| THE WILD WEST AND THE HOMESTEAD ACT And the life in the West in those wide open days Had shootouts and showdowns and some desperate hombres For where horsemen rode high and saloons ran full Each spark lit a fuse, and every red flashed a bull. As the old mountainmen who'd lived long in the wild, As well as young cowhands and some schemers exiled, Came to mix in the towns and get baked in the cake With the ranchers and miners -- all with their fortunes to make. And among men used to brawling and chewing on dirt, Were some famous tough guns, like Carson, Hickok and Earp. -- When a sleek six-shooter and being fast on the draw Meant a code laced with lead often served as the law! But the push to have settled those yawning vast lands Brought more and more order and some steady firm hands. Indeed, the Homestead Act of 1862 Would turn the Wild West to a much milder brew. Since in acres 160 the U.S. now doled Free parcels of prairie for new farmers to hold, So long as they stayed for a length of five years To grow wheat by the bushel and corn by the ears. And so homesteaders laid stakes and plowed through the sod, A hardworking life and much devoted to God. Which soon gave the West a more civil feeling, -- Though its lore keeps in mind that great sense of free-wheelin'. Now, had you tagged along to those wagons en route To tame the frontier and to forge lives to boot, You'd have learned to endure and to squeeze from the soil Every ounce that each hour could be filled with hard toil. And you'd brave the mean seasons, facing hardships and harms -- Like rapid grass fires and mass grasshopper swarms! But your neighbors and friends would all help you survive, To share in tough times and to rejoice and to thrive... |
 |
| Worksheet # 79 |
 |
 |
|
|