There is some truth to that.
BTW, one friend and I were discussing changes to american culture since the 19th century and he said something interesting. He said that if “gunsmoke” was truly authentic, they’d have had a human waste ditch running through the town. He was just making the point that many of our shows and movies back then really sanitized the whole experience in the western US in the 19th century.
I’m a huge fan of Louis L’Amour books and have his entire collection of books as well as many of them on audio. This includes many interviews with him regarding life in the REAL west of the 1800’s. It’s pretty fascinating stuff.
It's kind of amusing how most western shows present a nice orderly town, and hardly anything changes. It's like they are in some never-ending period of "the west" that goes on forever. You would think a long-running show would depict the introduction of modern inventions like automobiles, electricity, motion pictures,etc. But they never seem to advance from a period of "not long after the Civil War", even if the show runs for 10 or more years. I still enjoy watching old 50's westerns.
You can always watch Deadwood if you insist on human waste in your entertainment.
It’s rare that you see a Western movie where you can see actual horse poop in the streets.
“He said that if “gunsmoke” was truly authentic, they’d have had a human waste ditch running through the town.”
In 1860, the local people would have barely noticed a waste disposal. People in modern times would be distracted from the story by the novelty of what was, to those living in the time, too ordinary to mention. And people in cites back then had a bigger problem due to more people in less space.
PS: http://www.lemen.com/qa317.html
These shows provided stories about people’s experiences without providing detailed insight about the history of the West.
There are numerous books and documentaries to fill in the gaps for those so inclined.