How People In the Wild West Spent Their Free Time

Life on the American frontier was hard, but cowboys, settlers, and miners also had a fair amount of free time to enjoy their home on the range, where the deer and the antelope played

But as various sporting events and recreational activities spread across the country, people in the West were able to take part in some unique experiences

Today, we're going to take a look at how people in the Wild West spent their free time

Okay, partner, time to have some fun. Most people today don't think of traveling salesmen as a source of fun

but that's just because these people never attended a medicine show. Such shows featured salesmen who would provide entertainment

while simultaneously touting the curative properties of the elixirs and tonics they were selling

Think of it as the Old West version of an infomercial. The ointments and liniments these men were selling were often said to contain snake oil

which was believed to be a general cure-all for countless afflictions. Medicine shows made their way around the country

using wagons to carry their proprietary or patent medicines, which they claimed could cure aches, pains, illnesses, and chronic diseases

At a medicine show, onlookers might be treated to amazing feats of strength by muscle men

professors giving lectures about the medicine's effectiveness, and alleged audience members, who were often actors and actresses positioned before the show

that would magically be cured after just one dose of medicine. These shows could be put on by individuals or companies

with many of the latter appropriating Native American cures to sell their medicines

For example, Kickapoo Indian Medicines was a company founded by John Healy and Charles Bigelow

that was well known for its Kickapoo Indian sagwa. This elixir was a mixture of herbs, roots, and animal fat mixed with alcohol

that was marketed as a long-standing cure-all that had been passed down over generations

Although Kickapoo Indian Sagwa was supposed to cure everything from kidney and liver diseases to arthritis

it was really just a powerful laxative. Living picture shows were a type of performance art that featured real-life presentations of paintings and sculptures using actors or models

The first living pictures were educational in nature, but as their content became more and more risque

they morphed into a form of popular entertainment. Living picture shows typically included orchestral music

and could be more hybrid in nature, blending living and still artistic elements

However, while they were popular, they also had plenty of critics. Concerns about immorality and public indecency

prompted groups like the Women's Christian Temperance Union to protest living picture shows on the grounds

that they were degrading, vulgar, and had no artistic value. Kind of like how some parental groups felt about hair metal music in the 1980s Other observers however including many of the participants in the shows saw living pictures as a positive influence that increased the general public knowledge of art

Originating in the early 19th century, minstrel shows typically featured white performers

doing musical and comedic acts while wearing blackface, a practice that is regarded today as a 9.5 on the racist Richter scale

Actors use movement and dialogue to present exaggerated African-American characteristics and culture, intended to be humorous with little regard to how it affected black people

That being said, not all minstrel show performers were white, and many African-American musicians composed songs for these shows

In fact, W.C. Handy and Ma Rainey, known as the father and mother of the blues

were part of the minstrel show phenomenon. The former even noted that while minstrels were generally

a disreputable lot in the eyes of most African Americans, all the best talent of that generation

the composers, the singers, the musicians, the speakers, the stage performers, were part of such acts

Another prominent black performer, James Bland, who is also known as the world's greatest minstrel man

even drew in African American audiences with his well-regarded compositions and musical performances

European boxers like Jem Mace arrived in the United States in the mid-1800s

and helped popularize boxing throughout the country. Mace put on boxing exhibitions, demonstrating his skills for audiences

Now regarded as the father of modern boxing, Mace fought in numerous bouts in California and Nevada

The growth of prize fighting in the American West was largely due to the influence of immigrants, especially the Irish, who had a long tradition

in the sport. Not all boxers were from abroad, though. Successful American fighters John Shansey and Mike Donovan famously went up against each

other in a match refereed by the now legendary Marshal Wyatt Earp in 1869

Bare-knuckled and ready to fight, these pugilists became so prolific through the late 19th century

that the federal government actually had to enact an anti-prize-fighting bill in 1896

We did make a whole video about this subject, but hangings in the Wild West were carried out ostensibly

in the name of justice, but they were also considered popular entertainment

Townspeople, as well as individuals from the surrounding areas, would enthusiastically gather to watch crooks be sent off for their final reward

William Van Horn, for example, was a convicted slayer from Kansas, who was hanged in Colorado in December 1863

in front of at least 1,500 men, women, and children. For William Wilson a ranch hand from New Mexico the deed took place in front of a large angry group in 1875 Known as the Prince of Hangmen George Maladon functioned as the executioner for Judge Isaac

