F3, Week 21: The Wild West Beckons
Prompt by Joyce Juzwik
It was a time of cowboys, gunslingers, saloons, outlaws, and cattle drives. History also includes mention of the infamous Wild Bill Hickok, Wyatt Earp, Dodge City, Tombstone, and the Gunfight at the OK Corral. Films and novels glamorize certain individuals and events for purposes of entertainment, but in reality, life was very hard during that time. Stagecoach travel was troublesome, not only because of the terrain and absence of comfort on long trips, but also because, since they carried goods as well as travelers, they frequently were prey for robbers. Law enforcement consisted of Sheriffs and their Deputies, but with no 911 services and large areas under their jurisdiction, keeping crime at bay was quite a challenge.
Despite all the hardships, there was also a great deal of progress. During the mid- to late-1800s, Wells Fargo Company was founded to provide banking services in California, the Pony Express completed its first Eastbound and Westbound deliveries, and last, but certainly not least, Levi Straus opened a store in San Francisco that supplied goods and clothing to Gold Rush Miners. No one can say that wasn’t a step in the right direction!
This week, let’s take a look back at that period of history.
Prompt: Share with us a story set in the Old West
Genre: Western
Word Count: 1,500 or less
Deadline: Thursday, January 21, 2016
Post your story on your blog or website and provide a link to it in the comment section of this prompt.
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