During the initial American settling of the western part of North America, it was mainly men who went out there. They went to look for gold, to start homestead farms and ranches, and to begin new lives where resources were plentiful, spaces were wide and open, and there was a lot more freedom than back east. However the many single men who went west soon found themselves to be lonely. They may have had male friends nearby, or maybe they didn’t. Either way, it was no substitute for having female companionship. Only a small number of men brought wives and/or families with them. The number of single women in the west was negligible (there were a few, but far from enough to go around compared to the men who went there on their own). It wasn’t long before men started to think of creative ways to get wives without having to travel away from their land and risk it being claimed or taken over by someone else while they were gone... Read More