contents INTRODUCTION . .4 Dangerous News . .14 “Combine” Car . .48 The Mormons . .14 Wells, Fargo & Co . .48 About the Authors . .4 Revivals . .15 Private Car . .49 About GURPS . .4 Army Posts . .15 Waterways . .49 Page References . .4 Food . .16 Braking . .49 Flora and Fauna . .16 The Erie Canal . .49 The Land . .17 Barges . .50 The Great Plains . .17 Natural Hazards . .50 American Deserts and Plateaus . .18 One Day on a Keelboat . .50 The Pacific Coast . .18 Steamboats . .51 Western Timeline . .19 Long-Distance Communication . .51 River Pirates . .51 Pony Bob Haslam . .52 2.CHARACTERS . .21 Don’t Leave Home Without ... .52 Jacks of All Trades . .22 Character Types . .22 Advantages, Disadvantages, 4.INDIANS . .53 and Skills . .29 Indian Tribes Advantages . .29 and Their Territories . .54 New Advantage . .31 The Plains Indians . .55 Disadvantages . .31 The Hunt . .55 Skills . .33 United States Indian Policy . .55 Money . .36 Reservation Life . .55 Silver, Gold and Paper . .36 Indian Clichés . .55 Trading . .36 Plains Warfare . .57 1.LIFE ON THE FRONTIER . .5 Bounties . .37 Indian Weapons . .57 The Times . .6 Clothing . .37 Counting Coup . .57 Exploration and Trailblazing . .6 Price List . .38 The Magic of Indian Names . .57 Zebulon Pike, Military Explorer . .6 Entertainment and Outdoor Life . .38 Scalping . .58 The United States: 1800-1810 . .6 Everyday Necessities . .39 The Sioux . .59 The Fur Trade . .7 Homesteading . .39 Sample Indian Names . .59 Westward, Ho! . .7 Tools and Berdaches and Contraries . .59 Gold Fever . .7 Professional Equipment . .39 The Comanche . .60 Fur Companies . .7 Transport, Travel, The Sioux Nation . .60 The United States: 1811-1822 . .8 and Communications . .40 Typical Tipi Floorplan . .60 Around the Horn Job Table . .40 Entertainment . .60 and Across Panama . .8 The Southwestern Desert Tribes . .61 Cattle Drives . .9 Yuman Tribes . .61 The Waning of the West . .9 3.TRANSPORTATION . .42 O’odham and Tohono O’odham . .61 Life on the Cattle Trail . .9 Overland . .43 Animals . .61 Western Society . .10 Mule Trains . .43 Warfare . .61 Western Towns . .10 Major Overland Trails . .43 The Comanche Language . .61 Women in the West . .10 Overland Hazards . .43 “Snakes” . .61 The Unfortunate Donner Party . .10 Wagon Trains . .44 Pueblo Indians . .62 The Quest for Statehood . .10 Stagecoaches . .44 Nomads of the Southwest . .62 Disaster . .11 Other Vehicles . .44 The Pueblo The United States: 1861-1900 . .11 The Railroad . .45 “Place of Emergence” . .62 Status and Cost of Living . .11 Stagecoach Hazards . .45 The Anasazi . .62 Disease . .12 Railroad Cars . .45 The Ghost Dance . .63 Boom and Bust . .12 The Railroad Wars . .46 The Great Basin . .64 Taxes . .12 Internecine Warfare . .46 The Paiute . .64 Regional Accents . .12 Railroad Buildings . .46 The Ute . .64 The Law of the West . .13 Railroad Speeds . .46 Indian Trade . .64 Communication . .13 Major Railways: 1869-1890 . .46 Totem Poles . .64 “Howdy, Pardner!” . .13 Indians and the Railroads . .47 The Shoshoni . .65 Excerpts from San Francisco Settlers and Railroads . .47 Indians of the Northwest . .65 Police Blotters . .13 How to Rob a Train . .47 The Plateau . .65 Education . .14 Railway Hazards . .47 Mission Indians . .65 Religion . .14 The Iron Horse . .47 Eastern Indians in the West . .65 Entertainment . .14 Sleeper/Parlor Car . .48 The Northwest Coastal Indians . .66 California Indians . .66 2 CONTENTS Eastern and Southern Tribes . .66 Machine Guns . .87 Gunfight at the O.K. Corral . .105 Indian Magic in the Campaign . .66 Cannon . .87 In Search of Golden Cities . .105 The Five Civilized Tribes . .67 Other Ranged Weapons . .87 Legends of the White Stallion . .106 Indian Magic . .67 Hand Weapons . .89 Judge Roy Bean, The Vision Quest . .67 Weapon Table . .88 Law West of the Pecos . .106 Coyote, the Trickster . .67 Guns . .88 The O.K. Corral, Returning the Medicine . .67 Other Ranged Weapons . .89 Tombstone, 1881 . .107 Sorcery . .68 Hand Weapons . .89 Dick Merrick . .107 The Sun Dance . .68 Reading the Weapon Table . .90 Yuma Penitentiary . .107 Guardian Spirits . .69 Billy the Kid . .107 Bear . .70 Hanging Judge Parker . .108 Buffalo . .70 6.THE WARS . .91 The Lincoln County War . .108 Eagle . .70 The War of 1812 . .91 The Johnson County War . .108 Thunder . .70 The War Between Mexico and Texas . .92 Medicine Bundles . .70 The Mexican Army: 1835-48 . .92 The Texas Navy . .92 8.CAMPAIGNING . .109 The Mexican War . .93 Backdrops and Adventure Seeds . .110 The Texas Rangers . .93 The Weird, Weird West . .110 The Civil War . .94 Timeless Western Plots . .110 The United States: 1822-1854 . .94 The Alamo . .110 The U.S. Cavalry . .94 Mountain Men and Explorers . .112 The Players . .95 Territorial Wars . .112 The Playing Fields . .95 Wagon Trains . .112 The Buffalo Soldiers . .95 Campaign Crossovers . .112 “Bleeding Kansas” and ’Twas a Miner . .113 Quantrill’s Raiders . .96 Clash of Cultures . .113 General Sibley Workin’ on the Railroad . .113 Tries for the West . .96 Riding the Range . .114 Wolf . .71 The Outcome . .96 John Shepard, Town Marshal . .114 Wakan Tanka . .71 Shades of Gray . .96 Outlaws . ..