The happy-looking people in this photo were called the Wheeler Survey Group. These guys were led by Captain George Montague Wheeler, who was on an expedition to survey the Western United States. Their expedition led to the creation of topographic maps of the Southwest from 1869 to 1879.
Among the areas that they surveyed were named after Captain Wheeler: Wheeler Peak in New Mexico, Wheeler Peak in Nevada, and Wheeler Geologic Area in Colorado. If you really think about it, having three areas named after you is not a shabby deal at all! Good Job!
General Custer’s Men
The photo you see before you is a photograph of the Dakota Territory, which is now North and South Dakota. The photo also shows General Custer’s men crossing the plains. If you don’t remember your history lessons back in school, General Custer was an officer of the United States Army during the Indian and Civil wars.
This photo was taken by W.H. Illingworth, who is a famous British photographer. In the 1860s and 1870s, Illingworth once accompanied an expedition to the Montana Territory, also through the black hills of the Dakotas.
Soiled Doves
The old west was filled with ladies of the night and elite madams. In fact, some of them were so successful and popular among the crowd, that they ended up becoming millionaires. Despite the harsh conditions they had to endure, these women came from all parts of the world to do what they are known for.
Back then, women did not have normal names like what we have now. They gave themselves surprisingly poetic and different nicknames, which all depended on the region in which they originated. If they were from California, they would go by the name of “soiled doves” by the cowboys and “ladies of the line” or “sporting women.” Other nicknames given were “Doves of the roost,” “fallen frails,” “Nymphs du praire” and “Fallen angels.” Their names were certainly unique, and as we mentioned before, they are good at keeping their identity hidden!
Wyatt Earp
Who can forget Wyatt Earp? We are pretty sure the name sounds familiar because we might have all heard it somewhere in the movies. Yes, he is a real person, and he was a good friend of Doc Holliday. In the old west, he was known as a proficient gambler, but even though he was known for that, he still had a normal day job as a deputy sheriff in Arizona. Everyone back then had almost the same job, but he was quite different, to say the least.
He gained his reputation as a gambler during a gunfight at the O.K. Corral. He killed three cowboys. From that moment on, he was known as a shooter, especially in Tombstone, Arizona. Until his death in 1929, he continuously got into brawls with other cowboys. Woah!
Louisa Earp
In case you’re wondering, Wyatt Earp wasn’t the only Earp. We have heard plenty about the Earp Men so far, but not so much about the ladies. Louisa Earp was Morgan Earp’s Wife. As they said, behind every great man, there is a woman, and that was exactly the case for Morgan Earp. Although they seemed to be the perfect couple, no one really knew that they got married.
For some time after they got married, the two of them lived in Montana. When Morgan moved to Arizona, he left his wife Louisa behind. Since he thought it was just going to be a short trip, it ended up in disappointment because they never got to meet again.