Wild Canadian West

For too many years Canadians have considered the history of the Wild West to be the exclusive domain of men and women who inhabited the southwestern states of Kansas, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Wyoming. These places won the distinction through a combination of default and reams of print churned out by dime novelists, many of whom had never ventured west.


There were occasional passing glances at Montana because of the exploits of Henry Plummer and his gang of cutthroats called, ironically, The Innocents, as well as the exploits of Virginia City's mayor muisance Jack Slade. For the most part, such heavyweights as Billy the Kid, Jesse James, the Dalton boys and the Doolin gang and a few others such as Butch Cassidy or the Cimarron Kid held sway.


Lawmen such as Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson and Wild Bill Hickok still swagger their way through the history pages as the ones who stood for law and order. Few others were considered to be at their level although a great many towered above that particular trio.

The above-mentioned heroes and lawmen have no exclusive claim to the checkered history of the Old West. Canada, too, had her share of men and women, good and bad, who forged their names and deeds into the annals of what has become known as the Wild West. Not a few made their names in the American southwest. But those who tamed the rowdy towns in Canada remain, for the most part, forgotten.


The era of the Wild West has been a well-kept secret in Canada's history, but it is no less adventurous and intriguing than that of the southwestern American states. The stories in this book - ranging from gunfights to manhunts and the rough justice system shaped by the character of the times - illuminate the checkered complexion of Canada's Old West, and the nefarious, the heroic, and those somewhere-in-between individuals who populated it.


Ted Meyers researches the history of North America's Wild West. He has uncovered many hitherto unknown facts pertaining to western heroes and villians, including certainty that many were both - and often at the same time. He has also written on naval history and has published two books on North American Native legends. Whe he is not at his home in Victoria he is probably in some western ghost town, or following the cold trails of the men and women who made the Wild West so interesting.

Book info here: http://www.hancockhouse.com/products/wilcan.htm

Tag: ted meyers north america wild west northwest victoria canada canadian history kansas arizona texas new mexico oklahoma wyoming montana virginia cutthroats henry plummer jack slade billy the kid jesse james dalton boys doolin gang butch cassidy cimarron kid wyatt earp bat masterson wild bill hickok