Back to the Wild West of the US. We've all seen it in the old western movies; now I'm going to ride through it on a Harley Davidson with a bunch of fellow travelers for 2 weeks. The map below shows the rote we'll be taking, starting and finishing in Los Angeles.



For a myth-busting review of some aspects of the Wild West see:

http://www.cracked.com/article_20372_5-ridiculous-myths-everyone-believes-about-wild-west.html

Otherwise read on for an attempt at some context setting.

The American frontier comprises the geography, history, folklore, and cultural expression of life in the forward wave of American westward expansion that began with English colonial settlements in the early 17th century and ended with the admission of the last mainland territories as states in the early 20th century. Enormous popular attention in the media focuses on the Western United States in the second half of the nineteenth century, a period sometimes called the Old West, or the Wild West, frequently exaggerating the romance and violence of the period.

The American frontier began when Jamestown Virginia was settled by the English in 1607. In the earliest days of European settlement of the Atlantic coast, down to about 1680, the frontier was essentially any part of the interior of the continent beyond the fringe of existing settlements along the Atlantic coast. English, French, Spanish and Dutch patterns of expansion and settlement were quite different. Only a few thousand French migrated to Canada; these habitants settled in villages along the St. Lawrence river, building communities that remained stable for long stretches; they did not simply jump west the way the British did.

The seaboard British settlements gave priority to land ownership for individual farmers, and as the population grew they pushed westward for fresh farm land. Unlike Britain, where a small number of landlords owned most of the good land, ownership in America was cheap, easy and widespread. Land ownership brought a degree of independence as well as a vote for local and provincial offices. Conflict with the Native Americans arose out of political issues, viz. who would rule. The War of 1812 marked the final confrontation between major Indian forces trying to stop the advance, with British aid. The British war goal included the creation of an independent Indian state (under British auspices) in the Midwest. To end the War of 1812 John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay and Albert Gallatin (a leading anthropologist) and the other American diplomats negotiated the Treaty of Ghent in 1814 with Britain. They rejected the British plan to set up an Indian state in U.S. territory south of the Great Lakes.

As settlers poured in, the frontier districts first became territories, with an elected legislature and a governor appointed by the president. Then when population reached 100,000 the territory applied for statehood. Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase of 1803 doubled the size of the nation at the cost of $15 million, ($236 million in 2013 dollars, less than 42 cents per acre).  

As the frontier moved westward, trappers and hunters moved ahead of settlers, searching out new supplies of beaver and other skins for shipment to Europe. The hunters were the first Europeans in much of the Old West and they formed the first working relationships with the Native Americans in the West. They added extensive knowledge of the Northwest terrain, including the important South Pass through the central Rocky Mountains. Discovered about 1812, it later became a major route for settlers to Oregon and Washington. By 1820 a new "brigade-rendezvous" system, however, sent company men in "brigades" cross-country on long expeditions, bypassing many tribes. By 1830, however, fashions changed and beaver hats were replaced by silk hats, ending the demand for expensive American furs.

There was wide agreement on the need to settle the new territories quickly, but the debate polarized over the price the government should charge. The conservatives and Whigs, typified by president John Quincy Adams, wanted a moderated pace that charged the newcomers enough to pay the costs of the federal government. The Democrats, however, tolerated a wild scramble for land at very low prices. The final resolution came in the Homestead Law of 1862, with a moderated pace that gave settlers 160 acres free after they worked on it for five years.

From the 1770s to the 1830s pioneers moved into the new lands that stretched from Kentucky to Alabama to Texas. Most were farmers who moved in family groups.

Manifest Destiny was the belief that the United States was pre-ordained to expand from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast. The concept was expressed during Colonial times, but the term was coined in the 1840s by a popular magazine which editorialized, "the fulfillment of our manifest destiny...to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions." Helping settlers move westward were the emigrant "guide books" of the 1840s featuring route information supplied by the fur traders and the Frémont expeditions, and promising fertile farm land beyond the Rockies.

Mexico became independent of Spain in 1821, and took over Spain's northern possessions stretching from Texas to California. Caravans began delivering goods to Mexico's Santa Fe along the Santa Fe Trail, over the 870-mile (1,400 km) journey which took 48 days from Kansas City, Missouri (then known as Westport). Santa Fe was also the trailhead for the "El Camino Real" (the King's Highway), a trade route which carried American manufactured goods southward deep into Mexico and returned silver, furs, and mules northward (not to be confused with another "Camino Real" which connected the missions in California). A branch also ran eastward near the Gulf (also called the Old San Antonio Road). Santa Fe connected to California via the Old Spanish Trail.  The Spanish and Mexican governments attracted American settlers to Texas with generous terms.  Tensions rose, however, after an abortive attempt to establish the independent nation of Fredonia in 1826. William Travis, leading the "war party," advocated for independence from Mexico, while the "peace party" led by Austin attempted to get more autonomy within the current relationship. When Mexican president Santa Anna shifted alliances and joined the conservative Centralist party, he declared himself dictator and ordered soldiers into Texas to curtail new immigration and unrest. However, immigration continued and a series of battles, including massacres of Texans at the Alamo, which took the lives of famed Americans Davy Crockett and James Bowie, and at Goliad, ended in a decisive Texas victory at the Battle of San Jacinto where Sam Houston famously shouted "Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad". Texans established the independent Republic of Texas in 1836. The U.S. Congress, however, refused to annex Texas, stalemated by contentious arguments over slavery and regional power. Texas remained an independent country, led by Sam Houston, until it was established to become the 28th state in 1845. The government of Mexico, however, viewed Texas as a runaway province and asserted its ownership.

