the Old West. In 1803, Thomas Jefferson closed the deal of the Louisiana Purchase for 15 million dollars. With the 828,000 square miles of gained territory. He sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark along with 45 other men to go explore the new territory. Their expedition across the Western United States turned into the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition There were many dangers on the trail; they had to travel up, portage and ford rivers, suffer injuries, epidemics, famine, and fend off grizzly bears and hostile Native American tribes. The Lewis and Clark expedition did take place before the Wild West era, but it was a major event in United States history, and was one of the main reasons the Wild West era began. Besides Lewis and Clark, the Wild West era brought many other frontiersmen. They were very self-sufficient compared to normal townspeople. They cleared their own land, built their own shelter, and farmed and foraged for their food. Their nomadic lifestyle was hurtful for America's economy, as unemployment made it difficult for more money to go into circulation, and stores were going bankrupt from a lack of customers. This also caused territorial disputes with the Native Americans. For example; Charles Bent's arrival into Colorado caused the Taos Revolt. Bent shortly died from an assault from multiple Pueblo warriors. Gunfighters The names and exploits of Western gunslingers took a major role in American folklore, fiction and film. Their guns and costumes became children's toys for make-believe shootouts. The stories became immensely popular in Germany and other European countries, which produced their novels and films about the American frontier. The image of a Wild West filled with countless gunfights was a myth based on repeated exaggerations. Actual gunfights in the Old West were more episodic rather than being a common thing, but when gunfights did occur, the cause for each varied. Some were simply the result of the heat of the moment, while others were longstanding feuds, or between bandits and lawmen. Although mostly romanticized, there were instances of "quick draw" that did occur though rarely, such as Wild Bill Hickok – Davis Tutt shootout and Luke Short-Jim Courtright duel. Fatal duels were fought to uphold personal honor in the West. The most notable and well-known took place in Arizona, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. To prevent gunfights, towns such as Dodge City and Tombstone prohibited firearms in town.