Terminology Of The Wild West Flashcards
Boot Hill
A cemetery for the desperados unfortunately slow or inaccurate with firearms
Brand
A permanent mark of identification upon cattle to prove ownership
Bull Dogging
Rodeo technique developed by Bill Pickett in bringing down a raging steer
Dawes Act
Replaced the reservation system for governing and controlling Native Americans
Dead Mans Hand
Full house: 3 aces and 2 eights, held by Wild Bill Hickock when he was murdered
Dime Novel
An inexpensive fictional story about everyday life in the west
Exoduster
African American who went west during reconstruction era for greater freedom and opportunity
Gone West
When you had done this you had died
Homesteader
Opportunistic settler who went west to live and prosper on free federal land of 160 acres
Iron Horse
Native American term for railroads crossing the Great Plains
Maverick
A very stubborn and contrary steer Ina cattle drive
Morrill Act
Congressional action which created the land grant colleges
Neck Tie Party
A social gathering in which the “guest of honor” was lynched
Open Range
System wherein branding cattle may graze as ones land boundaries were not fenced in
Painted Lady
A colorful name for a female prostitute of the Wild West
Prairie Schooner
The vehicle in which a family may travel in a wagon car
Rodeo
A circular competition wherein cowboys would demonstrate skills with a horse and a lariat
Rustler
A cattle thief
Soddie
Cruel reference to a homesteader who lived in a shelter of dried mud and animal waste, not bricks or wood
Sooner
One who cheated the night before in participating in the Oklahoma Land Rush
Vaquero
Spanish term for cowboy
Boom Town
Buisness town, growing city
Assimilate
To make someone a part of something
Ghost Town
After everything is gone from a boom town it becomes empty (or a ghost town)
