The history of the West is like a large mural covering a long
wall. At first glance, the size and the composition of the
painting makes it difficult to discern the fine details. There
are shades, shadows, and distant images not easily perceived.
The first impression leaves the viewer with visions of the
grandeur of mountains, plains, and basins but rarely causes the
observer to focus on Basque sheepherders or miners or laborers
building roads into remote corners of the West. The vast
landscape and distant horizons capture the viewers' attention,
and their eyes seldom look at the images created by hardworking
people who actually built the West we see today. The grandeur of
wide open spaces and the beauty of snow capped mountains led to
the popular presentation of western history in the movie
industry where the West is portrayed as a place dominated by
stretches of unspoiled land seldom touched by man. Most casual
viewers of the complex mural of western history come away with
the same impressions created by mov