Wild West

About This Puzzle

In the decades after the Civil War, settlers, ranchers, and prospectors pushed across the American frontier. This puzzle collects ten words from that era of cattle drives, gold fever, and wide-open land.

Words in This Puzzle

Cowboy

A ranch hand who herded cattle on horseback, often driving large herds hundreds of miles to railroad towns.

Sheriff

The elected law officer of a county, responsible for keeping the peace in frontier towns.

Saloon

A frontier tavern that was also a gathering place for news, card games, and music.

Stagecoach

A horse-drawn coach that carried passengers, mail, and cargo along regular routes across the West.

Outlaw

A person who broke the law and lived outside its protection, often hunted by sheriffs and posses.

Ranch

A large property for raising cattle or horses, the center of life for many families in the West.

Frontier

The edge of settled territory, where towns thinned out and open land began.

Wagon

Covered wagons carried families along trails like the Oregon Trail, a journey of roughly 2,000 miles.

Rodeo

A contest of ranching skills such as riding bulls and roping calves, which grew out of cowboy work.

Goldrush

The 1848 discovery of gold in California drew hundreds of thousands of people hoping to strike it rich.

Related Puzzles