Nature of the Wild West 150 years ago
Thanks to westerns, the Wild West seems full of romance and is associated with cowboys, loyal mustangs and excellent Colts.
Wild West is the name of an area in the 1860-1890 years, located on the territory of the modern American states of Montana, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas and others, which gradually expanded and moved west to the Pacific Ocean.
In the 1860s and 1870s, photographer Timothy O'Sullivan created one of the most famous collections of photographs in American history. Photos by Timothy O'Sullivan | Library of Congress.
The Wild West was inhabited by Indians, who were driven from their lands, giving them barren territories in return. The State of Utah, 1872:
Two "hills" near the city of Green River, Wyoming, 1972:
Along with the white settlers, new diseases also came to the West. Therefore, the Indians resisted the resettlement of whites to the West as much as they could, and armed clashes between Indians and immigrants continued throughout the XIX century. The State of Nevada, 1867:
Tuff rocks in a lake in Nevada, 1867:
Canyon de Sheyi National Monument in northeast Arizona, 1873:
Old Church, New Mexico, 1873-year:
During the expedition, the team of photographer O'Sullivan (fourth from left) included soldiers, scientists, and artists. The picture also shows three local residents and the Colorado River. one thousand eight hundred seventy one:
Mountain Valley in Colorado, 1872:
Shoshone Falls, Idaho, 1874. This beautiful waterfall is called "Niagara of the West". The height of Shoshoni is about 65 meters — 11 meters higher than Niagara Falls. The width of the waterfall is 274 meters:
The Colorado River in Iceberg Canyon, 1871:
The cart of the author of these photos, Timothy O'Sullivan, drawn by four mules in the Nevada desert, 1867:
Wooden trolley road leading to a gold mine, Illinois, 1871:
Canyon de Cheyi, 1873:
Indians, New Mexico, 1873:
Canyons in Utah, 1872:
Canyon in Colorado, 1872:
The boat of the expedition of photographer Timothy O'Sullivan in western Nevada, in 1867:
Wooden houses in a town in Utah, 1873:
Rock formations, Wyoming, 1872:
Oak Grove, White Mountains, Arizona, 1873:
Another photo of the Shoshone Falls, Idaho, 1868:
El Morro National Monument, New Mexico, 1873. Pay attention to the small figure of a man at the bottom. This is the end of my acquaintance with the nature of the Wild West.