Authenticity of Old West Towns

by Cyndi Raye

Working on a new series, I wanted to be as authentic as possible to bring the feel of the Old Western towns alive. Most times it winds up to be the characters that make a town authentic. While researching, I ran into some interesting facts and fodder that I'd like to share with you. 

In my upcoming book, A Bride for Abel, the town's setting lies a few miles south of Alder Gulch, which most people know as Virginia City, Montana. I didn't want to use the actual town of Virginia City in my own story since building my own town is much more fun. So, I took bits and pieces from history to build a fictional place called Pistol Ridge.

One interesting story I read about is concerning a notorious dirty sheriff. Starting in 1863, and throughout the following years, there were many shady characters typical of a boom town. One particular lawman, Henry Plummer, was supposedly as crooked as the day is long. He was alleged to be the brains behind the road agents (a group of criminals who robbed stages, freight wagons and anyone using the road from Virginia City to Nevada City). Mostly, the road agents were men who were too lazy to mine for gold or find legitimate work. Instead, they found other ways to make their fortune. 

In my own story, I had planned to use a sheriff who was not as honorable as the townsfolk thought. When I started doing my research, I was surprised and delighted to find the sheriff of Virginia City also had quite a reputation. 

What do you think? Does he look innocent or guilty?

 Henry Plummer

Since one of my first scenes start out in a saloon, I wanted it to be authentic. The interesting thing I found out and didn't know, was a dance hall girl and a soiled dove are two different people. While proper ladies look down their nose at a dance hall girl, she would never associate with a prostitute. So, what is the difference? 

A dance hall girl doesn't have to become a prostitute. She is hired by the owner to offer dances to the patrons, charging .75 to $1.00 per dance. Afterwards, she steers the patron to the bar, where she talks him into buying them a drink, earning commission on the drinks, also. The irony is her drink is usually tea or colored sugar water since she isn't allowed to imbibe while working. The patron is paying the price for alcohol on both drinks. Does it sound like he is being duped? 

Dance Hall Girl

What about the rules of common courtesy and decency? 

Interestingly, this can get quite complicated. If a man walks into a saloon and begs for a drink claiming he has no money, someone almost always will buy him a drink. On the other hand, if he orders a drink and then tells the barkeep he has no money, he may get himself beat up. 

A man walks into a bar....truly, if he walks into a saloon in the 1800's, if there is a customer standing next to him, he had better buy that man a drink. Did you ever watch an old western and notice how they always seem to buy the man beside him a shot? It is actually considered common courtesy to do so. Now, if the man walks in and ignores the patron beside him, it is also considered bad manners. Men in the old west don't stand for disrespect. 

On the other hand, if a customer is standing at the bar (no bar stools back then), and the patron next to him wants to buy a drink, he had better accept. Refusing can cause harm. It's been told a man or two have been marched through the streets to several different drinking establishments to teach a man some manners. Not sure what this entailed but I'm certain is wasn't pretty.

If you are interested in learning about Virginia City, MT, Laura Joanne Arata, a student at Washington State University wrote a thesis for her Masters of Art. It has tons of information (284 pages) if you like reading history. It can be found here: Thesis of Virginia City, MT

I hope you enjoyed my first post. If you'd love to be introduced to a new series, my book, A Bride for Abel, is set in a town much like Virginia City in 1875. It includes quite the adventure and a rotten sheriff as well. A Bride for Abel is due out November 1st, but you can always check out the other books in The Proxy Bride series awhile.  As of this writing, three of the books are already live. 

