From the start of the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1803 to the San Francisco earthquake in 1906, a great historical drama unfolded on the American frontier. Best Little Stories of the Wild Westuncovers the fascinating tales that make up this inimitable century. The era of the Wild West was a century-long period characterized by ceaseless exploration, wagon trains, straining westward, cattle drives, Indianwars, gunfights, wandering trappers and mountainmen, cowboys, rustlers, stagecoaches, and gold. Among the many fascinating stories recounted in this book are: Meriwether Lewis's first-ever Indian fight The desperate search during the Lewis and Clark expeditionfor a passageway through the Rocky Mountains before winter struck Bespectacled Easterner Teddy Roosevelt's rude treatment in the Dakota Badlands in the 1880s The high drama of the San Francisco earthquake Anecdotes that follow the construction of the transcontinental railroad The western explorations of topographical engineer Stephen Long The courageous army officer who held the Indians of the Southwest at bay during the Civil War The criminal adventuresof the Dalton Gang The work of the explorer-botanist David Douglas The story behind Boothill in Tombstone, Arizona The legend of Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch Little-known lawman Thomas J. Smith of Abilene