25 Amazing Facts You Didn’t Know About the Wild West

What was it like to live in the Wild West? By 1865, over 30,000 miles of train tracks crisscrossed the United States. With the Civil War over — and many people unshackled from slavery — millions of Americans explored the West, looking to find a new home and riches.

The idea of Manifest Destiny emboldened others. One 19th-century historian famously described the new frontier as “the meeting point between savagery and civilization.” It wasn’t an exaggeration. Scores of buffalo were killed for their hides and to starve Native Americans. New towns popped up along cattle routes, and some were terrorized by ruthless cowboys, so they had to form their own rule of law. 

This era was unlike any other time in American history. These are the most incredible facts about the Wild West. If you want a more hands-on experience, we have recommendations of places to visit, too. 

It was between the famous gunslinger “Wild” Bill Hickok and a man named Davis Tutt. The two had had a money dispute over gambling winnings. Tutt underwrote other gamblers in an attempt to clean Hickok out and run him out of town. But Hickok won, and Tutt demanded $40 from Hickok over a previous deal about a horse. 

According to Tom Clavin’s “Wild Bill: The True Story of the American Frontier’s First Gunfighter,” Hickok gave Tutt the $40 then and there, but Tutt then demanded another $25. When Hickok  wouldn’t budge, Tutt grabbed Hickock’s pocket watch from the table. 

The following day, Tutt brandished it about the town square of Springfield, Missouri, on the morning of July 21,1865 (the would-be-city was about 31 years old at this point). Hickok had tried to reason with Tutt, but he man refused.

Just before 6 p.m., Hickok warned Tutt not to wander across the square with that watch. Tutt reached for his gun, Hickok, reached for his. The two paused, then drew, with Hickok finishing the fight by sending a bullet through Tutt’s heart. 

It was the first quickdraw fight ever recorded. Word about it spread, and two years later the above illustration accompanied an article in Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. 

Millions of bison — with estimates ranging from 10 to 30 million —  roamed America in the early 1800s. By the early 1900s, there were less than 1,000. 

The American buffalo were ruthlessly slaughtered. Most of them were shot by people commissioned by United States Army or the Army itself. The American buffalo was a primary source of food and hide for Native Americans, and the United States wanted to wipe them out, beginning in 1830. 

“Kill every buffalo you can! Every buffalo dead is an Indian gone,” one colonel said during a hunting expedition. “Buffalo” Bill Cody himself is attributed with killing 4,000 bison in two years. 

In 1889, they reached their lowest level with only 256 buffalo in captivity. Today, the bison population has increased to 150,000-200,000. 

If you want to see bison in the wild, check out Yellowstone National Park. 

Hats were a necessity for most outside activities in the Old West, but they weren’t wearing those oversized headpieces called 10-gallon hat. Those were made popular in the 1920s, via Hollywood depictions of cowboys. 

Instead, cowboys — and ranchers, farmers and people of most other professions — wore a flat-brimmed Stetson called the “Boss of the Plains.” John Stetson himself noticed that the hats being worn in the plains were unsuitable for the weather. Hats made of straw, silk, fur and wool were too hot in the summer or absorbed or captured rain during the spring. 

The Boss was lightweight, waterproof and durable. The inside was insulated enough that it could be used as a bucket of water for a horse, while the brim shed water and was wide enough to protect the neck and eyes from the sun. 

They retailed for $4.50 and were made with nutria fur. That’s about $74 in today’s purchasing power.

The photo above was taken in 1883 of the Dodge City Peace Commission. Some of them are wearing Boss hats. 

Imagine going to a stage play in New York City to see Buffalo Bill Cody and Wild Bill Hickok tell tall tales around a campfire. That’s exactly what happened. Cody came up with a traveling show called Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, and he had several different cast members. The most famous of all was Hickok. 

There weren’t just stage shows, either. There were staged buffalo hunts and recreations of famous events, like a stagecoach robbery.

Cody also had a parade in 1902, and you can see the video at the Library of Congress. 

If you want to see some Buffalo Bill history in person, visit the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave in Golden, Colorado.