Anyone else here fascinated by The Old American West?

Are you Australian? Now that you mention it, there was the equivalent in Australia, which I'd forgotten about.

I wonder if it extended up into Canada too, from say Montana in the US. It'd make sense if it did, just not something I've heard of.

"Europeans came a long way in ships that were powered by the wind, landed on uncharted territory and managed to build a civilization despite everything that was against them."

Yes! Not a choice for the mild, that's for sure. A hardy bunch, those people. Difficult for us to imagine just how hard a life that was.

NO CELL PHONES! 😱😄

Yes they were. Gun fights were fairly common, including one-on-one "showdowns." Dueling was a thing on the east coast of the US. It was so "popular" a way to "settle" an argument or slight or perceived slight, they had to start outlawing them 😳. It carried over into The West, but in a wilder, less structured and "gentlemanly" way.

Has this news cheered you up? 😀

It would be interesting, but I'd only want to be there for a few hours. It was rough, lots of people in survival mode, on top of the incurable diseases.

Where would you go? I would *not* want to be on a wagon train, or a homestead out in the prairie. It'd have to be some kind of town, with water!

Did you ever see The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid? Duvall was in that. It was the first western that intrigued me because they captured what I thought it must have been like. Unlike the earlier John Wayne movies and the TV shows, which always struck me as being sanitised.

That said, I have seen and enjoyed many of those old shows. Bonanza was another one.

Same for me, although I do find ghost towns to be fascinating. Treatment of the Native Americans and Chinese, yes, and yet I find old Chinatowns to be fascinating too. A number of them have survived.

Exactly and not forgetting the treatment of black people as well. For example, the infantry of black people are almost never mentioned in westerns. Glory seem to be an exception.

I admire them too. The hardships they endured are unimaginable to us. I suppose that's one of the reasons it intrigues me and I love watching documentaries about it, trying to imagine what it must have been like to live then.

I don't remember now, have you seen The Homesman? Db recommended it to me a while back, and it was excellent. Brutal, depressing, but excellent. For me it made the period live. Plus it was beautifully shot and well acted.

There are still so many fascinating tales to tell about the people who lived back then, beyond outlaws, showdowns, wagon trains, and sheriffs. The Homesman tells such a tale.

How did that fight change the American west?

Sounds like an interesting book. Recently I saw a documentary on Doc Holliday. It was good.

They're probably had their day. It was a good long run. No doubt they'll still make westerns here and there, but nothing like it once was.

I got into Westworld for a while. Life got in the way, and I lost track of where I left off with it. It was interesting, but not a western.

Have you seen Deadwood? I haven't. I've heard it was good.