The Western i
n
American C
u
l
t
u
r
e
M
i
c
h
a
e
l
L
a
z
a
r
i
n
，
P
h
.
D
.
1
.
¥Vesterns: Setting and PlotsThe“Western" is one of the main genres of American Hollywooc1
111りvies.Ear・)lWesterns¥vere based on late 19th century“Dime Novels，" cheap novels or magazines， which ¥vere forerunners of toclay's pulp fic -tion noveIIas or comic books. These novels romanticizecl the lives of real or imaginary heroes and heroin凶 livingwest of the Mississippi River.
This kind of fictionc1eveloped into respectable literature cluring the 20th
centl1ry， ancl thel1lost important al1thors are Zane Grey (1872・1939)
[Riders of tlwplfJple Sage，]Jack S. chaefer (1907・1991)[Slz(wc]， Louis
L'Amour (1 908・ 19~~) ， Larry McMurty (1936-) [LoJlι:SOJJlι:/)均OlJιぽUe，Bn叫t
.
JI..fOl川lυfnt
ω
ω
aZJヤ切Jη1]and Cormac 1¥民McCa剖i口r廿thy仕(1933与川-)[slん'，ood 凡1l1er，ω》ソア引吋叩r，ηげ川Pゾヅ穴1，ん~di肘(/ω仰Jυ川Jηz]. Elme臼rK
‘
(elton (1926-♂2(川)()附9)[TJze Good Old Boys {md Tlze Timc it Never Nailled] was voted by the vVestern vVriterお りfAmerica as the“Best Western vVriter ()f All Time."But this kind of literature reaIIy goes back to the earliest American litcratl1re， for example Captain
J
ohn Smith (l580・1631)who was a leaderof the first English colony atJamestown . (1607) and reportecl his adyen -tl1res inA TrllcR.e/ation of Sucll
ο
ccurrCllcω ωzd AcculcJlls of NofeωHαttcned iJl VirgiJlia(1608) anc1A DescJ守的~(}Jl of Neu' Eng/and (1616). The most famol1s aclventure is how he was saved from the Indian chief Powhatan by the lndian princess Pocahontas. One of the first American al1thors to be praised by Europeans was
J
ames Fenimorc Cooper (1789・1~5 1). Many of thc mc】tifsof the vVestern genre ¥verec1eveloped in his
novels about the fictional pioneer hero N atty Bumppo.
¥V csterns alモ typicalhero/heroine stories about creating peace ancl
prospcrity by (1)transforming the wilderness into fertile range anc1 far111 -lanc1s anc1 (2) bringing law anc1 civilization to society. The special featllre that makes them American litcratllre is the character of the“anti-hero. " a heroic figure who is unablc to live in the civilization that he/she attempts to constrllct.In fact， in some Westerns， the central character is an olltlaw. According to the American Film Institute、an inc1epenc1cnt NPO creatcc1 by the US N ational Enc10wment for the Art，日 the top tcn American Westerns are:(1)Tlle，'Scarche月(1956)，(2)Higlt No()JZ(1952)， (3) SIWJlC (1953)， (4)UJlfoJgivCJl (1992)， (5)Rcd Rioer(1948) (6)Tlze Wild βltncll(1969)， (7)， BlItch仇'-SSI
の
， aJldthc SlfJ1dance Kid (1969)， (8)A1cCabc & Mrs. Miller(1971). (9)Stagcco飢・h(1939)， and (10)Cat sallolf(1965). In every one of these films the protagonist has questionablel1lotivations， moral insecurity or is an outright scounc1re.l There are three typical settings for these movies. The first is minil1g townぉ(Tombstonc，Arizona， Silver City， N cvada， etc.) or cattle towns where herds are gatherec1 for shipment to thc East (Abilene ancIDoc1ge City， Kansas， etc.). Both locations are sites of extravagant wealth and decac1ence， with variolls factions vying for cOl1trol or outlaws preying 011 the locals. The secol1cl two settings both involve migr・ation，the archc-typal American story. One depicts cattlec1rives from Texas to the railheads in Kansas， ancl the other follows wagon trains moving from the East to thc West.Bolh of these migration plots explore internal conflicts amon宮 lhcclisparate types on thc migration anc1 external conflicts with forces of nature， outlaws， hostile Inc1ians， etc.
These stories mainly take place in the perioc1 fol1owing the American Civi1War (1861-1865) until the Mexican Revolution(l9]()). Some of the movies are set in the 1840s ancl concern the wars to separ孔teTexas from
肘iexico(Battle of thc Alamo， 1836) or early trappers anc1 bllffalo hunters. Others are set in modern times anc1 deal with present day cowboys or roc1eo ri1ecrs.
Westward Expansion of the United States
Ket Routes of
Santa Fe Trail 1021•
Ore!JOfl Trail18tl1•
Pony Express 1860•
Transcontinental Railroad 1869 •
D
Ori•Jinal 130
1791-18210
10J6 10670
1076-1912Ger1v Bakker • ~p(ernbef 1001
So.IC'i! 1\F'S ~lCJOOS
The starting point for moving from the East to the West was St. Louis,
Missouri. The first American explorers were Meriwether Lewis (1774
-1809) and William Clark (1770-1838) who were sent by President Thomas
Jefferson to map the Louisiana territory, which had been bought from
France in 1804. vVestward mo,·ement was slow until gold \\"as clisco,·ered ncar San Francisco in 1849. There \\"ere two main routes to cross the
country until the Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869. It
took 4-6 months to cross the country by wagon train, while the railroad
took 7-10 days. After the Gold and Silver rushes. most of the people
using these trails were homesteaders.
Santa Fe Trail: This route \\·as first mapped by \\"illiam Becknell in
1822. The advantage of this trail was that the route was mainly ()at and large wagons could easily move along it. One disadvantage was that wagon trains had to cross large deserts in Arizona and California. Another problem was that some of the Indians along this route (Co man-che and Apache) were the most dangerous in North America. In 1860,
3,000 wagons and 9,000 people used the trail as a trade route. The trail
lost popularity after the Santa Fe Railroad was completed in 1880.
-Oregon Trail: This route was used as early as 1811 and follows the
Missouri River for 3,500 km. Over 400,000 people used this trail. This
route had several advantages; food (buffalo) and water were plentiful,
and it was well-protected and developed by the American army (except
during the Civil War years). The main problem was getting wagons over
the Rocky Mountains and crossing rivers, especially if people branched
off to the California Trail leading to northern California and the gold
fields. To get over the mountains or cross rivers, wagons bad lo be smaller and lighter, which meant that they could carry fewer supplies
(salt, flour, etc.) lhan the wagons used on the Santa Fe Trail. In the
spring, the rivers were dangerous to cross; in the fall, the wagon train
might be caught by a snow storm. UTAH TERR. ARIZ. TERR. WYOMING TERRITORY
B
Catlle trailsD
RailheadsB
Major railroadsoj_ _ _ ..,.•soi.:...., _ _ .::J300 mllos
0 150 300 k1tomCICfS CATTLE TRAILS
'
'
DAKOTA TERRITORYCattle Drives: Bcsides 1he pioneers moving west， cowboys c1rove herds of cattle from Texas and孔lexicoto towns like Abilene and Doc1ge Ci1y， Kansas， whcre the cows ¥¥'ere fec1 and put on trains to Chicago， l11inois. ln Chicago， the beef cows were killecl and packagecl as meat， which was sent to the cities in the East.The typical drive included 1，500・2，000head
of cattle， ancl 10・15cowboys， 5-10 horses/cowboy， ancl a chuck ¥vagon
(carrying the food and a cook). The life of a cO¥vboy ¥vas tough， and the average life expectancy was only 4 years. Besides the dangers of the job and life in 1he wilderness， cowboys were in conf1ict with farmc'rs. The farmers did not want cows walking over their fields so they built barbed -wire fences. By 1880， the farmer pop111ation hacl greatly incrcased， so cattle ranchers moved their herds to the Dakotas， ¥¥Tyoming and Montana.
A
Cowboy's Life: Riding，
Roping，
W
ranglingTraditional education is composecl of“The Threc 1とs." Reacling， ¥vRiting anc1 aRithmetic， bl1t f(一)1'cowboys， the essential skills are Ric1ing (a horse)， Ropin日(catching a cow ¥vith a rope) and wRanglin日(controlling live -slock， especially horses). Other narnes for "cowboy" are: cowpoke， cow-puncher， cowhand and bl1ckaroo ([rom the Spanish for cowboy， v(/{/lIero).
The American trac1ition of the cowboy comes from l¥lexico and Spain， anc1 ultima1ely from Aral】cultureclating back to th(' 16th century.
All these regions have a dryc1imate without 11111ch grass. Therefore the cows have 10 cover large amounts of land to finc1 enough forage (food)， and the men who take carc of the cows need to be on horses to keep 1rack of the herds. The two areas of the United States most associated with cowboys arc Texas and California， but today real working cowboys are mainly found in ¥Vyoming ancl 1¥1ontana.
Afte1'the Civil ¥¥7ar， many former sol1icers movec1 west anc1 became cυwboys. Freed slaves. Inclians and 'lvlexicans also worked as cυwboys， but they are not usually shown in Hollywood movies， even though they rnay have been ove1'50% of the total cowboys. Regarc11ess of race， cow-boys werc usually frol11the lowerc1asses and earned about$l.OO/day
+
-foocl anc¥live1 on tc he υpen 1・ange01・ina“bllnkhollse'‘(onc room bar -racks) when near the ranch.
There were very few W0111en in thc 01c1 West， so cυwboy clllture was almost entirely male. The ratio of men to single women was 100 to one. The cowboys were uneclllcate b1cut they c1cvelopecl a strong sense of indi -vidllalisI11anc1 self-reliance. Hollyw山)c1moviesぱtenshow cowboys fight -in広 withlndians， bllt in fact， most of the conf1ict with the Indians was fought by the LJS Army. '1'0 the contrary， cowboys learnecl many survival skills from the lndians and marriecl Indian women. The life of a cowboy was contraste t1co the life of a farmer， and it bccame an Amcrican heroic ideal.P可resi凶d印en北tTheoclorc Roosevel比tsai1 tc h剖atcowb】【oy cul比t仇印u山1日re made Ame臼ricansstn一川ge目rthan Eu山lropeanswho wcre ma引11凶1ly臼[arme目rs.
One of the main jobs of the cO¥vboys was to move the cattle fro111 the ranch to a railroad line where they could be shippecl to the com・ panies like thc Annour Meat Company in Chicago and the11 to the lar日e cities of the East Coast.From 1866 to 1886， 20 million cows were hercled from Texas to Kansas. The trip took about 2 111011ths on the Chisholm Trai.lIn the cowtowns， cowboys receivecl most of their wages [or the ycar， and they spent it drinking， gambling and on prostitutes.I-Iollywood movies show the cowboys fighting ancl shooting each other， but in fact司 the murder rate in East Coast cities was higher than in cowtowns.
2
.
Pioneer Character: The Strong Silent TypeAmericans are known for being talkativc‘but the main American hero type is called・'thestrong， silent type."Like traditional European roman-tic heroes， they should treat others with respect and help those who are weaker (the old， women and children)， bllt they are not elegant conversa -tionalists like their EUl・opean1l1oclels. American heroes rarely say any -thing and never boast.This characteristic was established in Cooper's novels and derives [rom the pioneer's association with Inclians who ¥vere very laconic.Ifthey are expert about something and asked if they know/ can do it， they should say，“A little.円Ifthey like somcthing， they ShOllld say，“It's OK." Ifthesc characters c10 not speak 111uch、thel1how clo p('o・
plc know that they are strong? ¥Vhy clo pcople listcn to and follow their few words? 1t is because they show extreme se1f-confidence based on the Amcrican values ()f indiviclllalism:(1)pragmatism， (2)judge for ynurse1f and (3)self-reliance. Pragmatism lllcans:
“The whole meaning of a conception expresses itself in practicaI consequcnces， either in the shapc of condl1ct to be recommended or in that of experience to be expected if the conception is true." Wi1liam
J
ames (1902)The main tenets of pragmatism are:
(1)The source ()f alItruth 1S experience. (2)The measure of all truth is practicaI action.
(3)The world is always changing: truth comes from the future， not the past.
Cultl1raI traditions establish ways of doing things. ¥Vhat one does in the future is largely dccided by what has been done in the past in most cul -tllres(Japan. Europe， etc.). However. in a new sitllation司 theestablished vvays of clc山19things lllight not work. This is what people living in North America cliscovered. They hacl to find new ways to live in order to sur -vive in the wilderness. Truth comes from the future rather than the past. The most important thing was to be “practical" in orcler to survive. Pragmatists may use unorthodox or Questionable means to succeed. Usu・
ally the hero/heroine cannot explain his/her ideas or morality-not even to himself/herself.
One result of pragmatism was a questioning of authority. Americans challengec1 not only thc European traditions， bl1t also the authorities ¥vho preserved and taught these traditions: aristocrats. priests. judges and teachers. 1n most nations， the people havc a“police mind，"that is， they pressllre others to do what the authorities say is right or wrong. Amer-icans think that each indivic1ual has the right to c1ecide things for oneself.
In Amcrican dernocracy， everyone is taught to ju1ge fc or thcl11selves. This makes Americans more f1exible and reacly to change.Italso makes them more ready to break the law.
日elf-reliancecloes not only mean taking carc of oneself but a1so tak -ing care to put things right.Ifthe past al1thorities no longer gl1孔rantee the trl1th or falseness ()f a worlclview， the rightness or wrongness of human action日， the burden of responsibility is shifted from otherぉonto one's own sho111ders. If things go well， one can take crcdit for a good plan ()r deciぉion.Ifthin日sgo poorly， one must freely accept blame anc1 punishment. Morcover， if one's situation (socicty， company， school， etc.) is ba，1cone ml1st work to change it. Complaining without acting is irrespon -siblc.
In Hollywood movies， these three aspects of American character are represcntec1 by a lone cowboy or lawman coming l1pon a 1icsastrous日itua -tion， taking charge of matters， c1ccic1ing who is right in thc conflict ancl defending their interests， anc1 finaIIy leaving to continlle their目。litary joUl・neyever onwarc1s heyond the western fronticr.In this regar，1cthey resemble the“knights errantけ ofMedieval litcrature but rather than a quest for rcligious salvation (by the jllStc1efense of the weak)， they are motivated by a queは [or individual frcec1om. They do not roa111 frol11 place to placc to rid their society of evildoers， rather they are looking to escape from society altogether. ln Hollywood ¥Vestcrns， many of the prota日onistsare portrayed as “loners" who“ride off into the sllnset" at the encl of the action.Like traditional romantic heroes， American hcroes try to make natllre safe anc1 bring jllstice to society. In Westerns this heroic function is usual1y shown by the hero taking the sic1e of the weak against wild animals， Inclians， olltlaws or corrupt landowners ancl politicians. There are plenty of B-grac1e l110vies in which thc hero gets the girl in the end， but this is not the casc in the best Westerns. Sincc most of the women a cowboy coulc1 meet woulc1 be marriec1tr川一)thermen or prostitutes in the Olcl West，
there usually was not a “princess figure" for the hero to save and marry. The thcmc of sυcial solic1arity isl1sually shown through“partners" ー 126 龍特大学論集
(both men are equal)and“sidekicks" (one is stronger than the other). But， thc iconic image ()f a ¥;Vcsterncowbo~・ hero is a“loner" who clocs not need friends or women. Often a cowboy's only real friend is his horse. Some real life Western characters inclllc1c hunters and marksmen (Kit Carson， Bll[falo Bill， Annie Oakley， Calamity Jane)， la¥¥'men (¥Vyatt Earp， ¥Vilcl Bill Hickok， Pat Garrett， Bal Masterson， Roy Bean) and out -laws(Jesse James， Billy the Kid， Butch Cassidy， Sundance Kid). Some of them hacl wives， but none of them had a greal“romance" or“love affair" as a defining characteristic of their personality.
Some Hollywood m(】viesunrealistically provide al1“honest" ¥voman
(a school teacher or widow) for romantic interest. In Aly Dar/ing C/cnzeJlfiJlc (1946)， c1irccted by John Ford， an1 sc tarring Henry Fonc1a. almost all the men in town fall over each other when they see Clementine arrive in Tombstone. This is because they have never seen an ec1ucatecl ¥voman wilh good morals. All theother women in the movie are prostillltes. In the movie・theprotagonist~Tyatt Earp ancl his friencl “Doc" Holiday compete for the affections of Clementine， but in the end. the latter clies in the famous gllnfight at the OK Corral ancl thc former moves on towarcl California， promising Clementinc that he “might" return. In theLealhersfockiJlg Ta/，ω‘J ames Fennimore Cooper established
many of the motifs of "life in the wilclerness" that can be seen in later literature and Hollywood ¥Vesterns. The special skills anc1 menta1ity of American pioneers anc1 the lnclians are developecl in these novels. One of the most important characteristics of the pioneers is“rcstlessness，"the neecl to see what is beyond the horizon. The hero of thcLeaflzersfoclaJlg
Ta/es.Natty Bumppo， is never able to settle down. He is ahvays protect -ing the new settIers ancl a force for jllstice wherever he goes， but he cannot live in thc society that he creates. He is always moving on fr0111 thc Huclson River to the Great Lakes an f1cinally to the ¥Vestern Prairie until he clies nameless， known only as“the trapper" or“the olc1 111an，"by the Inclians with Wh0111 he lives. Natty Bllmppo is 1110clelecl on real life pioneers like Daniel Boone (1743・1820)，who was one of the first English
-speakers to settle ¥vest of the Appalachian MOllntains. Accorcling to leg -The Western in American Culture (Lazarin) -
127-en，1cwhenever Boone coulcl see the smoke fro111 a neighbor's chimney (煙 突)， he w()uld move further west because it was too crowc1ed.
