5 Les pionniers (extraits)
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5.4 La vie quotidienne
Life in the West was hard and dangerous. People worked an average of 10 hours a day, six days a week, with Sundays off. Despite these conditions, the people were quite friendly, mutual aid was common among emigrants, and children were quite well educated. However, people often had a tense and contemptuous relationship with "foreigners," whether Chinese, Blacks, Mestizos or Mexicans. This mistrust was due in part to the low wages accepted by these communities.
Blacks and half-breeds were often servants, mainly those who had fled the South after the Civil War.
The Chinese were considered sober and frugal. They had no demands, and accepted very low wages and long hours. For these reasons, they were valued, if despised, workers. They mainly ran laundries, undertakers and restaurants. From 1865 to 1869, about 12,000 Chinese worked for the construction of the Transcontinental Railway.
Mexicans were often distrusted and the words that summed them up were farmers, bandits and Catholics. They were called “greasers”.
The Irish were considered violent drunks. They were called paddies. Irish actively participated in the construction of the Transcontinental railroad on the eastern side.
The Jews were involved in trade, watchmaking, jewelry, alcohol and tobacco.
The Indians had a reputation as bloodthirsty savages, especially since they mutilated the bodies of their victims.
Women in the West were much less numerous than men. They were allowed to devote their free time to "social chats" such as charities and religious meetings. There were three types of women, the sturdy companion, the sophisticated lady, and the woman of ill repute, adventurer or prostitute.
Men sometimes married a squaw, the dowry being counted in numbers of blankets. Divorce was common.
The artisans were better off than the farmers because there was little machinery in the West, and businesses appeared late. The difference in wealth was significant, it is estimated that in the 1860's, 1% of the population held 60% of the wealth.
Below is a list of trades in the West, with weekly wages around 1860.
Note that $1 would be approximately $22 today.
Although the West was a puritanical world, morality was not always the rule, especially when it came to business. If a landowner needed labor, he did not ask unnecessary questions. The wheat was for example collected by seasonal workers who had a bad reputation.
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5.9 La justice
There were various types of lawmen in the West.
He might have been a U.S. Marshal, a Town Marshal, a Sheriff or sometimes a deputy, constable, ranger, or peace officer hired by a superior officer or authority.
The US. Marshal, also called Federal marshals, was appointed by the Attorney General and their jurisdiction was country-wide. They represented the federal government’s interests at the local level. Most of the time they were investigating federal crimes within a region, but also backed up local law enforcement when needed. U.S. Marshals could also be a sheriff, sheriff’s deputy, or town marshal.
The Town Marshals was elected or appointed by towns and acted as peace officers in the towns pour le compte du gouvernement
The Sheriffs were elected officials in the county and their jurisdiction was county-wide.
In established towns people hired Sheriffs and town Marshals to keep the peace. But in many of lawless frontier towns, the US Marshals were the only kind of law that was available, and knowing this, outlaws made their livelihoods in these towns that had not yet become structured enough to provide for their own authorities. Settlers were often left to take the law into their own hands, and their ability to play the role of judge, jury and executioner led to a unique and quite dangerous form of justice.
Lawmen would lock up drunkards and aggressors and track down more notorious outlaws with the help of citizens. The lawmen often acted by surprise and behind the back ...
Justice was often rough, quick, summary and sometimes picturesque.
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