Take a look at our exciting new series:

Book #1 A Bride for Jeremiah is live

     Book #2 A Bride for Clay is live

1. Book #3 A Bride for Nathan is live
   
   
   Book #4 A Bride for Abel is live

Code of the West

Sheriff's Legacy, Preacher Outlaw, Outlaw in Petticoats HERE Code of the West In the days of the old west, men lived by an unwritten code, a set of rules that forced them to respect each other as men. They lived by the code, and often died by the code. If a man broke the code, he was often hazed until he either gave in and complied, or he was branded a coward and cast out. In the case of “fair fight” rules—part of the code, a man was subject to a duel if he was called out or challenged, or if another man broke the code and his honor. If he was not a fast-gun, he would die defending his honor, but it was better than living the rest of his life being branded as a coward if he backed down from the challenge. Oftentimes, depending on the time of day the offense occurred, these “fair fights” or duels were scheduled the following day at high-noon. This was to give each man the advantage of not having the sun at his back or in his eyes, giving each man a clear view of his target. The code of the west did not just apply to “gun-control”, though most of it was gun-related, keeping each man in check where his weapon was concerned. The code of the west was a way of life, and it extended beyond living by the golden rule. It was a rule of conduct in every aspect of the western man’s life, from how he treated others, to how he treated his horse.

Never shoot a woman ──── Never shoot a man in the back ──── Never shoot an unarmed man ──── Never borrow another man’s horse without his consent ──── Always keep your word   Samantha Bayarr http://www.christianbookreads.com/

Historical Romance

Written by Samantha Bayarr

When I think of historical romance, one thing comes to mind; the old west. From dime novels to mining towns and outlaws, the old west is full of a sort of "romance" that is unmatched by anything else in our history. As a writer, I found the old west to be the perfect backdrop for several of my historical romance books, Tombstone, Arizona, holding a particular interest for me because of its romantic history. Don't get me wrong, violence played a big part in the romantic interest of this rough and rowdy town, a place known as The Town too Tough to Die. 

{Reenactment of the famous Gunfight at the OK Corral in Tombstone, AZ}

  

  

We know better today, but the stories have become more romanticized as the days have gone by. Back then, women seemed to love tough men who’d strap a six-gun to his hips and a badge on his chest, but they were also quick to mourn the men who were hanged.  Men like Doc Holliday and the Earp brothers have been romanticized since the famous Gunfight at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, in Cochise County, on October 26, 1881. That afternoon, approximately 30 shots were fired in the span of about 30 seconds’ time, and 3 were killed, 3 wounded.

{Reproduction of the Tombstone Epitaph (a gift from my friend, Lisa Towns Myers)}

Doctor Goodfellow, a man I've characterized in my books, was the treating physician for the wounded lawmen after the gunfight, which included deputized, Doc Holliday. There was no shortage of gunfights in the old west, but that fated afternoon at the OK Corral was the one most remembered in our western history.

In the old west, the term Cowboy was used for an outlaw, and ranchers were referred to as cattlemen, their hired hands often referred to as saddle-tramps because they were often drifters and spent a lot of time in the saddle. If a cattleman was called a “cowboy”, it was considered an insult. The term cowboy today means something entirely different. The word alone stirs up plenty of romance, and many a book has been written (mine included) where the cowboy was the hero and not the outlaw, as was the reality back then.

When I began to research Arizona territory, Tombstone, in particular, for a series of mail-order-brides books I was working on, I was amazed at the amount of information on the area. I was able to find an old fire marshal's street map of the area in the 1880’s, allowing me to take my characters and readers accurately through the town just as it was back then. Although my books were set in 1885, after the famous gunfight, I was able to include Doctor Goodfellow and the sheriff at the time in my stories, although I added fictitious other sheriffs, deputies, and marshals.

For more interesting tidbits on Tombstone, Arizona, please look for my future posts every third Monday of the month. In the meantime, enjoy the other wonderful posts right here almost daily.

All original pictures were used with permission from the photographer, Lisa Towns Myers. You can find more of her wonderful pictures here: Lisa's Country Photos

Best-Selling Author, Samantha Bayarr, has written over 100 books in Contemporary Romance, Historical Romance, Western Romance, Amish Romance, and Amish Suspense. Her favorite genre is Historical Romance. 

A former Paralegal, Samantha lives in an historical home in a small town in Florida with her husband, John Foster, who writes Christian Children’s Books. She spends her free time illustrating her husband's books, drawing and painting each by hand.

Please look for The Bride Dowry, The Bride Duel, and The Bride Raffle HERE

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