Dr. History's Tales of the Old West

To become a widow along the trail could mean being left behind or worse. Help and compassion would only go so far. Widows driving the wagon might lose an unattended child to accidents. Disease also took its toll on the children. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stephen Meek convinced a wagon train to let him guide them on a short cut across Oregon to the Dalles. Within days it went bad. Feed and water were scarce. Hard sharp rocks cut the animals feet. The immigrants soon realized Meek was lost. A typhus outbreak began to take lives. Abandoned and starving, it fell to Mose Harris to lead a rescue party. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Marcus Whitman and some friendly New Perce Indians helped prevent the hostile Walla Wallas from attacking their wagon train. On reaching the Columbia River, she joined her husband in taking the cattle over the Cascade Mountains. Their food was stolen, a blinding snowstorm nearly froze them, cold and starving they finally made it to Oregon City. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mildred Douglas was a champion bronc rider and appeared in films. Kitty Canutt, nicknamed "Diamond Girl" because she had a diamond set in a tooth, would sometimes pawn to pay her entry fee. Pearl Biron was a master of the Australian bullwhip. Bonnie Gray could perform the "under the belly crawl" stunt. Mamie Francis and her horse jumped from thirty feet into a tank filled with water. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cowboys have been killed bulldogging, but that didn’t stop 138 pound Eloise "Fox" Hastings from competing against men. She traveled with Wild West shows throughout the country riding and roping. She suffered concussions, broken legs, crushed ribs and fractured arms, but said, "I like the thrill when I match my 135 pounds against a half ton of brute force." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

America's first cowgirl. There wasn't a horse she couldn't ride. She performed at age 13 in her father's wild west show, but she wanted to compete in steer roping. She competed against men, including Will Rogers. She drew large crowds wherever she performed her riding and roping skills, including steer roping which she often won. She was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mackenzie abandoned the river and began the trek westward. Some Carrier Indians agreed to guide the group. They meet the friendly industrious Bella Coola tribe, who agreed to guide them the rest of the way. Trouble began when they met the Bella Bella tribe who attacked and tried to kill them. They reached the Pacific, and after 74 days and 1,200 hundred miles returned to the fort where they began. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Washington Irving caused a lot of excitement about the Northwest with his book. The North West and Hudson's Bay Companies established the fur trade in Canada. Pond was a celebrity with a violent temper, but a frontier genius who blazed trails across half the continent and set up as a fur trader. He also led an expedition discovering an enormous region full of fur bearing animals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1789 he set out to reach the Pacific by way of the great "River of the West" but failed. In 1793 he made a second attempt with ten men and a dog in a single canoe. Some of the rivers were impassable, but they portaged around the rapids. They crossed the continental divide, low on rations, they set out on foot to reach the Pacific. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

His book, "The White Indian Boy," relates his experience of running away to live with Shoshone Chief Washakie. He witnessed a battle between the Shoshone and Crow tribes with many killed. He nearly had his leg amputated by the medicine man. He was a pony express rider, blacksmith, carpenter, rancher, prison guard, prison inmate, trader, trapper and "frontier doctor." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sometimes it was luck, others a knowledge of geology and some it was buying the right stock. Eilley Orum, the Queen of the Washoe made millions but died poor. Four Irishmen became the Kings of the Washoe, earning $138 million form two mines and millions more investing in the right stock. All four died wealthy leaving millions to family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"High grading" was the practice of workers stealing a few pounds of high-grade ore to sell to crooked assayers. Professional gamblers rushed to each new strike to relieve the workers of the hard-earned money. Women were scarce on the mining frontier, but when they showed up, they were treated with extreme respect. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There was always a way to cheat potential buyers of a non-productive mine. From dishonest assayers, to salting a mine with gold or silver from another mine, to selling worthless stock. Some owners assessed the stockholders on played out mines that never produced. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With more steamers on the rivers, it was the perfect place for professional gamblers. Unwary passengers with rolls of money were the perfect victims for the crooked gamblers. Cheaters were sometimes caught and kicked off by the captain. James Bowie caught a cheater, and with the use of the knife he was famous for, taught the crooks a lesson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The games always involved gambling. How many arrows could be in the air at one time. Throwing a pole through a moving hoop. "Double ball" was played by the women as well as foot races. Husbands and wives could wager all their spouses belongings, sometimes losing it all, which could cause some serious discussions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Native Americans would gamble for religious purposes as well for entertainment. They could lose all their worldly goods with a roll of the dice, the guess of who holds a bean or a game called “ball play”, similar to lacrosse. Gambling between tribes has been going on for centuries before the white man showed up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Molly Brown visits us from beyond the grave for a person-to-person interview. The Lady from Leadville, married Johnny Brown, became amazingly wealthy and traveled the world. She tells us of her experience on the Titanic. She always was there to help those in need. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Almost everyone gambled in the old west, from kids to the old folks. Fortunes were won or lost with the toss of the dice or turn of a card. Gamblers could be found in large or small towns, mining camps, rail workers camps, anyplace where a few men wanted some excitement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The railroads needed settlers to fill the land. They spent a lot of money promoting the land, even sending people to Europe to entice them to come to America. Towns needed a railroad spur to ensure they town would grow, some did, others just disappeared. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Southern Pacific encouraged settlers to farm and improve on their land grants with the understanding they would be able to buy it for from $2.50 to $5 per acre. When the railroad raised that price to $25 and $35 an acre, the farmers revolted. They were being evicted from the land they had worked for years. In the end the railroad won. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From silent movies to the modern, John Wayne stands out as the most famous star. He started as a prop boy and extra, but with the help of John Ford he made the step from B movies to the big screen. John Wayne and hundreds of other Hollywood cowboys made history and brought the old west alive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In its first year, 150,000 passengers rode the Transcontinental Railroad from Omaha to Sacramento, that number rose to a million. Some traveled for a vacation, others to a destination. Comfort varied between first class with beds and exotic food to the emigrants who brought their own food and sat the whole journey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gary Cooper was a top male box-office attraction and could star in westerns or modern movies. Fans expected death -defying deeds as well as a hero with high moral standards. John Ford created the “epic” western high budget movies like “Stagecoach” which rescued an actor named John Wayne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Early movies needed a hero, Gilbert Anderson became Broncho Billy and made a sequel a week, making $50,000 per show. Bill Hart became a clean-cut hero creating the look of the Old West. Next, Tom Mix was a good athlete and did his own stunts while dressed in all white hat and clothes. By 1925 he was making $17,500 a week and was a star to millions until he died in a car wreck. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The film industry began in the early 1900’s. Cowboys found less work on ranches, but could make more money being extras and stunt doubles in early Western movies. It could be dangerous work, but some went on to become movies stars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mules, Frozen Hands, "Big" Ed, A Magic Cow, A Horse called "Firecracker" another called "The Black Demon" and a true champion bronc rider. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The First Cattle Drive, A cowboy who nearly drowned, Hank Vaughn, Horse Trading, A lone cowboy and Seven White Horses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He worked for several of the big stage companies. He saw the need for short lines to small towns and mines. From Salt Lake he served nearly every community along the Wasatch Mountains and grew into one of the largest and wealthiest companies in the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Saluda had been sunk, raised, patched and put into service on the Missouri River. Captain Belt said he was going to make it up the river or blow it up, and that’s what happened. The Sultana was taking released Union prisoners of war North. A greedy captain was paid by how many passengers he could crowd onto the Sultana. 1195 passengers died as a result of a boiler explosion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John Napton took a chance on the Imperial to get home from Fort Benton. A miserable voyage, constantly getting stuck on sand bars, no pilot, food with worms and passengers having to get out into the river to pull the boat off sand bars. He joined other passengers to finish the voyage in a salvaged Mackinaw. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sir Richard Burton thought the military would appreciate the help of genuine British soldier. He wrote of his experiences which helped entice his fellow countrymen to immigrate and invest in the cattle industry. Wealthy Englishwomen soon adapted to the western way of life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Visitors from Europe wrote of their adventures in the west, which prompted many to immigrate. The Earl of Dunraven wrote a book, others kept journals of the weather, the food and clothing to impress friends back home. Sir Richard Burton offered instructions on the art of gunslinging. