There's a lot of myths about the Old West out there in the wild, and we're here to run
'em down, tie 'em up, and leave 'em on the train tracks.
Here are some false facts about the Wild West you always thought were true.
Pardner.
Not-so-savage natives
You'd be forgiven for thinking that those who settled the untamed American West lived
in constant fear of Native Americans.
Just pop in any famous Western, sit back, and watch the arrows fly…
"Ahhhh!"
The truth is, however, that the Native Americans weren't as hostile to those covered wagon
travelers as most people believe.
While some violent altercations naturally took place, convoys of covered wagons rarely
came under attack.
Only stragglers ran any real risk, as lone wagons or small groups represented much easier
pickings.
In reality, many friendly tribes saw groups of settlers as prime trade opportunities.
Ultimately, the threat from Indian attack was minimal at best.
Along the busiest trails West, Native Americans killed—on record—362 emigrants between
1840 and 1860.
Compare that to the upward of 30,000 total emigrants who died from all causes during
the same 20-year span.
Truth be told, more Native Americans died at the hands of settlers in that span than
vice versa, at 426 total recorded deaths.
All that glitters
Everyone thinks California hosted America's first gold rush in 1849, and for good reason:
there's the San Francisco '49ers, plus it's even nicknamed "The Golden State."
But that nugget of wisdom is fool's gold: California wasn't home to the first gold rush
— it wasn't even the second.
Fifty years before some gold nuggets at a California mill triggered the largest mass
migration in US history, a 17-pound chunk of the precious metal was discovered in North
Carolina, leading to a flood of more than 30,000 prospectors to the Tar Heel state.
The great state of Georgia holds claim to America's second gold rush in 1829.
The Georgia Journal printed the following notice in August ... cue the music!
"GOLD!
A gentleman of the first respectability in Habersham county, writes us thus:
'Two gold mines have just been discovered in this county,and preparations are making to bring these
hidden treasures of the earth to use.'"
[Throat-clearing sound from VO talent.]
Only a few months later, northern Georgia was overrun by those hopeful of striking it
rich — twenty years before California and its famous '49ers.
White lie
The stereotypical image of cowboys as a white, distinctly American invention is just plain
false.
The deepest roots of the popular cowboy date back to the arrival of the Spanish in Mexico.
As ranches spread across modern-day Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico, so too did trained
ranchers — called vaqueros — who earned the title of America's first cowboys.
And while decades of film and television have conditioned us to incorrectly think that most
cowboys at the time were white, one in four 19th-century cowboys in the state of Texas,
for example, were black, and even more were Mexican … making white cowboys in the state
a minority.
Sorry to break it to you, Mongo, but the prevalence of your people is kind of historically inaccurate
…
Don't bank on it
According to popular belief, it would have been safer to keep your money buried under
a cactus in the Old West than in a bank, which was robbed by roving bandits on an almost
daily basis.
In reality, banks at the time were very safe spaces to keep your valuables — perhaps
even safer than banks today.
According to the Foundation for Economic Freedom, there were fewer than ten confirmed bank robberies
total from 1859 to 1900.
That's one heist every four years, on average.
Hardly an epidemic.
In 1974, one historian even claimed the Old West "was a far more civilized, more peaceful
and safer place than American society today," as violence and theft was not so culturally
ingrained as popular history leads us to believe.
Jumping the gun
According to almost every Western ever, the average town had more guns than a well-stocked
Walmart in Tennessee.
Would you believe that the Old West had stricter gun laws than many states today?
It's true: property-owners and ranchers all over called for tight restrictions on firearms,
with the knowledge that more guns — in the wrong hands — meant more problems.
"You want that gun?
Pick it up."
"I wish you would."
In fact, "frontier towns — places like Tombstone, Deadwood, and Dodge — had the most restrictive
gun control laws in the nation," laws that would make 21st century second-amendment advocates
weep.
In many places, cowboys weren't even allowed to carry guns, as they were told that carrying
around a six-shooter was not a necessary part of their jobs.
The Kansas newspaper the Caldwell Commercial called revolvers "a relic of barbarism."
Them's fightin' words …
Thanks for watching!
Click the Grunge icon to subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Plus check out all this cool stuff we know you'll love, too!