How the Wild West REALLY looked

[Arch Stanton]

How the Wild West REALLY looked: Gorgeous sepia-tinted pictures show the landscape as it was charted for the very first time
By ROB COOPER
PUBLISHED: 15:11, 25 May 2012 | UPDATED: 19:39, 25 May 2012
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These remarkable 19th century sepia-tinted pictures show the American West as you have never seen it before - as it was charted for the first time.
The photos, by Timothy O'Sullivan, are the first ever taken of the rocky and barren landscape.
At the time federal government officials were travelling across Arizona, Nevada, Utah and the rest of the west as they sought to uncover the land's untapped natural resources.

Breathtaking landscape: A view across the Shoshone Falls, Snake River, Idaho in 1874 as it was caught on camera by photographer Timothy O'Sullivan during Lt. George M. Wheeler's survey west of the One Hundredth Meridian that lasted from 1871 to 1874. Approximately 45 feet higher than the Niagara falls of the U.S and Canada, the Shoshone Falls are sometimes called the 'Niagara of the West'. Before mass migration and industrialisation of the west, the Bannock and Shoshone Indians relied on the huge salmon stocks of the falls as a source of food. And the John C. Fremont Expedition of 1843, one of the first missions to encounter the falls reported that salmon could be caught simply by throwing a spear into the water, such was the stock


Read More:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...s-landscape-chartered-time.html#ixzz1vtjUGcOP

 

[Duane]

Thanks for sharing. I love seeing these old photos.

 

[5Stars]

Absolutely astonishing pictures. Thanks for posting these...

 

[Hostile]

I love the west. Thanks Arch.

 

[Arch Stanton]

I love the west. Thanks Arch.

There was mention of the Tuscon Daily Newspaper and is further information about Timothy H. O'Sullivan from their website from the link within the article. I thought it may have been of interest.

 

[Future]

That's really cool stuff.

 

[Doomsday]

Awesome photos, thanks for sharing.

 

[TheCount]

The concept of taming wild line is something that may now be extinct, I've always been facinated with the idea. The cajones it takes to see a wide expanse of dirt and think, "This is a good place to settle down" has always awed me. Hell, even the idea that you could wander for MONTHS before you actually saw another person, and the mixture of elation and potential terror that must have come to mind at that moment.

Thanks for the pics.

 

[wittenacious]

Great old photo. Shoshone Falls is very impressive when running at peak high water flows.

Been to Shoshone Falls more times than I can remember. I lived in Twin Falls, Idaho, where Shoshone Falls is located, for about 30 years. Graduated high school there. Used to swim at Dierkes Lake -- a favorite local swimming, boating, fishing area -- in the Snake River Canyon, just above Shoshone Falls.
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http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.town...1e0-aafb-001cc4c03286/4ddb1b4d8f06a.image.jpg
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Recent Photo by ASHLEY SMITH | Times-News (Twin Falls, Idaho Newspaper)
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From Times-News, June 09, 2011: More than 18,000 cubic feet per second of water flow over Shoshone Falls on Saturday. Spring’s wet temperatures and plentiful precipitation are expected to keep flows over the falls higher than normal in the early summer, before hotter temperatures drive up irrigation demand.

Read more: http://magicvalley.com/news/local/twin-falls/article_088aa5e8-85c2-11e0-95c5-001cc4c002e0.html

 

[Lodeus]

Wow, Amazing stuff! Thanks for sharing.