perhaps as this was later on into the “old west days” people were tired of the lawless ways and were trying to make an honest living. These men seemed very bold and uncooperative considering their lives were at risk. The Hole in the wall gang was also scared when one of the members of the train crew said there were soldiers on board. This shows how that the life of an outlaw always leaves you looking over your soldier or afraid of getting caught for the rest of your life. (226)
ReplyDeleteI learned about the Pony Express. The Pony Express started on April 3, 1860. It was made to deliver mail over two thousand miles from Missouri to California. It took about a week for the mail to be delivered. At $5.00 per one half ounce. Because the telegraph was made, the Pony Express became old news in 1861. Many people risked their lives working for the Pony Express. The workers had to worry about weather, Indians and bandits. When advertising for workers The Pony Express preferred to have skinny orphans that were under 18 years old. Buffalo Bill Cody fit these standards and worked for the Pony Express. He has now shared his experiences. One day he found another rider had gotten killed, so he took on his journey as well as his own and traveled 322 miles. After this he had gotten jumped so many times he decided to stop doing the Pony Express. Wild Bill Hickok was another Pony Express worker. He was getting his horse when he found the stock-tender dead. He looked around and saw a man and the man shot at him, missed so Hickok shot back and killed him. Then he headed the stock-tenders wife calling out for help and saved her. (209)
ReplyDeleteI read the story “The Death of Billy the Kid”, written by Sheriff Pat Garret about the night he confronted Billy. Billy was born in the New York City slums in 1859, and after the death of his father moved to New Mexico with his mother in 1877. After the murder of his somewhat surrogate father, he ambushed both the sheriff and deputy of Lincoln killing them out of revenge and went on a run from the law for two years. He was later caught, tried, and convicted but as one of the guards was climbing him up the stairs Billy grabbed a revolver and shot the guard then a second one who came to investigate the gun fire. Sheriff Garret was elected in 1880 and made it his first order to capture Billy the Kid, who along with his two deputies hunted him down. The story is pretty long and basically ends with Billy walking up to Pat in a dark room while he thought he was asleep with a revolver and butcher knife then being shot by Pat. This story along with the story of the Pony Express shows how incredibly dangerous the West was at that time because with how people were having to margate over there and it being a new territory for the US meant that, similar to the internet today, it was expanding much faster than the government or the law could keep up.(240)
ReplyDeleteThe story entitled:”The Dalton Gang's Last Raid,” gives an unexpected look into the atmosphere and culture into the old west. Through the title of this story it becomes evident that gangs and robbers were prevalent throughout the time as could be interpreted by old western movies of which are the primary source of information for the modern interpretation of the old west. Although the title states:”The Dalton Gang” the memebers taking part in this last race were only 5 of the members of this entirety implying that the group was much bigger and that crime was a sustainable way of life in the west. Due to the previous statements and journeys into the unknown as caused by manifest destiny as we’ve been learning about it would be easy to assume that their was no sense of civility in the old west , but on the contrary the citizens used coordination and previously instituted systems of anti-robbery to stop the robbery. That was the robbery that 5 members of the Dalton gang(Grat Dalton, Emmett Dalton, Bob Dalton, Bill Power and Dick Broadwell) planned to commit upon C.M. Condon & Co.'s and the Forst National Bank simultaneously to make history. Although it did not work as the hitch that the my planned to secure their horses with was destroyed due to construction and the people suspected a robbery and quickly alerted everyone in the town of whom were also prepared with shotguns and Winchester’s. Even a bank teller seemed to have a plan as he told one of the gang members that the vault had a time lock that lasted 10 minutes which allowed for the armed citizens to show up and ultimately kill 4 members of the gang.(290)
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