Parker in Arkansas. Maladon hanged 22 men over seven public hangings between 1873 and 1876

Thousands of people made the trek to see Maladon's executions, advertised well in advance

Maladon's hangings would usually feature five or six men being dropped from the scaffold simultaneously

But what if you were thirsty for blood but just couldn't make it to the hanging

Were you just out of luck? Nope. Viewing a dead criminal's body was usually an option, too

For example, hundreds of people were able to see Jesse James' remains when they were displayed for public viewing in 1882

That's not as many as turned out to see Brad Pitt play Jesse James in the 2007 movie

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, but it's not that bad of a turnout either

In the Wild West, folks gambled on anything and everything, from horse races to marksmanship contests to card games

Servicemen and miners gambled in camps, town residents gathered at saloons and gambling halls

and professional gamblers tended to roam from town to town, looking to score big along the way

One of the card games played in the Old West was one that's still wildly popular today

Poker. The game was known to be enjoyed by legendary figures like James Butler, Wild Bill Hickok

and John Henry, Doc Holliday, men who continued to personify the manly gambler of the frontier

The best poker players were said to play with their backs to the wall, so no one could sneak up behind them or see their cards

And just like in the movies, any gambling session could turn violent at the drop of a hat

So smart gamblers were always on guard and ready to pull a sidearm when tempers began to flare

Other popular card games of the era include Euchre, Blackjack, Monty, and Farrow

As more and more settlers migrated west, gambling halls became more common in cities like Omaha, Austin, Virginia City, and San Francisco

These establishments were met with a mixed reception by observers. social reformers predictably associated them with aggression, heavy drinking, and moral depravity

while successful gamblers and those who invested in the gambling trade predictably viewed them as a public and economic good

Circuses and sideshows, the latter usually just being a euphemism for so-called freak shows

presented unique physical specimens to enthusiastic audiences. These shows usually advertise their arrival well in advance, hyping novelty acts and animal

wonders In fact even just the setup for the circus was something of a show in itself with onlookers watching as people animals and equipment flooded into town via wagon Like today circuses featured magnificent creatures like elephants alongside horses

that galloped and performed intricate maneuvers. Acrobats and clowns entertained audiences, while sideshow attractions typically included conjoined twins, bearded ladies, and dwarves

With the expansion of the railroad during the late 19th century, circuses were able to move

around the country with greater ease, bringing even more acts with them. It became big business

and by the end of the century, the newly formed Barnum and Bailey Circus had more than 1,200

performers and hundreds of animals regularly performing in front of thousands of people

under a large canvas tent. Sports have always been popular in the U.S., and when cowboys

rustlers, trappers, and other men on the frontier gathered, they would often take part in

hunting, marksmanship competitions, or foot races. Horse racing was widely enjoyed, and as men boasted

about their strength and physical capabilities, they would often get involved in heated wrestling

matches and fights. Other popular activities included gymnastics, dog and cockfighting, log rolling, and even axe throwing. Bowling became popular during the middle of the 19th century

as did skiing, and those lucky enough to be near one of the stops along the Cincinnati Red Stockings

tour of the West would have been able to catch a professional baseball game starting in 1869

Roping, riding, and wrestling contests drew spectators throughout the 19th century, although the term rodeo wasn't actually applied to these events until about 100 years later

Born out of the ranching tradition, rodeos started out as informal competitions between

cattle rustlers and cowhands. As cowboys traversed the American frontier, they often

showed off their skills at local saloons or on the open range. Spectators would gather to watch, and toward the end

of the century, a decline in employment opportunities for cowboys prompted many to join Wild West shows

Soon, the Wild West became less wild, and audiences sought to capture a piece of frontier life

before their very eyes, and rodeos grew in popularity as a form of entertainment

As early as 1873, William F. Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill

put on exhibitions during which he reenacted frontier adventures. These shows usually featured rope tricks and other cattle rustling tricks

accompanied by displays of marksmanship and the presentation of Native Americans in full tribal garb

By the late 1880s and early 1890s, cowboy competitions in towns like Prescott, Arizona, and Cheyenne, Wyoming

started offering prizes for the best bronco and steer rides. It became big business, and by 1929, the Rodeo Association of America had formed to oversee the quickly expanding sport