Page 62 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Southwest USA & National Parks

60  ARIZ ONA INTRODUCING ARIZ ONA  61

The Wild West Cowboy fashion began to appear in
advertisements in around 1900. The ever
Romanticized in a thousand cowboy movies, the “Wild West” popular Levi Strauss denim clothing can be
conjures up images of tough men herding cattle across the bought across the region (see p264).
country before living it up in a saloon. But frontier life was far
from romantic. Settlers arriving in this wilderness were
caught up in a first-come-first-served battle for land and
wealth, fighting Native Americans and each other for land.
The rugged life of the mining prospectors and ranch
cowboys helped to create the idea of the American West.
Today, visitors can still see mining ghost towns such as Old mining cottages, such as this
Jerome (see p76) or enjoy re-enacted gunfights on the one, may be seen in the Southwest’s
streets of Tombstone (see p96). In the late 19th century, many former mining towns. The
region’s mining past can be traced
however, such survival skills as good shooting often in towns such as Oatman (see p74)
co-existed with a kill-or-be-killed ethos. and Bisbee (see p96).
Guided trail rides are a great way to explore
the Wild West and are part of the package of
A reward poster for activities available at dude ranches (see p235).
William Bonney (better These ranches offer visitors the opportunity to
known as Billy the Kid), experience the contemporary cowboy lifestyle.
who was one of the
Wild West’s most Horses were vividly depicted in Remington’s
notorious outlaws. dramatic action scenes. They were painted with
astonishing realism, revealing a profound
He was eventually knowledge of their behavior and physique.
tracked and killed by
Sheriff Pat Garrett at
Fort Sumner on July 14,
1881 (see p229). The Gunfight at the OK Corral
One of the most famous tales of the Wild
West is the Gunfight at the OK Corral, in
Tombstone, Arizona (see p96). This struggle
pitted two clans against each other, the
Clantons and the Earps. The usual, often
Deadwood Dick was the disputed, version features the Clantons as
nickname of cowboy Nat no-good outlaws and the Earps as the
Love – earned because of forces of law and order. In 1881 Virgil Earp
his cattle-roping skills. was the town marshal, and his brothers
Although there were Morgan and Wyatt were temporary
around 5,000 black deputies. The showdown on October
cowboys, there are no 26 had the Earps and their ally Doc
sights or museums Holliday on one side and Billy Clanton and
commemorating the McLaury brothers, Tom and Frank, on
them in the the other. Of the seven combatants, only
Southwest Wyatt Earp emerged untouched by a
today. bullet. Billy, Tom, and Frank were all killed.
Southwestern Cowboys Wyatt Earp moved to Los Angeles, where
Cowboys were famous for he died in 1929.
their horsemanship and New York-born artist Frederic Sackrider
sense of camaraderie. The Remington (1861–1909) became well known
painting shows two friends for his epic portraits of cowboys, horses, soldiers,
attempting to save another. and Native Americans in the late 19th century.
One such example of his work is the oil painting
Aiding a Comrade (1890), which celebrates the
The Questionable bravery and loyalty of the cowboy, at a time
Companionship (1902) when they and small-scale ranchers were being
by Frederic Remington superceded by powerful mining companies and
highlights the tensions ranching corporations. Remington lamented the
between Native Americans
and the US army, who had passing of these heroes: “Cowboys! There are no
played a central role in cowboys anymore!” Scene from the 1957 film, Gunfight at the OK Corral, with
removing tribes from their Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas
ancestral lands.

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Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Feature template “UK” LAYER
(SourceReport v1.3)
Date 18th October 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm