QUIZ: How Well Do You Know The Legends Of The Old West?
Few things bring a uniquely American way of life to mind, like the Old West. As rugged pioneers explored the western United States to find new homes for themselves, others pursued the American Dream in the form of the Gold Rush that characterized much of the era.
However, given the importance of the Old West to American culture, it can be easy to lose the truth of what happened in the mythology surrounding that period. But how sharp are you about what really went down back then?
Who went from a dentist to an infamous outlaw?
A. Wyatt Earp
B. Johnny Ringo
C. John Henry “Doc” Holliday
D. Vigil Earp
Answer: John Henry “Doc” Holliday
According to the Encyclopedia Of The Great Plains, Doc Holliday moved out to Dallas, Texas, after contracting tuberculosis, which made him more frail than his reputation would suggest. But while he certainly wasn’t above resorting to violence, he exaggerated his reputation as an outlaw to deter others from taking advantage of his poor lifelong health.
What hunter famously starred in Buffalo Bill’s show?
A. Annie Oakley
B. Calamity Jane
C. Lillian West
D. Zee James
Answer: Annie Oakley
According to PBS, Annie Oakley honed her legendary skills by hunting game to support her mother and ended up marrying Frank Butler after beating him in a contest. But her star really rose when she wowed audiences of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show with her array of dazzling trick shots.
When did the California Gold Rush begin?
A. 1865
B. 1848
C. 1856
D. 1860
Answer: 1848
As PBS reported, the California Gold Rush that began with the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill on January 24, 1848, is now considered one of the most significant events of the 19th Century. Not only because it caused the great migration in United States history but because the money generated from all this activity in California stimulated the U.S. economy enough to fund ambitious projects like the intercontinental railroad.
Who defeated Custer at Little Big Horn and joined Buffalo Bill?
A. Geronimo
B. Crazy Horse
C. Red Cloud
D. Sitting Bull
Answer: Sitting Bull
After all Native Americans were ordered onto reservations in 1876, Sitting Bull was one of the political and spiritual leaders who resisted. After the 2,000 Sioux warriors under his command defeated General Custer’s forces, he fled to Canada for several years only to be arrested upon return to the Dakota region. However, he was able to join Buffalo Bill Cody’s famous Wild West Show after meeting and befriending Annie Oakley. According to PBS, he eventually returned to the Standing Rock Reservation after witnessing American poverty in his travels.
Which Old West town was the “wickedest city in America?”
A. Taft, Montana
B. Dodge City, Kansas
C. Phenix City, Alabama
D. Davenport, Iowa
Answer: Dodge City, Kansas
Given the legend of famous residents like Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday and the common catchphrase, “get out of Dodge,” the reputation of Dodge City, Kansas, as the most violent town in the Old West has been well-established by now. But as Robert R. Dykstra and Jo Ann Manfra wrote in Dodge City And The Birth Of The Wild West, the town was more a victim of sensationalist press fuelled by a local lawyer named Harry Gryden than it was any more violent than many other cities during that tumultuous time.
How did Henry McCarty become Billy The Kid?
A. By helped “Sombrero Jack” steal clothing from a laundry
B. By robbing a train with Jesse James
C. By robbing a break by himself
D. He gave himself the name William H. Bonney
Answer: He gave himself the name William H. Bonney
Although The History Channel does note that Billy The Kid’s first known criminal act was to steal laundry with Sombrero Jack, he wouldn’t give himself the name William H. Bonney until two years later.
How did Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid die?
A. They fell into an issue with the Bolivian army
B. Butch betrayed Sundance and died shortly after
C. They tried to escape over a waterfall and drowned
D. It remains a mystery
Answer: It remains a mystery
Although The History Channel said that accounts from 1908 suggest Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid died after getting into a problem with the Bolivian army as they did in the movie, there’s no evidence linking them to the Aramayo mine payroll robbery in question. When the bodies of the suspected outlaws involved were exhumed, it was revealed that they weren’t Butch and Sundance.
Why did Lewis and Clark go on their expedition?
A. They just had a spirit of adventure
B. They wanted to find gold in the west
C. They were tasked with exploring the Louisiana Purchase
D. They wanted to become famous
Answer: They were tasked with exploring the Louisiana Purchase
According to the National Archives, Meriweather Lewis and William Clark led a diverse group of explorers across the territory claimed in the Louisiana Purchase in a two-year journey at the behest of then-president Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson was specifically hoping they would find a water route linking the Columbia and Missouri Rivers.
According to people in the Old West, what’s a greenhorn?
A. A rookie who doesn’t understand the tricks of the trade
B. Someone moving out west from a big, eastern city
C. A derogatory term for recent immigrants into the United States
D. Someone scatter-brained who rustlers could get an easy jump on
Answer: Someone moving out west from a big, eastern city
Although “greenhorn” would eventually come to mean someone who is inexperienced at their job, Voice Of America News outlined the term as originally describing people who tried to make lives for themselves out west after leaving major cities on the East Coast. Those city environs ill-prepared them for life in a more rustic part of the country.
Why did The Oregon Trail end in Oregon?
A. The American government wanted the British to give up the Oregon territory
B. It was a lush, beautiful land that was irresistible to travelers
C. It was the only part of America that hadn’t been settled yet
D. The California Gold Rush extended into Oregon
Answer: The American government wanted the British to give up the Oregon territory
According to the National Park Service, Lewis and Clark’s expedition had the secret goal of opening Oregon to American settlement. Whether they had patriotic goals in mind or just wanted a better life on cheap land, thousands of Americans would end up settling in the future state by 1846. In that year, the plan had worked, and England ceded Oregon to the United States.
