May 29; Day 5 Deadwood

     Today in class we watched a segment from a HBO show called Deadwood.  It is about a gold mining town in the black hills of South Dakota which is the far western side of the state that took place around the 1870's.  I am not one to enjoy western's but knowing this is based off a true town and had characters of Wild Bill and Calamity Jane who was part of the town at the time I ended up taking some interest in it.

     Deadwood, at the time I learned, was not actually part of the United States yet.  This area was reserved for indian reservation.  Since this town was not a legitmate town law was also absent.  People took matters into their own hands.  Corruption ran rampant and if someone didn't like you then you were shot and no one really batted an eye about it. 

     Honestly, I didn't know too much about Wild Bill and Calamity Jane.  I heard about them and knew they were western gun-shooting pioneers but I didn't know much more than that.  This movie encouraged me to look deeper into the lives of Will Bill and Calamity Jane.  I learned that Wild Bill was shot in the head while playing poker one night.  He liked having his back to the wall so he can see what is going on around him.  This one night the seats were taken to he ended up taking a seat with his back to the door.  A guy by the last name McCall came in and shot Wild Bill killing him instantly.

     Calamity Jane, I learned, met up with Wild Bill in a wagon train heading to Deadwood.  She took a liking to him but it is unclear if they were involved romantically.  Wild Bill, at the time of his death, was married to another lady.  She was a good shooter but was not a typical lady of that time.  She liked hanging with the boys, smoking and drinking and using foul language.  She liked to keep moving around the west but under her hard shell of a person there was also a gentle side to her. 

     The town of Deadwood still survives today with a lawfull set government in place.  During the summer they re-enact the shooting of Wild Bill and McCall for tourists to see.  Some of the old buildings are still there and some were rebuilt due to fires.  Overall, I guess I can say I learned new information about our country today.