Amazing Photos From The Old Wild West You Might Be Surprised Exist

As one newspaper reported, “The success of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show is a tribute to American ingenuity and enterprise.”

Olive Ann Oatman

Olive Ann Oatman was born in Illinois in 1837. In 1851, at 14, she was kidnapped by a group of Tolkepayas while traveling with her family to California. The Tolkepayas traded her to the Mohave people, who she lived with for the next four years before being released.

She eventually married and had children, but the facial tattoos she received during this time marked her as an outsider for the rest of her life.

Yet, despite her difficult early years, Oatman went on to live a long and productive life, serving as an inspiration to others who have faced adversity.

Jesse James

Jesse James was an American outlaw who became famous for his string of robberies in the late 1800s. James was born in Missouri in 1847, and he grew up in a region that was split between the Union and Confederate states.

His family supported the Confederacy, and James became a bushwhacker, engaging in guerrilla warfare against Union forces.

In 1865, James allegedly took part in the slaying of a former slaveholder, and he soon became a target of Union vigilantes. He fled to Texas but eventually returned to Missouri and turned to robbing banks and stagecoaches.

James gained notoriety for his bold robberies, becoming one of America’s most wanted men. In 1882, he was shot by a fellow outlaw who hoped to collect the hefty reward that had been offered for James’ capture.