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Difficult History Trivia: When the West Was Wild | 20 Questions

I'm going to take you on a journey to the Old West. Come along, and see how much you really know.

A multiple-choice quiz by laughinggirl. Estimated time: 7 mins.

Author
laughinggirl

Time
7 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
121,367

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
20

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
9 / 20

Plays
5891

Awards
Top 20% Quiz

Last 3 plays: Guest 38 (12/20), Guest 174 (10/20), Guest 74 (8/20).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 20

1. Who is considered to be the first "mountain man"? Hint

John Colter

Joseph Dickson

Forrest Hancock

Manuel Lisa

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Question 2 of 20

2. How did John Jacob Astor make his money? Hint

fur trade

silver mining

gold mining

inheritance

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Question 3 of 20

3. A little western slang for you: what do the initials G.T.T. stand for? Hint

Gone To Texas

Give The Time

Gone To Tennessee

Get The Train

4. This young man arrived in San Francisco during the gold rush to sell tent canvas. Unfortunately, he found the market completely saturated. So, he did something else with his canvas. Who was this enterprising man?

Answer: (first and last or just surname; jeans)

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Question 5 of 20

5. Who was the first robber of a Wells Fargo stagecoach? Hint

Black Bart

The Dalton Gang

Jesse James

Rattlesnake Dick

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Question 6 of 20

6. The Missouri Treaty gave the United States 43 million acres of land. With what tribe was this treaty signed? Hint

Commanche

Omaha

Kiowa

Lakota

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Question 7 of 20

7. The Pony Express delivered the mail to Out West for 24 months.

True

False

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Question 8 of 20

8. This 22-year-old was hired by the Union Pacific to bring in bison meat to feed the workers. He is credited with killing over 2,900 buffalo. Who was this man?

Answer: (full name or nickname: he put on a great show later in his life)

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Question 9 of 20

9. Who hammered the Golden Spike that connected the Union Pacific to the Central Pacific at Promontory Point? Hint

Thomas C. Durant

William F. Cody

Leland Stanford

Grenville Dodge

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Question 10 of 20

10. Many freed slaves began a mass movement to the West. What did they call themselves? Hint

Exodusters

Exodimigrants

Journeymen

Seekers

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Question 11 of 20

11. In which country did the term "cowboy" originate? Hint

Mexico

Australia

Ireland

United States of America

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Question 12 of 20

12. What were unbranded cattle called?

Answer: (One Word: have you seen "Top Gun"?)

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Question 13 of 20

13. On his first cattle drive to Colorado, this man knew his men would need to eat, so he revamped an Army surplus wagon and invented the chuckwagon. Who was he? Hint

"Pecos" Bill Hunt

Jesse Chisolm

Charles Goodnight

Oliver Loving

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Question 14 of 20

14. This bandit, considered to be the first of the Old West, was probably a hybrid of five outlaws. What was his name? Hint

Jesus Murieta

Joaquin Murieta

Three-fingered Jack

Big John

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Question 15 of 20

15. The word "hoosegow" means graveyard.

True

False

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Question 16 of 20

16. Who were the first train robbers? Hint

Youngers

James Gang

Reno Gang

Dalton Gang

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Question 17 of 20

17. Here's another Old West slang: What was an "owl hoot trail"? Hint

an outlaw's hide-out

an outlaw's way of life

the trails used by outlaws

the final journey of an outlaw

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Question 18 of 20

18. What would Black Bart leave behind when he robbed stagecoaches? Hint

poetry

feather

handkerchief

rose

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Question 19 of 20

19. How many common-law marriages did Belle Starr have? Hint

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Question 20 of 20

20. Who claimed to have been married to "Wild" Bill Hickok, though no proof exists to that fact? Hint

Elizabeth Bacon

Belle Starr

Calamity Jane

Agnes Lake

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Who is considered to be the first "mountain man"?

Answer: John Colter

John Colter (1774-1813) was an original member of the Lewis and Clark expedition. He met up with Forrest Hancock and Joseph Dickson in 1806 and became their guide. Manuel Lisa was also guided by Colter in his venture to establish a fort in Indian country.

2. How did John Jacob Astor make his money?

Answer: fur trade

John Jacob Astor (1763-1848) made his money in the fur trade. He is also America's first recorded millionaire.

3. A little western slang for you: what do the initials G.T.T. stand for?

Answer: Gone To Texas

G.T.T. was an abbreviation often found carved into doors and windows of empty shops.