Qne of the most famous instances of“riding off into the sunset" is the cnc1 of the movie Shanι(1953)， directe by Gec1 Ol宮eStevens anc1 star -ring Alan Ladcl. Shane is an ex-gunfighter who is forcec1 to take up arms again in a range war (see below). Though he is welI-respected by the grateful homesteaders whom he has saved， at the end， he decidcs to move 011. lIe knows that the socicty that he has helped to create-a community of family farmers-cannot ultimately accept him into their community‘so he ric1cs off， even as the sonl)f the main homesteac1er
family caIls after him to return.
3
.
Frontier JusticeNorthwest: Oregon became a state in1859:Washingtoll， ldaho， Montana、 ~Tyoming: 1889
Prairic: N 01・thDakota an South Dakota become s1c tates in1889.
Southwest: Arizona and New Mexico became states in1912.
Bef(汀C“statehood，" these regions had the legal status of‘.tcrritories of the Unitc S1ctates." These are regions where the central govcrnm日ltof the United States has some control， but no local state government has been established. In or1ecr to become a state of the United States， a terri -tory has to(1)have enough population and (2) form a local government that is similar to the alreac1y existing states governments (which may accept or reject the application of a territory for statehood).
Whcn the Earp brothers arrived in Tombstone， Arizona， the town was sllfficiently wealthy an1 dc eveloped to have French restaurants， a limitec1 telephone service， refrigeration and even an ice skating rink-aIl in the mic1dle of the c1esert. lt even had two police forccs: one defended thc interests of the mine owners， gambling casinos ancl saloons: thc other clefenc1ed the interests of“respectable" businessmen.γhe Earp brothers workecl for the latter faction， but this historical backgroun1 ics almost never provic1ecl by theha1fc10zen movies anc n1 llmerOllS TV shO¥vs that
depict the gunfight at the OK Corral between the Earps an t1chc Clanton family. The best of these many Hollywooc1 attempts to tell this piece of American history is the John Ford movie My DarliJlg ClcmelltiJle
mentioned above. This is because John Ford is simph・thebest director
()f the Western genre in Hollywood history. lIis fa¥"orite actor was J ohn ¥¥Tayne， but he also made many fine movies with Henry Fonda. These two actors， along with Gary Cooper， c1efine the "strong， silent type，"dur -ing the Golden Age of Holly¥vood.
Though .MyDarling ClemcntIne does not convey the historical moral ambiguity of the Earp brothers as la¥''，enforcement officials， Ford man-ages to insert something of the American anti-hero in hisc1epiction of ¥¥Tyatt Earp. At the beginning of the movie. the Eall】brothersare drivin日
a herd of cattle from Texas to California whεre their parents have alreacly established a ranch. They have recently been lawmcn in the cat・
t1e town of Dodge City， Kansas. ¥vhich is an historIcal fact. The Clantons tl1urder the yOllngest Earp brother and rllstlc the cattle while the ol1ecr brothcrs are in Tombstone. Afterward， the remaining three Earps stay in town as lawmen， but their motivation is not to clean up Tombぉtonebut rather to get revenge against the Clantons. As soon as all the Clantons are buriecIin the Boot Hill cemetery， they move on to California. ¥Vhile thc Earps are portrayed as men of justice and the Clantons as despicable cattle thieves， nonetheless， their motivations and actions are not com-pletely honorable.
I-Iollywood movies often show“gunfighters" clueling with onc another or the local sheriff 011 the main streets of small weぉterntowns. In fact， such gllnfights were rare in the ¥Vest. The most famOllS glll1fight of the ()Id ¥Vest took place in Tombstone， Arizona， at the OKじorral.In IIolly -¥vood movies and TV shows， the Earp brothers and the Clanton family are showl1facing one another at close range anc1 blastin日awayuntil all of the Clantons are dead. In fact， the conflict was mainly a rllnning gUI1 battle through alleyways， with one or two men cornering another.In this regard， fl.1y DarliJlg Clemcntine is more accurate than ll10st lIollywooc1 and TV depictions of the gunfight.
-During the perio1cin which most ¥.へ
r
estern movieぉaresd， gUIlvio・lence and the murder ratc was much higher in the bi日eaぉterncitics such as New York than in towns like Tombstone. Nevertheless， thcrc wcrc peri(ー)dsof bloody conflict with high numbcrs of ca汎1altiessl1ch as thc battles in Kansas and Nebraska before the Civil War to dctcrll1inc whether these states woulcl be free states or slaveぉtates. In the pcrioc1
just following the Civil War， ragtag units of the Southern Arll1y continuec1 on as gangs robbing trains an r1caicling cattle drives. SOI1lC of thc most violent conflicts in the 01d West were“range wars" for water rights that took place after thc Civil ¥¥'ar in states like Wyoll1ing and Montana.
Outside of thel1linin宮 andcattle towns， where there was a lot of money， thc government could not proviclc soldiers or police to enforce the la¥¥'s. Judges and trials might be available only once or twice a year. Ordinary people had to clefend themselves from thieves ancl murc1erers. Actually， Americans have a long tradition of acting as their own police and judges going back to colonial1ays ic n thc 17th and 18"1 ccnturies.
Bascd on the principles of“judge for yourself" and“self-reliancc，"justice on the frontier was 1m宮elydecidcd by the l1liners， cattlemen and homcs-teaders who lived there rather than government authorities.
The first pioneers were hunters and trappcrs， who solcl meat to the US Army and furs to businesses in the East. Thcy were followec1by cattle ranchers in the 1830s ancl 40s. The first Amcrican ranches were in Texas when they took the northern part of Mcxico in 1845. The terri -tories of New Mexico， Arizona and California were addecl after the Mexican War of 1848. These ranchers raised longhorn catt1e fr0111 Mex-ico. Longhorns coulcl survive in the tough conditions of Texas anc1 the Southwest. Later ranchers in Kansas， Wyoming and Montana usc1cmore traditional breeds fr0111 Europe. During the 1860s， the US govcrnment encouraged family farmers to resettle in the western territories. The main incentive was offering land in exchange for a serious commitmcnt to settle there.
The Homesteac1 Act of 1862 offered 160 acres of land west of the 130 龍谷大学論集
l¥Ilississippi for free if a homesteac1er was over 21 years υld an1 icmprovecl the land for 5 years. Ol1ly abollt 40% of humesteac1erぉ¥veresl1ccessful， but1.6 million homesteac1 c1ee1s c were given by 1 ~ß4 (ab(川t}O% of thc land in the US). In 1916， homestcad rights were also given to ranchcrs， but the original act was intenc1cd to help farmers and this pl1t farmers in conflict with cattle ranchers and Indians.
The uneasy balance between the cattlcmen anc1 homesteaders somc. times res111ted in“range wars，" which wcre violent battles for control of the countryside and water rights that took place in Texas， New :¥e1exico， Arizona and Wyoming. On the one side. there were lar日eranchcrs with thousanc1s of acres who had arrive e1c arly in these areas. They usua11y did not have clear title to owncrship of the land because they hacl arrived years before any kind of government authority. On the other side， sma11 ranchers and farmers， who arrivcd later， wanted land and ¥vater rights. These latecomers usually had legal rights under the Homestead Act， bllt often government marshals were not ncarby. In some cases， the US Army was sent to stop range wars， bl1t they ¥vere l1sually resolved by the parties involved.
There were two important aspccts ()f range wars. The first was the use of“barbed wire." The sma11 ranchers and farmers set up barbcd wire fences to protect their land anc1 prevent free-ran宮ecattle from crossing their fields. Conflicts arose when cowboys cut the barbed ¥vire to lct their hcrcls of cattle pass throllgh or find water.The second was the l1se of professional“gunfighters" or“gunslingers." Both siIces in these range wars hirecl professional gunfighters， ¥vho were similar to mocIern mafia hitmen. Popular weapons l1sed by gunfighters were pistols ancl revolvers made by Colt ancIRemington (.40， .44 or .45 caliber)， ancl shotguns anc1 lever-action rif1es made by ¥Vinchester.At the end o[ the Civil war (1865)， solcIiers were allowecIto keep their weapons， anc1 this made guns easily available in the United States.
During the Civil War most of the pistols and rif1es werc front -loading， bal1-and-cap， single-shot weapons. Reloading took enough time for an enemy soldier to hicIe or engage in hanc1-to-hancl combat. lVlorc
over， the single-shot weapons were not very accurate or powerful.A gunshot wound-even to thc chest-was not necessarily fatal.By lhe end of the Civil ¥Var. carlridgc revolvers were standard equIpment for offi -cers. 1n the 1870s. morc cfficient ways of reloading the revolvin記 cham-ber increased fire-power.Also， double-action revolvers， where the 1riggcr cocks the hal11l11er an s1choots the bullet increased the speec1 of shooting. Other developmen1s increasc the range and aCCl1racy， and con討equent1y
the killing-power of six-shoo1crs.
Shαne is a fictiりnalrcprcscntation of a range war tha1 100k place in
J
ohnson County‘Wyoming in 1889. The protagonist arrives in a valleywhere a s111a11 grollp of homesteaclers have settlecl along a river rllnl1ing through 1he open range where two brothers， Rufus ancl Morgan Ryker， have been grazing their cattle for more than ten years. The homes-teaders have not yet been working the land for the requirecl five years， so nobody has a clear legal claim to the lancl， ancl more il11portantly， the water rights. The ranchcrs have just received a big contract for beef fro111 the US Arl11y. so thcy want the homesteaders to leave by wintcr so they can get easy access to water for their hercl cluring the winter 111onths. The hOl11esteadcrs refllse to move. The ranchers begin to intimi -date the homesteaclers in varioL1s ways， but they are afraid 10 go too far because the professional gllnfighter Shane is working fo・'1 one of the homesteaclers.
Though Shane is tryil1広 10 renounce his violent past anc1 clりes110t challenge the ranchers wi1h his glln. they feel it is necessary for thel1110 hire their own gunfighter
J
ack Wilson (Jack Palance). Palance is the I-Iollywood tough glly'S“tOllgh gllY，"ancl his role in this movie is bloocl -curdling. When he rides into town， even the wilcl dogs Sklllk away fro111 him. He wears thc black hat， black leather vest and pearl-hanc11ed Colt 45's of the iconic ¥Ves1ern killer. Georgc Stevens saw action in Italy during ¥VVl II， and c1espite the Ilol1ywood Procluction Cocle against the explicit presentation of violence， he realistically portrays what happcns to a 111an when hc is shot at close range by a .45 caliber pist川 (lhol1ghhc does 110t1acre to show the blooc1) when 可¥ilsonguns down one of the -1:12一 龍 谷 大 学 論 集homesteaders. Shane has no choice but to go into town and cleal with ¥Vil只on. He not only kills，~Tilson but also both of the Ryker brothers.
Just before killing Rufus Ryker， they have this exchange:
Shane: Yeah， YOll'Ve lived too long. Your kind of days are over. Ryker:~vly clays? 'Vhat about yours， gunfighter?
Shanc: The difference is 1 know it.
James Fcnnimore Cooper'sLasf 01 tlze Mo/zicωzs(1826) is not only abollt lhe enc1 of the lndians， but also the lone pioneer.Hoth had been impor -lant figl1res in 17th century America but there was no place for them in the Unitecl Statcs of thc 18th ccntury. Cooper thought that the future belongec1 lo the yeoman family farmer， and that both the Indians and pioneers were too violent. This displacement ()f hunters by farmers is echoec1 in the movie SlzaJle anc1 many other rnovies dealin日 with this
themc， almost always ¥¥rith the homesteaders prevailing over the ranchers.
4
.
La w and OrderOne of the most important principles of moc1ern dcmocracy is the“r111e of la¥，/'rather than the“rllle of men." One of the main themes of ¥Vest -erns is how“law and order" replaced“power and violence" in the Old West. As mentioned before， the allthority of the US government was often absent or weak in the western territories. Conflicts between ranchers and homesteaclers were sometimes clecic1ed by“range wars" with the help of professional gunfighters. Sometimes professional gun -fighters were appointed as local sheriffs by powerf111 bl1siness interests. This was the case of the Earp brothers in Tombstone， who ¥vere one of two polices forces vying for control of the streets of Tombstonc， cach representing a clifferent bl1siness faction.
Thc Constitution of the United States is basically a set of laws abollt how a c1cmocratic repllblic should operate. The first 1 amen() 1ments tc o the constitlltion are called the“Bill of Rights." Britain， France and even
the Unitec1 N ations all have "Bills of Rights.リ Someof theser・ights日o hack to 12th century English law， for example， a trial by a jury of ol1e's peers: others reflect the special character of each culture. From the ear -liestc1ays of colonial settlement in N orth America， private gun o¥vnerぉhip was important for hunting and survival in the wilderness. The Seconcl Amenc1ment states:
“'AlOell-reglllatedJlrfilitia being necessωヲ to tlze seClf rity 01αIrec Statc， tlze riglzt 01t1ze teotlc to laep and beαγαrms sl!αIIJlot hc
Ilzlringedプ
Although the Second Amenclment clearly applies to the use of weapolls by the military， there is a long traclition of private gl1n owner -ship in America. Guns were very expensive. so private ownership was limited in the 18th an1 ec arly 19th cent
l1ry. After the Civil War， the sol -diers were allowe tc1 o keep their weapons. With mass ownership， prices came c10wn anc1 a Colt Army pistol cost about $20・25 (=$S()() toc1ay).
Toclay， thc US has the highcst private gun ownership in thc wo1'lc1 with 90 gl1ns/lOO people compa1'e w1cith Ycmen: 60 guns/l00 people.
Given the limite numbers o1c f lawmen， when a serious prob1em ar川 町 they l1sl1al1y haIcto ask the local citizens for assistance. Since so many people alreacly ownecIguns， it was easy to gather an armec1 fm・ce[or law enforcement purposes and US law provides for such situations th1'υl1gh
Posse
C
O
JJlitatlfs， literal1y "force of the cOl1nty." This law al10ws a sheriff or marshal lo gather men to help him keep the peace or arrest criminals. While the men are members of the叫posse"they are called“c1eputies."The 1aw not on1y means (1)the sheriff can gather al1armed force， bl1t a1so (2) the citizens have a duty to volunteer for service.
Gathering a“posse" is a typical motif in Hollywooc1 Westerns: ho¥¥' -ever， there is a contradiction in the l1se of a“posse" to control crime. A basic step to law and order was the prohibition of carrying or using gl1ns in a town. On the other hand， all the citizens had gl1ns so they c0111cl perform their "posse" service. Thus， everyone had gl1ns to prevent some
people from using guns. In the gunfight between the Earp brothers ancI
the Clanton family at the OK Corral， the Earps claimed that the Clantons rcfused to surrender their guns.“Doc" Holiday was a deputy of the Earps in this gunfight under the ρosse comitatus la¥¥". Thus， IIoliclay ¥yas a private citizen carrying a gun， and the Clantons claimed that this con -fused them， especially because the Clantons were allied with the police force that rivaled the Earp brothers. Because of this“posse" tradition， the local population-especially in the ¥vestern states-has never been fully disarmed， and as a consequence， the US has thc highest rate of gun violence in the world.
Ifthere was a shortage of lavvmen in the Old ¥Ve日t，there was an even greater shortage of judges. Sometimes thc "posse'・notonly arrestec1 suspects but then went on to try and sentence them-l1sually by hanging thcir captives frol11the nearest trce. This "lawless" fOl・IIIof the law is called‘'vigilantc justice."¥¥7hen the government legal system was absent or九Ncal仁 groupsof citizens would sometimes act as police， jl1dge ancl execl1tioner.Often， these groups had enough local support that they could operate in the open like the“San Francisco COl11l11ittee ()f Vigilance" in the 1850s. But sometimes the vigilantes ¥¥'ere racist groups like the“Ku Kll1X Klan" who attacked Blacks in the south. or the“Sydney Ducks" who attacked Hispanics and Asians in California. ln 1864， the“Montana Vigilantes" killed 21 men， including Henry Plummcr who was the sheriff of the town of Bannack. Since Plummer had previously becn an outla¥v， it is not clear if the hanging was justified or not.
One of the best movies that deals with this problcm isH"igh lVOOJl
(1952)， clirected by Fred Zinneman and starring Gary Cooper.Cooper plays lVlarshallV¥TillKane who has brought“la w and order" to the town of Hac11eyvi11e. This is clearly a reference to Marl王Twain's“ThelVlan Who C【>rruptedHadleyburg" (1899)， about a town of hypocrites ¥vho are
exposed by a mysterious stranger.
The movie begins with Kane's retirement and wecldin日 to Amy Fowler (Grace Kelley)， but just as they are about to leave town， news arrivcs that a ruthless kil1er has been somehow releasec1 [rom jail ancl is
。
nhis way to takc rcvenge against the town ancl Marshall Kane. The mayor enCOl1rages Kane to flee， but Kane is not the sort of man who rl1ns a way frol1lclanger.N evertheless， he neecls to rOl1ncl up a“posse" to face the killer ancl his gang. I-lis new wife is a Quaker， so she refuses to support him. Ncx，tKane discovers that some of the men in town actually vvelcome the return of the outlaw， yearning for the wilcler times of gam・bling ancl clrunkenness before“law ancl orcler" was establishecl. Then Kane learns that even the“honest" men in the town will not join the “posse" becal1se they are afraic1. Finally， Kane appeals to the“church -日oelぜ， in town， a grOl1p he was never particularly friendly with because he l1secl violence to control the outlaws. They will not help him because they think the olltlaws will bypass the town if Kane leaves. Even his best fl允ncl，a retirecl lawman who brol1ght him to Haclleyville， will not help him.
In thc cncl， 1‘~ane faces the fOl1r olltlaws by himself. His wife returns to hclp him ancl t(明etherthey manage to kill a11 of the outlaws. The town comes Ol1t of hicling to congrat111ate Kane， but he throws his mar-shal baclge into the dirt and leaves the town in disgust..MyDar1ing CleJllcntiJlc， SI/(mc ancl!Ji'gh Noon all depict a“peacemaker" who cannot live in the society that he helped create.
5
.
Peacemaker and PeacekeeperThe clifference between a lawflll or lawless use of violence is a fl・e
-ql1ent themc ()f I七>lIywooc1Western movics. One of the more nuanceIc treatments ()f this is，a.lWJllall(1971)， directed by Michael Winner and starrin日Bl1rtLancaster.In this!11ovie， two clifferent prototypical lawmcn arc prcおentccl.ltis worth looking at this!11C一wicin some detail.
。
nthじりJ1ehand，J
erecl Macldox (Burt Lancaster) is the sheriff of sannock， a railheacl where ranchers clrive thcir cattle to be put on trains ancl shippecl to thc East.The cowboys are usually paid a lU111P SU111 of ll1()ney at the en (c1)f a cattlc c1rive amounting to nearly their whole year‘s inc()me. Such towns usually have saloons， gambling casinos and houses of proはitutionto entertain the cowboys. The sheriff of such a town has
to be a“peacemaker."that is， a lawman who brings law and order to a town. This kind of character is almost as violent as the outlaws that he fights against. After peace is established this kind of character has to move on to another town that needs his services becallse he is too violent to live in the society that he created， as we have seen in Aly[)ar.万Jlg Clcmcntine， SliaJlc and Higlz..iVoon.
On the other hand， Cotton Ryan (Robert Ryan) is the sheriff of Sab -bath. This is a town rlln by a large ranch owner Vincent BrOl1son (Lee J. Cobb).It is peaceflll with a growing middle class， school and chllrch. Instead of a“peacemaker，"the sheriff of sl1ch a town needs to be a “peacekeeper."Since most of the citizens are lawf111， he c10es not neecl to be violent. His role is usually to act as a“jl1dge" to settle disputes between citizens. But when a violent outlaw comes to town， the peace -keeper is often 110t strong enough to keep the peace， 80 he necds help fro1l1a "posse" or another“peacemaker" kind of lawman.
The location of this movie is not clear but the symbolism of the two towns is. Bannock refers to the Montana town of Bannack mentionec1 above， ¥vhere vigilantes kil1ed a large nl1mber of men inclllcling the town ぉheriff.Sabbath means the holy day of rest devoted to peace and reli -日iOllSmeditation. 111 short， the former town reprcsents the mining and cattle towns of the ¥Vild ¥Vest during the 1860s and 70s， and the latter town represents the farming and small business commllnities that devel -oped in the 1880s and 90s.
The exciting force of the movie OCCl1rs when some cowboys from Sabbath get clrllnk and shoot IIp the town of Bannock -something they would never clo in Sabbath. They accidentally ki1l an olcl man who is an innocent bystander.Jered 1Yladdox travels to Sabbath to arrest and brin宮 the cowboys back to Bannock to stand trial.It is nearly certain that Bronson can bribe the jlldge in Bannock to let all of the cowboys go free司 but it is inconvenient for the cowboys to go away for the three or four months that this process will take. Bronson is inclinec1 to let孔laddox take the cowboys bllt he woulc1 rather settle matters as s()on a日possible‘
so he asks Ryan to negotiate with Mac1c1ox anc1 finc1 out if he is vvilling
to takc a bribc. But. Mac1c1ox has an inflexiblc vicw of how th(:' law shoulcl be enforce1can1cwi11neither take a bribe nor rclent in his insis -tence that the cυwboys retl1rn with him. He says. "Anybocly who耳oes against the law goes againstIllC.1 clOlU know any othcr way."‘ι>Iay it by the rules. Withollt the ruJes you're nothin宮・H
LawJJl(/}/ was maclc at the height of the Al11erican-Vietnam War whcn qllestions of morality ancl power werc hotly clebatec1in the US. Tens of thousan1cs of young peopJe marchc1cfor civil rights， womcn・s liberation anc1callec1for an encl to the war.Presic1ent Richard Nixon jllstified violence against these protesters in the nameぱ “law ancl orcler." The motivations of the characters in the movie are not so“black -and-white" aぉtypicalWestcrns. Usually the rancher figurc inI-Iollywoocl movies is tyrannica.Ibut Bronson is lovecl ancl respectecl by the ordinary people of Sabbath， and he seeks a peaceful soll1tiol1to the conf1ict. The lawman isl1sually a force for justice， but Mac1c1ox is ruthJess anc1ready to kill anyone who resists his will.Most importantly， the definition and application of“the law" itself is called into question.
¥ ¥
，'hile negotiations with Madclox continl1e，日1'onson'sforeman Har-vey Stenbaugh (Albert Salmi) clecides to take matters into his own hands and confronts Ma1cclox. This ends with a gunfight on the main日treetof Sabbath and Stenbal1gh is shot deacl， even though he clrew his pistol fi1'st. After this， Bronson's heart is harclened ancl he rcsolves to kill Madclox.
Meanwhile， it tl1rns out that Mac1dox' ex-girIfriend Lall1'a Shel】y1 (Sheree N o1'th) is living near Sabbath with one of the wanted cowboys. She meets Maddox and begs him to let her new boyfrienc1go free， but he refuses. She calls him“The Sworc1of Gicleon." This 1'efe1's to a Bible sto1'y in which Gic1eon was a juc1ge in Israel.Some of the Israelitcs began to worship a foreign gocl， but1'ather than persuacling them to return to the J ewish reli日ion，Gideon surrol1n1ccc1their camp and killed them aII. Lallra says to him，“You holcl the law too high. Justυnce， be f1exible." Bl1t he replies，“YOl1can't play with it like that， Laura. T'here is no叫just
once." Next time， it might be a friend， or money in your hand， or maybe
yOl1get scared. And then it becomcs just ()ne more“just once." Soon， yOll don't know who you are. You CalU break the rllles， Lal1ra."
N everthe1ess， after discussin日thingswith Ryan， -:¥'laddox comes to rea1ize that the time of the“peacemaker" kind of 1awman is past and it is n<川 thetime of the“peacekeeper" type of lawman. :YIaddox knows that he cannot adapt to the new kind ()f la¥v enforcement， but he is wi11ing to give up his own way of law enforcement. He decides to drop the matter ()f arresting the cowboys. He will give up being a la¥vman and try to start a new way of 1ifc with Lal1ra， who arrives in town to leave with him. Bl1t before any of this can happen， Bronson arrives with his cowboys and his son， who had nothing to c10 ¥vith the shooting in Bannock.
Maddox faces the professional gl1nfighter Chocta¥¥' Lee in a classical ¥Vestern shootout and kills him. He tries to leave and tl1rns towarc1 Laura， but Bronson's son calls him out; another duel el1sues and then the SOI1lies dead at his father's feet.
J
ust then. Laura's new boyfriend throws down his gun and rUl1s to her for help. Maddox carefully takes aim， shoots him in the back and he clies at her feet. ¥Veeping over the dead body of his son， Bronson picks up a pist(一)1ancl shoots himself in the head.Then ~vladdox slow1y and deliberately ricles Ollt of tOWI1， passing by Laura without 100king at her.
One thing that both恥Iaddoxancl Rシan，the“peacemaker" and the "peacekeeper." could agree aboul is that the worst sort of 01lt1aw is a “back-shooter." a man who wi11 shoot elnother man in the back. This is one of the ironclad rules of thc ¥Vestern genre. Perhaps the on1y thing worse than this kind of ambl1sh is sh(川tinga man's horse. lronically in
LaU'1JWJl， two of the cowboys anc1 one o[ the town vigilantes try to shoot Madclox in the back， 1】utthey all remain alive at the end of the movie，
while a11 of those who faced him man-tυ-man are clead. And 1110st puz -zling of all is why iVIadclox would shoot the unarmed boyfriend of Laura in the back while she looked on. All of his rigid princip1es of“law and order" coming crashing down in a m0111ent.
6
.
ConclusionThe clisgracef111 exit of Jerecl Macldox in Laumzan makes somethin宮clear that wa日latentinMy Dar/illg C/ementine， Slwne， and Higlz Nooll. This something is the violent lawlessness inherent in the iconic lawman of the Western genre. Evcn if they wear white hats and defencl the meek a日ainstthe rl1thless， they accomplish their goals through the l1se of brl1te force， and this c1istinguishes them from the romantic， gentleman heroes of the El1ropean trac1ition. Itc1efines the character of the American anti -hero. Of course Lancelot anc S1 herlock Holmes also employ violence in the c1cfcnse of justice， but it is not essential to their character.It iぉalast resort not the first impulse when confrontec1 by an enemy. In trac1itional romantic hero an h1c eroine stories， the roles of the gellt1eman-hcro anc1 the lac1y-heroine are fixecl. They are llsually very 山 川clp町 中lewho clearly understanc1 theirc1uty. It is bettcr to keep the coc]es ()f hOl1or an cc1 ivility even if it means losing.Ifa romantic gentleman-hero or lady-heroine fails， it is because their“cause" (the nation， the Christian religion， etc.) is worth dying for an1 theυPP<c >Jlents werc insurmoul1table. There may be some c10ubts anc1 regrets司 but the gentleman-hcro rarely finds himself on the shaky宮rounc1sthat thc Amer-ican anti-hcro inhabits.
Onc conscquel1ce of the pragmatic sacrifice of olc1 customs anc t1racli -tions is that morality becomes ambiguous， constantly changing. People havc various opinions about what is justice in any situatic】n. American
literature ancl movies explore "moral ambiguity" through the“anti-hero， " characters that have many moral weaknesses anc1 many complex l110ral choices to make.
Traclitionally， il1legal affairs， (1)criminals use violence to changc the law for pcrsonal benefit， (2) the police use violence to preserve the law for the public benefit and (3) judges use reason to change the law for the public benefit-by interpreting the Imv to suit a particular sitllation. Fυr the traditional romantic hero， the roles of juc1ge and policeman are scparatecl. Even if the hero is called upon to make certain judgments
while pursuing a criminal， the ultimate authority behind these judgments is a fixed code of established law. The romantic hero is tethered to a mooring of tradition and custom， but in the American anti-her川 therole of judge and policeman are fused， and the decision tol1se violence is based on a personal code of hOn01・ratherthan comml1nal standards of right and wrong.
Jered Macldox is broken inLawman precisely becausc he attempts to act like a traditional European heroic figure for whom the rules of con -duct are firmly established.日Thenhe cnters a new situation， where a “peacekeeper" is needec1 rather than a“peacemaker，"everything falls apart.InJlly nω"ung ClenzeJltine， ¥Vyatt Earp is flexible; he is able to
form an alliance with a natllral enemy， the gambler and sometimes out -law “Doc" Holiclay. 80th SlulJle and lIighNOOJlhinge on the protagonist
bcing able to aclapt to an llnfriendly ancl unexpectecl sitl1ation. But in every case， includingLau)}Jlan.the strength of the protagonist rests on
his reac1iness toc1raw his gun and use it.That is why hc is the protago・
nist-because the others are for some reason incapable filling the implac -able foc full of lead.
As mentioned above‘the Wild ¥Vest was not nearly as violent as it is
c
1cpicted in1I01lywooc1 Westerns， bllt the United States is nonetheless a very violent country compared to others. The roleぱ violence in the establishment of“law and order" is an important question for Americans and the exploration of this isslle in the Western movie genre is why they are so genuinely American and of interest to Americans-whether or not they have ever bucked a bronco or punched a cow.
キ ー ワ ー ド ¥Vestern， HoIlywood， justice， cowboy， homesteacler， la¥vman， outlaw.
