'To an Eastern man this city is full of surprises. '
February 3, 2007 12:17 PM   Subscribe

Ghost Cowboy :: True Tales of Adventure in the American West
posted by anastasiav (10 comments total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
This is fascinating, thank you.
posted by caddis at 1:04 PM on February 3, 2007


from 1886:
It may be the atmosphere and it may be the beer or whisky, but even a short residence here has a wonderful moderating effect on the wildest and most exuberant spirits. A man from the plains drops into the city to-day attired in the most approved cowboy fashion, with the butts of two silver mounted revolvers appearing above the band of his trousers. Here it might be proper to state that few gentlemen west of the Mississippi carry a revolver in the hip pocket. The fashion is obsolete. Necessity renders it so. It is considered unwise to carry anything in the hip pocket in this section, for a motion in that direction is apt to be considered poor taste, and to result in the insertion in the person who makes it of a piece of lead. The lead will range in calibre from No. 32 to No. 45, generally No. 45, because people who carry "guns" have an apparent weakness for large bores. After a week's residence the cowboy will cut several inches off the rim of his slouch hat and in various other ways will demonstrate that he feels the influence of civilization. In a month's time he will pass in a crowd for a native, though if he be a celebrated character in his own country his reputation may stick to him and the stranger may be regaled with the choicest incidents in his earlier career. Men who have killed their man are not scarce here, but they cannot be distinguished at a glance. They are generally mild-mannered, when not in liquor, and their language, if tinged with a wild Western flavor, is free from profanity except on rare occasions; on these they dissipate any doubt that might be entertained of their ability in this direction to discount any man who has been reared in the effete East.
posted by caddis at 2:11 PM on February 3, 2007


Very interesting, great post!
posted by Atreides at 2:16 PM on February 3, 2007


Reading the title, and then the post content, my first thought was of Mr. Wu.

Cocksucker! Swe'gen!
posted by sparkletone at 2:31 PM on February 3, 2007


Very - VERY - cool. Thanks.
posted by davidmsc at 2:33 PM on February 3, 2007


This is the best I've seen on the subject of the "Wild West". Great find and definately BOTW! Thanks.
posted by snsranch at 3:44 PM on February 3, 2007


Me too, sparkletone. San Fancisco cock sucker!
posted by mwhybark at 5:04 PM on February 3, 2007


anastasiav, excellent post. Cool mining page. Some poignant photographs. I wish the photogrphs were easier to change from one to another and I would like to see scans or images of some of the old newspapers, if that is possible. And maybe a cowboy art and music section too?

All in all Ghost Cowboy is an awesome site.
posted by nickyskye at 6:23 PM on February 3, 2007


Love that Ghost Cowboy site.
Calamity Jane can outswear them all, cocksuckers./
posted by alicesshoe at 9:52 PM on February 3, 2007


Amazing post, anastasiav. Thank you.

I find it hard to believe that it was *only* about 100 years ago that all this was taking place where now there are huge cities and malls and highways. Amazing!

Also, I wonder, was the language in the newspapers so similar to ours today? Or have the accounts been edited?
posted by carmina at 10:34 PM on February 3, 2007


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