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Publishers and their equipment met with some danger. Presses dumped in rivers. Publishers dodging cannon balls, kidnapped, thrown into jail, tarred and feathered and nearly hung by disgruntled readers. Desperate for news, some made up outrageous stories, such as the famed, "Wampus Cat." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Easterners needed someone they could trust to tell them what they could expect in the West. New York Times journalist Horace Greeley was the expert. His famous words, “Go West, young man, go West” inspired many to leave their homes for the vast unknown. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A steamboat could make $80,000 for the cargo and passengers going to Fort Benton in the Montana gold fields. Life was hard for the deck hands and crew. There was danger at every turn, of 700 steamboats, 300 were destroyed by snags, explosions and sand bars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chief Little Mountain was chosen to lead the Kiowas. The military held peace talks which lasted a decade until the gold rushes brought thousands across their lands. Another treaty further reduced their land. Was there to be peace or war? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Islandman was the chief of the KIowas. He failed to protect his tribe after a brutal battle with the Osage. The tribe had a unique method for choosing a new leader. Little Mountain became the chief for the next 33 years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Christmas Truce, personal stories and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The cowboy’s identity was his horse. The lariat, gun, a fancy hat and good boots were standard equipment. A cowboy’s speech was roughly one third profanity, with son-of-a-(yes, that word) being the most common. They were a hardworking, never complaining, tough and dedicated men. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Artists like Remington and Russell dramatized the cowboy life, but was it reality? They often went long hours in bad weather, with little food or sleep. Cowboys came from all walks of life and countries, some to get away from the law. From his prized Stetson, spurs, boots and chaps, his life centered on that unlovable creature called a cow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bullboats, dugout canoes and even rafts were handmade and could hold tons of furs and gear. Also handmade were lightweight pad saddles, buckskin gun cases, calf knee gun protectors, tomahawk and knife sheaths, leggings and leather pouches for carrying food and supplies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ornery, cantankerous, unwashed and a master trapper. Captured by Apaches, they took all his belongings and turned him loose to walk over two hundred miles barefoot. Usually very cautious, he made the mistake of agreeing to be a guide for John C. Fremont. The expedition was a disaster that ended with the death of Old Bill. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mountain man, trapper and author of “Journal of a Trapper.” Camped near Yellowstone Lake, he and his companion were attacked by Blackfoot Indians. Both wounded by arrows, they managed to escape by hiding in the thick brush and were able to walk back to Fort Hall. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The grizzly was the animal the trappers feared worst. They say if confronted, stand your ground and stare the bear in the eyes and he will leave. But trapper Marie and others who encountered bears carried scars the rest of their lives. Men were in the land where the grizzly was king. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He was a cold, calculating and ruthless businessman, but was successful at the fur trading business. He followed Lewis and Clark for several years with bands of trappers that included some who were with Lewis and Clark. He underpaid his trappers and overcharged them for supplies, but died a rich man. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trappers built cabins or lived in tipis near friendly Indians. Clothing was made by the Indian wives. Entire outfits, moccasins, leggings, shirts, and robes. The tipi was kept clean and organized with a pot of food always cooking to feed visitors. They moved if forage or food became scarce. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A successful trapper had to know the business. Where and how to set his traps, how to care for the pelts and how to survive the winter. He could read signs of possible danger from Indians, and which were friendly. His occupational disease was rheumatism from the hours standing in icy cold rivers and streams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nearly everyone could pan $10 to $15 dollars a day. There were the big ones who took $26,000, another $20,000 in a few weeks. Some made $800 to $1500 a day, but it wasn't easy. Standing in knee deep cold water all day caused colds, fevers and pneumonia. Supplies cost many times they're worth. Out of ten million dollars in gold, only about 5% made their fortunes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Early pamphlets and settlers bragged of the virtues of this land of milk and honey. Salmon, good timber, abundant crops and productive gardens. Getting there was another story. Totally unprepared immigrants got lost, ran out of food, oxen that gave out, facing extremes of weather and diseases. But, many persevered and made it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Paiute believed the white people would someday come to "heal all the old trouble." Sarah Winnemucca and her people were disappointed how the immigrants treated them. Sarah was considered the first Native American to write her autobiography. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices