Like many folks, I grew up watching Westerns, so when I think of wagon trains of pioneers, I think of circling the wagons to defend against native attacks. Western movies like the epic “How the West was Won” all contain scenes where Native Americans attack wagon trains. I probably watched over 1,000 “Indian raids” against pioneer wagons on TV as a kid. Scenes like this one from “Wagon Train” are filled with constant gunfire.
But none of it was true. Every one of those gunshots is a lie. It’s all completely made up, another gun myth that’s false. And everyone who grew up watching this nonsense, has the wrong impression of the actual history of pioneers, Native Americans and guns.
More pioneers were killed by gun accidents than native raids, according to the Scott’s Bluff National Monument rangers who studied pioneer deaths along the trails from 1841-1869. It is true that many pioneers were paranoid about attacks by Native American tribes and brought guns, but when they hit the trail they soon learned that the natives were peaceful and frequently traded with the pioneers. Actual attacks on pioneer wagons were “so rare or non-existent that they can’t be measured”. Gun accidents during transportation, hunting and among the settlers were frequent enough to be a significant cause of death on the trails.
The phrase ‘circling the wagons’ meant gathering everyone together for cooking, heat, light, conversation and singing, not for defense. Interactions with Native Americans were peaceful as a rule, as the natives were interested in trading animal skins for cloth, in particular. Incidentally, the settlers often called their wagons “prairie schooners”, imagining the tall grass fields as waves on the ocean. And they all walked. The wagons were only for carrying supplies, and anyone who could walk, walked the whole way. The Mormons pulled their own hand carts to save the cost of oxen. I suppose putting toddlers in the wagons alone with guns caused some accidents.
1 in 10 emigrant pioneers died along the California, Oregon and Mormon Trails. But the main cause of death was cholera, by far. Since cholera causes acute diarrhea and some vomiting, it spread in the water sources near the trail. At the time, the pioneers didn’t know what caused cholera, and what medicine they used were mostly emetics like ipecac which caused more vomiting. So they (and their animals) just drank water from the streams in the morning and some were dead by dusk. True, but not great Hollywood drama.
So what actually protected the pioneers was coffee. Folks who drank coffee were saved from cholera by boiling water. (I suppose tea drinkers also survived.) Cowboy coffee—“strong enough to float a horseshoe”—was what won the west, not guns. Anyway, I knew there was a reason I love espresso.
The whole mythology of ‘Americans need guns to defend themselves’ mostly comes from the popular movies and TV shows of the 1950’s and 60’s. It started with racist dime Western novels about “savages” written by folks who never traveled west of Philadelphia, and it continues in modern entertainment media today. It’s a fantasy.
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This is based on a recent post on my blog. I’m traveling to national parks by EV to promote awareness of climate change. Also, read my post on Daily Kos yesterday about forests and wildfires.