Day 12 of the Adventure, HBO is not making it up, DEADWOOD

jst2laws

Day 12, Deadwood, Last great American gold rush. (This is a little late. I wrote it up while still in Dakota but did not have internet access) It's true, the HBO series is about a real gold town and real people. It was where Wild Bill Hickock really was shot in the back of the head there while playing poker. Calamity Jane, became famous in Deadwood. In 1875 prospector Frank Bryant found gold in Deadwood Gulch in the North Black Hills. It took only a few months for a town to spring up along the Deadwood creek reaching a population of possibly 10,000 in less than one year. The problem is that they were there illegally. It belonged to the Lakota (native Americans) The army was ever present under General Custer to control the Lakota but not so eager to control their own. In a few years the government managed to negotiate a new treaty and Deadwood became part of the US. Until then it operated without law or law enforcement. I asked at the museum if the HBO series was embellishing the level of lawlessness of the early years and was told no. It was that bad, murder, gambling, prostitution, and Opium dens in the Chinatown section. And yes, they did cover over murders by feeding the bodies to the hogs. I had forgotten about that when I ordered a pork BBQ sandwich at Saloon #10. Vomit 2 (BTW, where Wild Bill Hickock had been murdered) What is strange is this was not that long ago. When in Canton Mo serving where the 'need was great' we tore down an old hospital and I bought the wood out of it to build my first house. Fact is the wood in my new house was older then the oldest historic structure in Deadwood. The eastern states were very civilized, Charles Russell was already preaching Jesus had returned invisibly and the end was near, and Karl Marx was dreaming of a perfect government. But Deadwood was ruled by the gun, and the Sioux Indians peeked from the ridges mumbling WTSmuck ? Below is a few pics of the original deadwood. Swearengen's Gem Theater, the last pic, was a bar with seats for patrons, the rear was divided up into small rooms where the Gem girls entertained customers. Swearengen, as HBO portrays him, was no angel. I could tell you much more but if you are watching the series I would ruin the story. Feeling Blue Jst2laws

jst2laws

WHAT, No one else is watching HBO????

Poor Trixie is taking a beating for no reason.

Jst2laws

Elsewhere

I saw a few episodes of that and it seemed like every other sentence uttered was: Fck'in cck suckers!!!

joenobody

Great show - loved it from start to finish. The actors are tremendous. My fave characters are Swarengen and the Doc.

jst2laws

Joenobody,

Great show - loved it from start to finish. The actors are tremendous. My fave characters are Swarengen and the Doc.

Both are based on real people.

Jst2laws

Bryan

2laws,

I love trips across the country! Thanks for the updates!

Bryan

Blueblades

Jst2laws,I'm watching Deadwood on HBO. While it is full of salty language it is part of the history of this nation.It pulls no punches in giving us a realistics picture of what it was like to live in that time period.Historically, the times were changing for both the Indians and settlers.

It was the GOLD! Today it is the OIL!

Thanks for sharing your travels with us.

calamityjane

Bring's back memories when our family took a trip down to South Dakota, I'll never forget going through the badlands, seeing Mount Rushmore and going into Deadwood and into the Saloon were Wild Bill got shot in the back, and walking through that cemetery was real fasinating.

Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

cj

calamityjane

Bring's back memories when our family took a trip down to South Dakota, I'll never forget going through the badlands, seeing Mount Rushmore and going into Deadwood and into the Saloon were Wild Bill got shot in the back, and walking through that cemetery was real fasinating.

Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

cj

Sunnygal41

And yes, they did cover over murders by feeding the bodies to the hogs. I had forgotten about that when I ordered a pork BBQ sandwich at Saloon #10.

Jst2, did you ever see the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes"? If not, do. There is a murder in it, and somehow, you get the impression that the dead one is converted to "barbecue" for the local customers at the "Whistle Stop Cafe"..................to dispose of his body permanently.

Terri

Day 12 of the Adventure, HBO is not making it up, DEADWOOD

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