Very soon in Traverse City’s future a new restaurant is coming to downtown that will allow you to step into a different world of dining that you have likely never visited before. At Jesse James, aiming to open in April, you will be able to enjoy a unique dining experience from atmosphere to food. You will step back in time to the Old West as you dine in a fun, interactive environment. The owner is thrilled to be bringing this new food and concept to Traverse City. He says, “It is unlike anything anyone in Traverse City has ever experienced or tasted before!”

So what do you know about the Old West, where cowboys roamed the land and cooked their food over an open fire under the stars? Try this fun quiz to see what you know and what you have yet to learn.

Questions

1. True or False. Cowboys were a rough and rowdy bunch.

2. Was Jesse James a cowboy?

3. Which bank opened in 1852 and within only 15 years had run every other western bank, mail carrier (nearly including the Post Office), express agency, and stagecoach company out of business?

4. There are many “cowboy songs.” Why?

5. How much money could you have made being a cowboy?

6. What is a War Bag?

7. How many Stetson Cowboy Hats were sold a year?
a) 100,000 b) 500,000 c) 1 Million d) 2 Million

8. When Levi Strauss come to California from Bavaria, what product was he planning on tailoring?
a) jeans b) wagon covers and tents c) tarps to cover and keep the weather off things

9. How many cattle were in a typical cattle drive?
a) 1,000 b) 3,000 c) 5,000 d) 7,000

10. Who was the most important drover on the cattle drive?
a) trailboss b) cowboys c) cook

11. When did the Dude Ranch become popular?

Answers

1. Tough more than rough, really. Although cowboys certainly could hold their own, true cowboys followed strict rules of conduct. For instance, whenever passing someone on the trail, you were to say, “Howdy” and nod (never wave because you could spook the other person’s horse); once you have passed someone on the trail, never look back at them, as that would signify you do not trust them; a cowboy always helped someone in need, friend or foe; never try on another man’s hat, and never ever ride another man’s horse without permission. A true cowboy would never shoot an unarmed man or a woman, he would be modest, and he would always take care of his horse’s needs before his own.

2. No, he, along with his brother Frank were outlaws, wanted for many robberies of stagecoaches, banks and individuals, as well as murders. They learned their tactics during the Civil War in guerrilla groups, attacking anti-slavery towns throughout Kansas and Missouri. They escaped many lawmen, right up until the day they died. Though both were charged with many crimes, neither was ever convicted.

3. Henry Wells and William Fargo opened Wells Fargo in San Francisco at the start of the Gold Rush and were very successful and efficient. Before the government took over all mail services in 1895, Wells Fargo was charging only six cents to mail a letter (and making money), while the Post Office charged 25 cents.

4. Cowboys sang to the herds of cattle to keep themselves awake at night while on watch, and also to keep the cattle calm and prevent stampedes, particularly during thunder storms.

5. Trail bosses earned about $125 per month, while your average cowboy took in between $25-40 per month.

6. A sack the cowboy carried with everything he owned, typically extra clothes and ammunition, a deck of playing cards, a bill of sale for his horse, and possibly a picture or precious letters, and a harmonica.

7. John B. Stetson opened a hat factory in Philadelphia in 1865. Illness forced him out west to Colorado, where he designed what became a trademark symbol of the West, the Stetson Hat. By 1906 he was using his factory to produce 2 million hats a year.

8. His intention was to make wagon covers and tents for the gold rushing 49’ers, but there was no market for them. So around 1873 he used the canvas material to make pants, which they loved and which he, by himself, could not make fast enough. Soon he was opening a factory in San Francisco.

9. Around 3,000 cattle per drive was typical, with 12-15 drovers, or cowboys of various jobs.

10. The cook, or “cookie,” was the most important person, since they provided the food. Their job was also to ensure the drives headed in the right direction by reading the stars.

11. Dude Ranches began earlier than you may think, during the 1870’s. Their popularity grew with tourists after WWI. They have never been popular with real cowboys, who see the ranches as fake and were annoyed by the tourists who came to “play cowboy.” However, when ranching began to die out during the 1920s and ’30s, many cowboys had little choice but to work on Dude Ranches, and ironically, as much as the cowboys despised these tourist hot spots, Dude Ranches have preserved the life, culture and history of the American Cowboy better than anything else.

So how did you do? Are you ready to travel back to the Old West? Jesse James will be waiting for you... at 149 Front Street, downtown Traverse City!

Most of the historical information in this story came from www.thewildwest.org.