myths enshrouded the history of the american west and many of its
legendary figures but the ultimate fate of many western figures is often different from
that expected from their legendary exploits both wyatt earth and batmasterson became
referees for heavyweight boxing matches for example after gaining fame as gunslingers and
gamblers others became famous after they quit their careers as cowboys ranchers or hunters
some became actors some rodeo performers some writers and some combinations of all three
one used his experience as a westerner to prop up his political career carrying him
to the white house here are 10 western figures who parlayed their experience into other careers
number 10 scout and hunter buffalo bill cody became a travelling show owner and performer
the legend of buffalo bill cody began with the publication of his stories in the new
york weekly written by ned bundtline over the course of time cody whose real name was william
frederick cody claimed to have ridden for the pony express at age 15. in his many tells of
his experience as an express rider cody claims rides of hundreds of miles facing numerous perils
in reality he worked for the company which owned pony express delivering messages from
the home office to a telegraph station a ride of about three miles such discrepancies mark most
of his personal history he did serve in the union army during the civil war and as a scout for the
army in the west after the war as a scout he was awarded the medal of honor later revoked and then
restored in 1989 he acquired the nickname after contracting to supply buffalo meat to the kansas
pacific railroad he claimed to have killed over 4 000 bison during an 18-month contract at the age
of 16 he started his career on the stage and in 1874 he found his first touring troop the buffalo
bill combination from there he was a performer in traveling western shows promoting himself and his
legend by 1893 he was famous in europe as well as the united states and his traveling extravaganza
included famous native americans such as sitting ball reenactments of custer's last stand
and other western myths a master fortune performed before queen victoria later before king edward
vii and across europe in self-promotion he was unrivalled a consummate performer who
created his own legend number nine ranch hand tom mix became an early star in silent movies
raised in a wealthy family in pennsylvania tom mix served in the spanish-american war before
deserting following his marriage he was never arrested or prosecuted for his transgression
later he worked in oklahoma as a bartender a town marshal and eventually as a rat hand the miller
brothers 101 ranch his employer was one of the largest in the united states producing his own
wild west show in competition with buffalo bill and others mix bounty preferred performing over
the hard work of ranching in 1909 he appeared in the first of what eventually totaled nearly 300
motion pictures nearly all silent films only nine of his performances were in talkies as they were
known at the time by 1920 tom mix was a major star known for performing his own stunts on horseback
shooting and went roping a close friend of water mix developed a reputation of being a ladies man
as well as a heart-nosed negotiator he was the screen's first western hero one of the biggest
hollywood stars in the fledgling movie industry displaying the skills he developed on an oklahoma
ranch number eight wyatt became a saloon owner and consultant to hollywood actors the names of three
towns in the american west carry a special panache dodge city deadwood and tombstone as a lawman and
gamble wyatt made his mark on all three known primarily today for the gunfight and tombstone
at the ok corral erp frequently found himself on the wrong side of the law allying with sympathetic
interests helped him avoid prosecution several times during his long and colorful life after the
vengeance ride following the travails in tombstone urp moved to california where he refereed a
heavyweight boxing match allegedly fixing the flight from there he went to alaska where the gold
rush failed to enrich him he kept a saloon and tried mining in california with minimal success
in the early 1920s he lived in los angeles where he rubbed shoulders with actors and film producers
several stars of early western solicited derp's advice and he consulted on several western movies
during the silent era yet none expressed an interest in earp's own story during his lifetime
at his death in 1929 actors william s hart and tom mix served as pool bearers 7. lorman and gambler
batmasterson became a leading sports writer and columnist batmasterson was another buffalo hunter
playing scout for the army and law enforcer in the west he was involved in several gunfights over
both private matters and as a deputy sheriff in dodge city kansas in 1877 he won election
as sheriff of ford county kansas bad developed a widely known reputation as a gunslinger one of the
most feared men in the west bat whose given name was bartholomew moved around in the west
spreading his reputation across the country by the mid-1880s he made denver the center of his
activities working as a gambler and theater owner his interest in the sport of boxing made him a
respected expert on the sport in 1895 he moved to new york city as the hired gun for george gould's
son of the notorious jay gould dad masterson began writing a sports column for the new york morning
telegraph eventually masterson's column dwelt not only on sports but on local and national politics
theodore roosevelt appointed him as deputy u.s marshal for southern new york masterson continued
his column appearing three days each week for the rest of his life he died in 1921 behind his desk
at the morning telegraph a newspaperman to the end 6. cowboy and ranch hand jack hoxie starred
in silent films including portraying buffalo bill born in the indian territory which later became
the state of oklahoma john hoxie spent most of his childhood in idaho he worked as a cowhand and
rancher developing riding shooting and roping skills boarded the activities of the classic
western cowboy in 1909 he joined a traveling wild west show operated by richard stanley
in which he performed as a brock rider after four years he was offered a role in a silent film short
he appeared in about three dozen such films before starring in the lightning bryce serials in 1919.
