tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post7159647584617876683..comments2024-03-29T01:33:22.669-07:00Comments on Buddies in the Saddle: Therese Broderick, The Brand (1909)Ron Scheerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15357501069513854664noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-83488426794556481122013-01-13T23:39:16.163-08:002013-01-13T23:39:16.163-08:00Ron, thanks very much for taking the trouble to ex...Ron, thanks very much for taking the trouble to explain some of the economical, social, and cultural differences between the East and West. I never thought of the West as egalitarian or one that offered greater opportunity or a place where someone could go to for a fresh start in life. You have cited some fine examples of the division between the two regions, particularly the health angle. That sort of thing used to happen in India too where urban dwellers would go to the countryside for a rest-cure, often to recuperate from TB. Over the past 20 years, greater opportunity has been attracting vast numbers of the rural populace to the cities and big towns for the same reasons that you mention, to "start over" and "reinvent" themselves. I suppose this has been, and still is, a universal trend. In this context, Indians continue to emigrate to the West, the land of opportunity.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-13119294935085579902013-01-12T12:19:33.429-08:002013-01-12T12:19:33.429-08:00Prashant, in popular fiction, the West allows for ...Prashant, in popular fiction, the West allows for greater freedoms of all kinds. Socially it is more egalitarian, and economically there is greater opportunity. Someone with poor prospects or whose life has derailed can go west to "start over," even to "reinvent" themselves (a notion that still holds true to some extent today). The climate was also considered more healthful, its distance from urban crowding and the comparative aridity a boon for people with TB and other pulmonary problems. <br /><br />People in the west still craved urban amenities and were aware of fashion trends. You read of the widespread reading of magazines (often passed on from hand to hand) and the demand for books. Traveling theatrical companies, lecturers, etc. filled frontier "opera houses." But the social refinements attending these cultural events back East would be less evident in the West.<br /><br />The common use of firearms dates from the general absence of "the law" during the earliest days of settlement. People had to rely on themselves for protection against outlaws, thieves, natives, and animal predators, but there was also a "code" governing gun use. Stealing horses and cattle was a capital crime, so was a killing that was not in self-defense. Ron Scheerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15357501069513854664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-36431181149608107802013-01-12T03:10:32.800-08:002013-01-12T03:10:32.800-08:00Ron, I find the East vs. West comparison interesti...Ron, I find the East vs. West comparison interesting. If the wild west, as we know it, was to the west of the Mississippi River, how different was life to the east of the river? By Bess's "easy abandonment of Eastern ways" by sitting astride her horse, as opposed to sitting side-saddle, the women in the east, I gather, were more cultured with refined tastes and manners, as were the men probably, to put it mildly. The use of firearm in the west, I think, is another fascinating analogy of the differences between the two regions. <br /><br />I liked the cover of this book and I can picture it as a hardback.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-83385224407700167652013-01-11T14:19:58.521-08:002013-01-11T14:19:58.521-08:00You would think that Davis/Davies feller would lea...You would think that Davis/Davies feller would learn his lesson after a couple attempts at seducing Bess. I hope the branding finally made him a believer. Oscar Casehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-88535118523182711412013-01-11T12:57:57.671-08:002013-01-11T12:57:57.671-08:00Living in the west I like the East v. West stuff. ...Living in the west I like the East v. West stuff. Come west and regain your health. <br /> I see you have Holt County Law in your queue, I just download it myself, I was born in Holt County as was my dad and his dad, looking forward to starting it this evening.Neil A. Waringhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01806771906152936599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-83016738717703720042013-01-11T07:01:46.292-08:002013-01-11T07:01:46.292-08:00I've read quite a few stories where the sickly...I've read quite a few stories where the sickly civilized fellow becomes a man's man after being thrown into, or back into, the wild. ERB did quite a lot with that theme.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.com