Mexico refused to recognize the independence of Texas in 1836, although most major nations did so. It threatened war if Texas joined the U.S., which it did in 1845. The Mexican army killed an American unit in territory claimed by both nations, and both sides were eager for war. The Mexican strategy was defensive; the American strategy was a three pronged offensive, using large numbers of volunteer soldiers. Overland forces seized New Mexico with little resistance and headed to California, which quickly fell to the American land and naval forces. From the main American base at New Orleans, General Zachary Taylor led forces into northern Mexico, winning a series of battles that ensued. Talk of acquiring all of Mexico fell away when the army discovered the Mexican political and cultural values were so alien to America's.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848 ceded the territories of California and New Mexico to the United States for $18.5 million. The Gadsden Purchase in 1853 added southern Arizona, which was needed for an anticipated railroad route. The completed Mexican cession covered over half a million square miles and increased the size of the U.S. by nearly 20% and included the states-to-be of California, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming. California entered the Union in 1850 as a free state; the other areas would remain territories for many years.

In 1846 about 10,000 Californios (Hispanics) lived in California, primarily on cattle ranches in what is now the Los Angeles area. A few hundred foreigners were scattered in the northern districts, including some Americans. With the outbreak of war with Mexico in 1846 the U.S. sent in Frémont and a U.S. Army unit, as well as naval forces, and quickly took control. As the war was ending gold was discovered in the north, and the word soon spread worldwide.

Thousands of "Forty-Niners" reached California, by sailing around South America (or taking a short-cut through disease-ridden Panama), or walked the California trail. The population soared to over 200,000 in 1852, mostly in the gold districts that stretched into the mountains east of San Francisco. Housing in San Francisco was at a premium, and abandoned ships whose crews had headed for the mines were often converted to temporary lodging. In the gold fields themselves living conditions were primitive, though the mild climate proved attractive. Supplies were expensive and food poor, typical diets consisting mostly of pork, beans, and whiskey. These highly male, transient communities with no established institutions were prone to high levels of violence, drunkenness, profanity, and greed-driven behaviour.

The gold rush radically changed the California economy and brought in an array of professionals, including precious metal specialists, merchants, doctors, and attorneys, who added to the population of miners, saloon keepers, gamblers, and prostitutes. Over 250,000 miners found a total of more than $200 million in gold in the five years of the California Gold Rush. As thousands arrived, however, fewer and fewer miners struck their fortune, and most ended exhausted and broke.

To get to the rich new lands of the West Coast, some people sailed for six months, but 400,000 others walked 2,000 miles in six months in wagon trains that left from Missouri. They moved in large groups under an experienced wagonmaster, bringing their clothing, farm supplies, and animals. They followed the main rivers, crossed the mountains, and ended in Oregon and California. By 1836, when the first migrant wagon train was organized inIndependence, Missouri, a wagon trail had been cleared to Fort Hall, Idaho. Wagon trails were cleared further and further west, eventually reaching all the way to the Willamette Valley in Oregon. The eastern half of the trail was also used by travelers on the California Trail (from 1843), Bozeman Trail (from 1863), and Mormon Trail (from 1847) which used many of the same eastern trails before turning off to their separate destinations.

The dime novels and Hollywood films depicted frequent and common killings in Western towns. In reality, law enforcement was much more stringent than in rural areas. Criminals avoided the cities, leaving the deputies the main chore of knocking down drunks and hauling them away. They also disarmed cowboys who violated gun-control edicts, tried to prevent duelling, and dealt with flagrant breaches of gambling and prostitution ordinances.

Tombstone, Arizona was a notoriously violent mining town that flourished longer than most, from 1877 to 1929. Silver was discovered in 1877, and by 1881 the town had a population of over 10,000. Western story tellers and film makers made as much money in Tombstone as anyone, thanks to the arrival of Wyatt Earp and his brothers in 1879. They bought shares in the Vizina mine, water rights, and gambling concessions, but Virgil, Morgan and Wyatt were soon appointed as federal and local marshals. They killed three outlaws in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, the most famous gunfight of the Old West. In the aftermath, Virgil Earp was maimed in an ambush and Morgan Earp was assassinated while playing billiards. Wyatt and others, including his brother Warren Earp, pursued those they believed responsible in a vendetta and warrants were issued for their arrest in the murder of Frank Stilwell. Wyatt later pursued various business interests in Colorado, Idaho, California, Arizona, and Alaska.

