Can you people tell me about the wild west?

Question

I am writing a book (for fun) and I did search the internet, but did not find the stuff I want. Can you tell me about the wild west, the outlaws, what they did, were they hunted, what type of guns they used, and some names for people back then girls and guys names. And anything else that may come to good help in my book, about the wild west, and outlaws.
Can my story take place in Texas? and also, about what time did it take place

Answer 1

You can place it much earlier in time if you have it in Texas. To get a good time frame, do a search on the Alamo to find out when that battle took place and when Texas became a republic.

You can also do a quick search on Texas statehood.

Keep in mind that the most famous outlaws were up around Wyoming, not Texas. Butch Cassidy and the Hole in the Wall gang operated out of east central Wyoming. There was another train robber named Bill Car-lie-all (can't spell the last name at the moment so I did it phonetically) who robbed trains as last as the 1930s. He was also in Wyoming and got a lot of sympathy from locals because they knew WHY he was robbing trains.

Your best reference book for writing a book in this setting is "The Writer's Guide to the 1800's." It has prices, details on clothing and guns, and even the slang of the period.

Oh, keep in mind that the one-on-one gunfights in the movies DID happen. They grew out of the dueling tradition and were governed pretty much by the same rules. My great-grandfather talked about one that took place in 1888 in one of his letters. Someone had tampered with the loser's gun so he couldn't fire.

Answer 2

There are sooo many stories about the old west and some of them are actually true. For definitive answers you might want to ask your questions of the Librarian at the Library of Congress' website: loc.gov. There you find out such wonderful tidbits of info such as the fact that Wyatt Earp and his brothers were horse thieves chased out of California just ahead of a posse bent on hanging them. Or the fact that Bat Masterson used to pay little kids to tell him when some one was looking for him so he could sneak around behind that person and shoot them in the back and claim it was a fair fight. And since he and his deputies owned most of the businesses everyone was happy to go along. Or the fact the General George Armstrong Custer was actually promoted by mistake when he was going to be cashiered from the military for incompetence originally.

Answer 3

I t depends on what you want. Go to the early 1800's for the early west. If you want conflict, go to the late 1800's and the turn of century. Then you get the conflict of old, unlawful ways with new, industrialized ways. Web search old El Paso, TX. You will get a wealth of information plus more contacts.

Answer 4

This is an extensive subject. You might try reading some Louie LaMore books