JAW-DROPPING black and white images have uncovered the struggles faced by those who settled in the Wild West of America in the late 1800s.

The historic images showcase the everyday hardships for settlers making lives for themselves on the harsh terrain.

18 1885: Buckboard wagons make a difficult journey across a river in San Carlos, Arizona Credit: Public Library/News Dog Media

The 19th century photographs show how settlers travelled across the unforgiving landscape on horse-drawn carriages.

Often, journeys across the mountains and desert could take months to complete.

Many travellers passed over the rocky road in the hopes of stumbling across a place they could set-up home in.

18 1983: Outlaw John Sontag lies dying on the ground after a shootout with a posse in Stone Corral, California Credit: Public Records/News Dog Media

18 1900: Men gamble over a game of Faro inside a saloon in Bisbee, Arizona Credit: C. S. Fly/News Dog Media

18 1898: Laying tracks on the extreme front of Prescott and Eastern Railroad in Arizona Territory Credit: Public Library/News Dog Media

18 1911: Coaches travel down a zig zagging carriage road. Pikes Peak, Colorado Credit: Public Records/News Dog Media

When their location was selected, settlers struggled to build their houses from scratch and find sources of food and water.

If these daily worries weren't difficult enough, people living in the Wild West were often hindered by natural disasters.

Sandstorms, tornadoes and hurricanes were among the hazards that wreaked havoc in the Old West.

18 1884: John Heith, after joining in a robbery that turned into a massacre, is lynched by a mob in Tombstone, Arizona Credit: Public Library/News Dog Media

18 1902: A cowboy readies his lasso as he looks out on his herd in Genesee, Kansas Credit: National Archives/News Dog Media

18 1878: A massive haul of 40,000 buffalo hides stored in a hide yard. Dodge City, Kansas Credit: Public Records/News Dog Media

18 1889: A man, at the site of a new town, looks for a town lot in Guthrie, Oklahoma Credit: Public Library/News Dog Media

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Due to the lack of established legal system in the Wild West, lynching and hanging was not uncommon.

Punishment for those who stole horse and cattle was severe, as many were hung on the spot without the benefit of a trial.

Some cases also saw prisoners being dragged from jails by lynch mobs and executed.

18 1869: A typical downtown street of a town on the American frontier in Corinne, Utah Credit: William Henry Jackson/News Dog Media

18 1906: Native American holds a small dog over a cooking pot in front of Tepees at the Gros Ventre Camp, Fort Belknap Reservation Credit: Detroit Publishing Co./News Dog Media

18 1908: A group of trappers and hunters congregate outside their cabin in Brown's Basin, Arizona Credit: Public Library/News Dog Media

18 Cowboys branding a calf in a ranch at Montana in the late 19th century Credit: Public Records/News Dog Media

The sense of rough justice is captured in the images, which show one man being strung up from a tree after committing a robbery.

Cowboys of the Wild West have become a prominent part of American folklore, fiction and film.

Many will associate the era with exciting gunfights and feuds, although these instances of shootouts weren't actually that common.

18 1886: Abducted Jimmy McKinn, 11, standing among his Apache captors before he was returned to his family Credit: Camillus Sidney/News Dog Media

18 1895: A family outside their home in New Mexico - a Native American servant holds their child Credit: Public Library/News Dog Media

18 1886: Apaches, including the war hero Geronimo, after their surrender to General Miles. The train behind them will carry them into exile at the Nueces River, Texas Credit: Department of Defense/News Dog Media

18 1905: A saloon on the streets of an Old West town in Hazen, Nevada Credit: Public Library/News Dog Media

18 1904: Land in a new territory is auctioned off in this tent in California Credit: Public Library/News Dog Media

While some images show stereotypical Wild Western cowboys, others picture Native Americans.

In the 1800s, there was a mounting tension between the settlers and the indigenous people.

Following the influx of white invaders, it's believed that the Native American population declined from 600,000 to around 250,000 over the course of 90 years.