What lawman made his legend at O.K. Corral?
A. Billy Clanton
B. Neal Brown
C. Tom McLowry
D. Wyatt Earp
Answer: Wyatt Earp
According to PBS, Wyatt Earp was a Tombstone, Arizona, lawman who organized a posse against a gang of criminal cowboys led by Billy Clanton. But while he emerged from the fight at the O.K. Corral unharmed and was made a Deputy U.S. Marshall soon after, Earp would lose his brother Morgan and see his brother Virgil permanently injured after unknown attackers retaliated.
Where did the famous Chisholm Trail start when it was created?
A. The Rio Grande River
B. San Antonio, Texas
C. Abilene, Kansas
D. Weatherford, Texas
Answer: San Antonio, Texas
Although The Chisholm Trail would evolve to the extent that it eventually started at the Rio Grande river that ran along the U.S.-Mexico border by the 1870s, its starting point was near San Antonio when Jesse Chisholm first created it in 1865. It was a path that let cowboys drive cattle to Abilene, Kansas, where they could be shipped by train throughout the country.
Who did Jesse James famously conduct his robberies with?
A. His older brother Frank
B. His wife Zee
C. Robert Ford
D. Bill Anderson
Answer: His older brother Frank
Accompanied by Cole and Bob Younger, Jesse James and his brother Frank would rob stagecoaches, banks, and trains until a disastrous bank robbery broke up their gang in September of 1876. But while PBS noted that Frank was content to lay low after this, Jesse would return to crime in 1879 before meeting his end at Robert Ford’s hand three years later.
What Native American woman famously guided Lewis and Clark?
A. Pocahontas
B. Sacagawea
C. Dahteste
D. Lozen
Answer: Sacagawea
![[redacted] Guiding the Lewis And Clark Expedition by Alfred Russell](https://media.tellmebest.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/sacajawea-guiding-the-lewis-and-clark-expedition-by-alfred-russell-17252.jpeg)
Although the National Women’s History Museum noted that Sacagawea’s work guiding Lewis and Clark through what is now Idaho and Montana has since been exaggerated to include their whole journey, that’s not the only way she was invaluable. Barely 17, the brave and resourceful young woman also helped the explorers forage for edible plants and was crucial as a translator and negotiator when their group encountered the Shoshone and Hidatsa tribes.
What sheriff was responsible for finding Billy The Kid after he escaped Death Row?
A. Wyatt Earp
B. James Brent
C. John W. Poe
D. Pat Garrett
Answer: Pat Garrett
According to
The History Channel
, Billy The Kid holed up in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, after escaping from death row on April 28, 1881. However, his lack of a low profile made it easy for Sheriff Pat Garrett and two deputies to pursue him. After a chance encounter at rancher Peter Maxwell’s home, Garrett caught Kid on July 14, 1881.
Who founded the Texas Rangers?
A. Davy Crockett
B. Stephen F. Austin
C. Jim Bowie
D. Sam Houston
Answer: Stephen F. Austin
By 1823, American-born settlers in what was then the Mexican territory of Texas were dissatisfied with the government’s militia, who they didn’t see as sufficiently patrolling the area. This led Stephen F. Austin — one of the most prominent of these settlers — to supplement the militia with ten men he paid out of his own pocket. During the Texas Revolution of 1836, this organization, known as the Texas Rangers, would become an official arm of the provisional government.
What was the first national park established in the United States?
A. Hot Springs
B. Yosemite
C. Yellowstone
D. Zion
Answer: Yellowstone
According to the National Park Service, what is now the Yellowstone National Park was originally going to be divided into private land until an expedition made photos of its natural wonders public. These images convinced Congress to do what had been done at the state level in Yosemite, California, and Hot Springs, Arkansas, and designate Yellowstone as America’s first national park in the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act of 1872.
What was the name of Butch Cassidy’s gang?
A. The Cassidy Crew
B. Butch’s Brothers
C. The Wild Guys
D. The Wild Bunch
Answer: The Wild Bunch
Although Butch Cassidy was most famously associated with the Sundance Kid, that was far from the only robber he worked with. According to
PBS
, Cassidy’s were known as the Wild Bunch, and Sundance joined them about seven years after they robbed the San Miguel Valley Bank for $20,000. That amount would be worth over $600,000 today.
Who is credited with making it across The Oregon Trail first?
A. Nathaniel Wyeth
B. Robert Stuart
C. William Sublette
D. Margaret A. Frink
Answer: Robert Stuart
Although the National Park Service noted that Native Americans had used The Oregon Trail for years before any settlers traversed it, the first among those settlers credited for making it across was a fur trader named Robert Stuart. He led a group that would establish Fort Astoria at the Columbia River.
What was the nickname of James Butler Hickok?
A. Lucky Jimmy
B. Wild Bill
C. Mad Dog
D. Old Smokey
Answer: Wild Bill
According to History Nebraska, “Wild Bill” Hickok first earned that nickname while working for a stagecoach and freighting company called Russell, Majors, & Waddell. The company had agreed to buy Rock Creek Station in Jefferson County from a man named David McCanles. But after McCanles argued with Hickok over the sale, Hickok went wild and wound up standing trial for crimes committed against McCanles.
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