Answer: Levi Strauss

Levi Strauss did such a great business with his "waist-high overalls" that he imported a tough cotton cloth from France. The French called it "Serge de Nimes", miners shortened the name to denims.

5. Who was the first robber of a Wells Fargo stagecoach?

Answer: Rattlesnake Dick

In 1855, Rattlesnake Dick netted $80,000 outside Shasta, California. Black Bart went on to rob Wells Fargo in the 1870's.

6. The Missouri Treaty gave the United States 43 million acres of land. With what tribe was this treaty signed?

Answer: Omaha

The treaty, signed in 1854, gave the U.S. the land that would become the states of Nebraska and Kansas.

7. The Pony Express delivered the mail to Out West for 24 months.

Answer: False

Actually, the Pony Express lasted only 18 months. The Pony Express covered 1,840 miles across present-day Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and California.

8. This 22-year-old was hired by the Union Pacific to bring in bison meat to feed the workers. He is credited with killing over 2,900 buffalo. Who was this man?

Answer: William F. Cody

Buffalo Bill indeed earned the nickname with his work for the Union Pacific.

9. Who hammered the Golden Spike that connected the Union Pacific to the Central Pacific at Promontory Point?

Answer: Grenville Dodge

Both Stanford, president of Central Pacific, and Durant, president of Union Pacific, attempted to drive in the spike, and both missed the mark. Grenville Dodge, the third to try, managed to drive it in.

10. Many freed slaves began a mass movement to the West. What did they call themselves?

Answer: Exodusters

They took their name from the Book of Exodus in the Bible.

11. In which country did the term "cowboy" originate?

Answer: Ireland

The word "cowboy" first appeared in the English language on the big cattle ranches of Ireland around 1000 AD. "Vaquero" is the Spanish word for cow, and it was translated into "buckaroo".

12. What were unbranded cattle called?

Answer: mavericks

The expression comes from Samuel A. Maverick. He was not a cattleman, and after he was paid a debt with cattle he didn't brand them.

13. On his first cattle drive to Colorado, this man knew his men would need to eat, so he revamped an Army surplus wagon and invented the chuckwagon. Who was he?

Answer: Charles Goodnight

Goodnight and Loving, by the way, partnered up and created the Goodnight-Loving Trail.

14. This bandit, considered to be the first of the Old West, was probably a hybrid of five outlaws. What was his name?

Answer: Joaquin Murieta

Legend goes that after his brother (Jesus) was murdered and his wife raped, Joaquin went on a revenge spree against the Mexicans and Yankees in California. A bounty was placed on his head by Governor Bigler, and Captain Harry Love cashed in on that bounty when he took Joaquin's head. An interesting little note if anyone's seen "The Mask of Zorro".

The main character Alejandro Murieta (Antonio Banderas) had a brother named Joaquin. Their partner was Three-fingered Jack, and Captain Love hunted down and killed Joaquin, taking his head.

15. The word "hoosegow" means graveyard.

Answer: False

Hoosegow actually means "jail". It comes from the Spanish word "juzgado", which means "courthouse".

16. Who were the first train robbers?

Answer: Reno Gang

The Reno Gang, made up of brothers: John, Frank, Simeon, and William, were the first to rob a train. They managed to get away with $10,000.

17. Here's another Old West slang: What was an "owl hoot trail"?

Answer: an outlaw's way of life

The "owl hoot trail" meant an outlaw's way of life. An "owl hoot" was an outlaw.

18. What would Black Bart leave behind when he robbed stagecoaches?

Answer: poetry

Black Bart always left behind a bad poem. Here's one of his: "Let come what will I'll try it on, my condition can't be worse; And if there's money in that box, 'tis munny in my purse."

19. How many common-law marriages did Belle Starr have?

Answer: 7

Myra Maybelle Shirley, known to the world as Belle Starr, had seven common-law marriages and one legal marriage, to Sam Starr.

20. Who claimed to have been married to "Wild" Bill Hickok, though no proof exists to that fact?

Answer: Calamity Jane

Agnes Lake did marry Hickok in March of 1876. Elizabeth Bacon went on to become Elizabeth Bacon Custer. Hickok was not one of Belle's many husbands. Calamity Jane claimed up until her death that she had married Hickok, and that they had a daughter. Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok are buried next to each other in a cemetary in Deadwood, South Dakota.

Source: Author laughinggirl

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Beatka before going online.
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