12 Facts Proving the Wild West Wasn’t Like We Saw it in Movies

Many people know about the Wild West only from westerns. But in reality, life there was quite different from how movies depict it. For example, the banks were much safer than even today, and no, the first cowboys were not Americans.

We at CHEERY have done some research and want to bust the myths that have been circling this legendary territory.

The Wild West wasn’t all that wild.

The lawlessness all around and lots of dangers for ordinary people is an overstatement. Historians even say that people were more civilized and lawful than today. And the rule of law was ensured not only by the government but also by local autonomous landowners.

The image of women being weaker than men is not true.

Charming housewives, caring about children, is a usual description of a woman in the Wild West in movies. But it was this area where women first had the right to vote, become landlords, travel, and control their lives. And there were a lot of famous female bandits.

Banks were safer than they are today.

Lots of movies about the Wild West show bank robberies. But in a study, scientists found amazing statistics: in Dayton at the beginning of the 2000s, there were more bank robberies that in the cities of the Wild West in one decade. So, the money was much safer and almost nobody got away with it.

Horses weren’t the only means of transportation.

Yes, there was a time when authorities bought camels to transport supplies to distant towns. One of the camels was called the Red Ghost and there was even a scary legend among the people. But they didn’t ride camels for a long time. They weren’t as effective as needed, so most of the animals were sold at auctions.

They cowboy traditions weren’t invented by Americans.

The first cowboys were not American, but Mexican herders, called “vaquero.” It was them who started most of the Wild West traditions — from clothes and slang to the way of handling animals.

Cowboys sang songs to the livestock.

It’s hard to believe that these tough men from westerns would do that, right? But it had a practical purpose. Cowboys sang songs to the livestock to calm it down because upset animals could cause a lot of trouble.

Traffic jams existed back then.

The image of tumbleweed going on an empty road is not true. There was a great number of coaches and horses on dirt roads. And the “lucky” guys who were at the back of such congestion got all the dust.

The tumbleweed didn’t appear there, either.

This plant became iconic because it was shown in movies a lot, but it didn’t grow in the Wild West. The plant called Kali tragus came from Eurasia. It’s incredibly enduring and its early sprouts can even be consumed.

The lifestyle of movie cowboys has nothing to do with reality.

The representation of knights of the road in movies, usually has nothing to do with the life of a real cowboy. Most of the time, they were busy with farm work instead of looking for an adventure.

Cowboy is a multinational phenomenon.

During the peak of the popularity of westerns, cowboys were almost exclusively white, which is historically wrong. There were Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, and immigrants from many lands.

Barbed wire beat cowboys.

It wasn’t the outlaw life and duels that beat cowboys, but barbed wire. It was effective at guarding cattle. Besides, the winter of 1887 was very rough, so the number of cattle decreased dramatically. Therefore, cowboys weren’t as necessary.

Cowboy hats were not as popular as they seem.

Instead of the famous hats that were usually seen in movies, the most popular type of hat in the Wild West was... a bowler. It was more practical and even trendy, and nobody wore the hats we see in westerns. And the famous Stetson hat was different from the way we imagine it. This is what it looked like.

What is your favorite film about the Wild West?