Banditry was a major issue in California after 1849, as thousands of young men detached from family or community moved into a land with few law enforcement mechanisms. San Francisco solved the problem with informal citizens' vigilance committees that gave drumhead trials and death sentences to well-known offenders. In rural areas Joaquin Murieta, Jack Powers, and other bandits terrorized the state. Fatal duels were often fought to uphold personal honour.

Some of the banditry of the West was carried out by Mexicans and Indians against white targets of opportunity along the U.S. –Mexico border, particularly in Texas, Arizona, and California. The second major type of banditry was conducted by the infamous outlaws of the West, including Jesse James, Billy the Kid, the Dalton Gang, Black Bart, Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch and hundreds of others who preyed on banks, trains, and stagecoaches. Some of the outlaws, such as Jesse James, were products of the violence of the Civil War (James had ridden with Quantrill's Raiders) and others became outlaws during hard times in the cattle industry. Many were misfits and drifters who roamed the West avoiding the law. When outlaw gangs were near, towns would raise a posse (like in the movies) to attempt to drive them away or capture them. Seeing that the need to combat the gunslingers was a growing business opportunity, Allan Pinkerton ordered his National Detective Agency, founded in 1850, to open branches out West, and they got into the business of pursuing and capturing outlaws. There was plenty of business thanks to the criminals organized and trained by the James Gang, Butch Cassidy, Sam Bass, and dozens of others. Their names and exploits take a central role in American folklore, and their guns and costumes become children's toys.

The image of a Wild West filled with countless gunfights was a myth generated primarily by dime-novel authors in the late 19th century. Only an average of five murders were recorded in a given year. An alternative explanation to the disparity between recorded murders and popular perceptions of violence is the proposition that gunfights, crime, and other violent activities were largely undocumented, as many of the settlements in the American frontier had little ways to record their everyday happenings. There are some estimates that up to 20,000 men in the American West were killed by gunshot between 1866 and 1900. When gunfights did occur, the cause for each was varied. Some were simply the result of the heat of the moment, while others were longstanding feuds, or skirmishes between bandits and lawmen. Lawless violence such as range wars like the Lincoln County War, bandit raids, and clashes with Native Americans were also a factor. Some of these shootouts became famous, while others faded into history with only a few accounts surviving. People who participated in gunfights became historically known as a "gunfighter".

Central to the myth and the reality of the West is the American cowboy. His real life was a hard one and revolved around two annual roundups, spring and fall, the subsequent drives to market, and the time off in the cattle towns spending his hard earned money on food, clothing, gambling, and prostitution. During winter, many cowboys hired themselves out to ranches near the cattle towns, where they repaired and maintained equipment and buildings. On a long drive, there was usually one cowboy for each 250 head of cattle. Alcohol was everywhere in the West (outside Mormondom), but on the trail the cowboys were forbidden to drink it.

Before a drive, a cowboy's duties included riding out on the range and bringing together the scattered cattle. The best cattle would be selected, roped, and branded, and most male cattle were castrated. The cattle also needed to be dehorned and examined and treated for infections. On the long drives, the cowboys had to keep the cattle moving and in line. The cattle had to be watched day and night as they were prone to stampedes and straying. The work days often lasted fourteen hours, with just six hours of sleep. It was gruelling, dusty work, with just a few minutes of relaxation before and at the end of a long day. On the trail, drinking, gambling, and brawling were often prohibited and fined, and sometimes cursing as well. It was monotonous and boring work, with food to match: bacon, beans, bread, coffee, dried fruit, and potatoes. On average, cowboys earned $30 to $40 per month, because of the heavy physical and emotional toll, it was unusual for a cowboy to spend more than seven years on the range. As open range ranching and the long drives gave way to fenced in ranches in the 1880s, by the 1890s the glory days of the cowboy came to an end, and the myths about the "free living" cowboy began to emerge. All the distinct clothing of the cowboy—boots, saddles, hats, pants, chaps, slickers, bandannas, gloves, and collar-less shirts—were practical and adaptable, designed for protection and comfort. The cowboy hat quickly developed the capability, even in the early years, to identify its wearer as someone associated with the West. The most enduring fashion adapted from the cowboy, popular nearly worldwide today, are "blue jeans", originally made by Levi Strauss for miners in 1850. It was the cowboy hat, however, that came to symbolize the American West. 

Opening sequence from Easy Rider:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC30u35LII8

Mood Music:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xv9y7q_the-rolling-stones-doom-and-gloom-full-version-official-video-hd-1080p_music

(Content Warning: Scary wrinkley old blokes and occasional topless scenes, though not of Mick Jagger thankfully )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDlx-ZUj9qs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpVCL00fPAc