through the 1920s he became a major star popular with audiences and appeared in dramatic roles
nearly always in westerns among the stars with which he appeared were fay-ray hootgibson and
rintin tin he was among the earliest to portray buffalo bill cody on film in 1926 in the last
frontier in the 1930s he returned to traveling wild west shows and rodeos continuing to perform
into the 1950s the former cowboy left ranching to build an entertainment career which he continued
until he retired in 1959. 5. rancher earl bascom became an actor and the father of modern rodeo
earl baskin was born in a log cabin on the family ranch near vernal utah his father rode with posses
which pursued among others butch cassidy and his gang auger up was a rancher and cowhen splitting
time between the united states and canada at 13 he was discovered to be working as a cow hand by
a canadian mountain and the authorities ordered him to return to school in his teens bascum broke
and shooed horses rode across most of the american and canadian west on cattle drives and worked on
ranches beginning in 1916 he performed on the rodeo circuit in the united states and canada
eventually he completed his education graduating from brigham young university in 1940.
he later gained international acclaim as an artist and sculptor focusing on the western
themes that he knew so well baskin published articles and stories about the life of a rancher
and cowboy created images of the same in his art and helped develop rodeo into a modern sport the
man who rode bronx and roped steers later became a fellow of the royal society of arts in london
is generally known as the father of modern rodeo number four ranch hand and cowboy will rogers
became an entertainer writer actor and humorist famed american humorist will rogers was born in
the indian territory where he was raised on a working ranch in 1901 he moved to argentina
hoping to build a ranch of his own on the pampers when that venture failed he moved to south africa
where he later claimed to have earned a living breaking horses for the british army there he used
his trick-roping skills to obtain employment in a circus from there rogers moved to australia and
another circus performing rope tricks and riding tricks in 1904 he returned to the united states
no longer interested in branching rogers tried vaudeville before world war one it was the main
attraction appearing in several new york venues including madison square garden and
the new amsterdam theater the latter owned by floren ziegfeld he soon appeared in films and
relatively minor roles in the silent film era the arrival of sound made him a star by 1935 a
syndicated newspaper column which appeared daily reached 40 million readers he became a major radio
star as well rogers became an influential figure in american politics entertainment and social
issues he advocated for commercial aviation became good friends with charles lindbergh and wiley post
he was flying with the latter when their airplane crashed in august 1935 killing them both no
western figure had greater influence or popularity in america in the early 20th century number three
cowboy george mcjunkin's discoveries changed north american archaeology and history george
mcjunkin was born into slavery in pre-civil war texas either in 1856 says reads his tombstone
or in 1851 according to other sources following the war he gained employment as a cow hand and
a rancher during cattle tribes he taught himself to read and write assisted by fellow call hands
he taught himself so well that he became an acknowledged expert in the field of archaeology in
1868 mcjunkin was well known as an expert horseman and rancher he moved to new mexico becoming the
foreman on the crowfoot ranch near folsom in 1908 the folsom region suffered a devastating flood
following the flood mcjunkin discovered fossilized bones of prehistoric bison as well as obviously
man-made flint arrowheads now known as folsom points for over a decade mcjunkin attempted to
gain interest among archaeologists to excavate the site not until 1926 did he finally succeed
mcjunkin's discovery established proof that prehistoric humanity lived in the region nearly
10 000 years earlier than previously believed the evidence of man-made weapons embedded in
the fossilized remains of a species extinct for that period was irrefutable it was proof humanity
existed and hunted in north america during the late ice age by the time the finder was excavated
and analyzed mcjunkin was dead but his discovery earned him a place in the sign of a community
as well as in western law number two pat garrett became a customs agent in el paso texas pakharat
known as the man who killed billy the kid though his true story is considerably more complicated
than that of the noble lawmaker getting his man during his lifetime he had several different jobs
as did many westerners garrett worked on ranch's tented bar offered his gun for hire rode with the
texas rangers only for a few weeks and invested in irrigation projects all of the latter failed as a
gunman gara was involved in several gunfights and the killing of several men including billy the kid
garrett was often suspected of illicit doings by neighbors in all of the various western
communities in which he lived and he embellished his own exploits in the finest western tradition
in 1901 president theodore roosevelt appointed garrett as the u.s customs agent for the port
of el paso texas garrett's reputation was such that the appointment became controversial garrett
proved unable to perform the duties of his office with anything resembling professional competence
he engaged in fist fights with employees public disputes with importers and generally became an
aggravation to roosevelt after he was replaced in 1906 garrett returned to new mexico where he was
murdered under still unresolved circumstances in 1908 1. rancher theodore roosevelt became
president of the united states theodore roosevelt was born in new york educated at harvard and
epitomized eastern power and prestige on february 14 1884 his mother and his beloved wife died in
the same house two days following the birth of his daughter the immense tragedy devastated roosevelt
to swage his guilt he did what many americans had done before him he went west settling on a ranch
in north dakota renamed elkhorn roosevelt embraced western life for the rest of his life roosevelt
extolled the virtues of ranching camping exploring and hunting he brought his vigorous energy to the
ranching life wrote magazine articles and books describing it and dedicated himself to preserving
the ranching lifestyle he became friends with batmasterson and pat garrett among others
teddy posed photographs and portraits decked out in western gear he hunted by some bighorn
sheep grizzlies elk another big game eventually roosevelt overcame his grief and returned to
new york a long political career led to him being elected vice president of the united states under
william mckinley he assumed the presidency after mckinley's assassination in the white house he
continued to celebrate the virtues of the american west and the people populating it roosevelt's
adoption of western life remains a major piece of his legacy over a century after his death in 1919