I should've been a cowboy,I should have learned to rope and ride.Wearing my six-shooter riding my pony on a cattle drive.Stealing the young girl's hearts, Just like Gene and Roy.Singing those campfire songs - Oh, I should've been a cowboyI might have had a sidekick with a funny name, Running wild through the hills chasing Jesse James.Ending up on the brink of danger, Riding shotgun for the Texas Rangers.Go west young man, haven't you been told, California's full of whiskey, women and gold. Sleeping out all night beneath the desert stars With a dream in my eye and a prayer … In my heart … Oh, I should've been a cowboy.
The
American cowboy has stood for many things and even had an unwritten
code they followed, and although the original cowboy's life is long
gone, the culture remains in legends and fact.
While
there were famous horse women of the old “Wild West” and it was not
uncommon for daughters of ranchers to be great horse riders; the cowgirl
culture is relatively new. The American Cowboy magazine aptly wrote in its June/July 2012 issue, the word “cowboy” is representative of both genders:
Any good woman who can ride or rope – or at least stand up for what's right – is a cowboy in our book.
Last year, 2011, the US Senate passed a resolution marking July 28th, 2012 as the National Day of the American Cowboy, to encourage the people of the United States …
...to observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
To
start the history of the American cowboy it is appropriate to begin
with the history of the horse on the American continent; for without the
horse, there would be no cowboy.
HISTORY OF THE HORSE
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| Cattle Drive |
North America approximately 4 million years ago and they spread to Eurasia, most agree via the Bering Sea land bridge that existed about 2 or 3 million years ago. This is the surprising part of history, because after the prehistoric horse died out between 13,000 and 11,000 years ago (end of Pleistocene Era), the horse that had spread to Asia, Europe and Africa had developed and when humans began to use them for chariots and riding, it had grown larger in size. It would later return to America as a “new and improved” species.
The prehistoric species of horse grazed upon the plains of North America and the small horses (Pliohippus)
were preyed upon by an extinct hyena-type dog that hunted them, as well
as humans that had migrated to the region. Because of their small size,
humans didn't think of using them as transportation or as “beasts of
burden” - they just ate their meat and used their hides for clothing, et
cetera. When the prehistoric horse disappeared on the American
continent – both North and South America, the Bering land bridge had
disappeared so there was no chance for migration of horses from the Old
World to the New World.
Six million years later, in the Old World, horses returned when Spanish explorers and Conquistadors
arrived in North, South and Central America. These early horsemen that
came from Spain brought Spanish and Moorish traditions with them and
rode on jineta-style saddles and used a three-pronged blunt lance to drive cattle. The lariat had not been invented yet.
The
Spanish and the Moors loved their horses and bred beautiful breeds that
were suited for various purposes. The Arabian was brought from the
Middle East with the Moors when they occupied Spain and other horses,
like the Barbary can be traced to Arabian ancestry. These are the horses
they brought with them to the Americas. These were the first ancestry
of horses that returned to the American continent since the prehistoric
horse had died out. Horses lost by the Spaniards ran wild across the
Mexican plains and migrating to Texas. Eventually horsemanship extended
in a northerly direction reaching the Sioux and Cheyenne. Meanwhile, in
Mexico, generations would continue to produce fine horse stock from the
Spanish original horses that came with the Conquistadors, as well as
mules and burros that the friars and monks frequently used.
In Canada, Frederic Remington wrote in Horse of the Plains:
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| King of the Plains, Remington |
As we go very far into the Canadian Northwest we find that the interminable cold of the winters has had its effect, and the pony is small and scraggy, with a disposition to run to hair that would be the envy of a goat. These little fellows seem to be sadly out of their reckoning,
as the great northern wastes were surely not made for horses; however, the reverse of the proposition is true, for the horses thrive after a fashion and demonstrate the toughness of the race. Unless he be tied up to a post, no one ever knew an Indian pony to
die of the cold. With his front feet he will paw away the snow to an astonishing depth in order to get at the dry herbage, and by hook or
by crook he will manage to come through the winter despite the wildest prophecies on the part of the uninitiated that he cannot live
ten days in such a storm.
He wrote about the American “bronco” as an intelligent and hardy breed:
saddle-tree.
If that scrape is ridden out by his master his spirit is broken; and while he may afterwards plunge about, he has intelligence enough not to kick against the pricks.His greatest good quality is the ease with which he stands any amount of hard riding over the trail; and this is not because of any particular power which he has over the thoroughbred, for instance, but because of his "hard stomach." He eats no grain in the growing stages of his life, and his stomach has not been forced artificially to supply a system taxed beyond the power of the stomach to fill. The same general difference is noted between and Indian and a white man.
You may gallop the pony until your thoroughbred would "heave and thump," and "go wrong" in a dozen vital places, and the bronco will cool off and come through little worse for the experience.
… He has borne the Moor, the Spanish conqueror, the red Indian, the mountain-man, and the vaquero through all the glories of their careers; but they will soon be gone, with all their heritage of gallant deeds. The pony must meekly enter the new regime. He must wear the collar of the new civilization and earn his oats by the sweat of his flank. There are no more worlds for him to conquer; now he must till the ground.
COWBOY TRADITIONS
The cowboy tradition did not begin in America, but comes from the traditions of Spain beginning with the hacienda system of medieval Spain. i The Vaquero, as previously introduced, from Spain trained Native Americans to work for the Spanish missions' herds. Don Juan de Ońate sent an expedition across the Rio Grande River into New Mexico with 7,000 head of cattle. From that beginning, vaqueros of mestizo heritage drove cattle from New Mexico and later Texas to Mexico City. Mexican traditions spread both in the South and North and also influenced traditions from Argentina to Canada. |
| "Cracker" Cowboy - Florida |
As
English-speaking settlers and traders expanded westward during the
pioneer era, Spanish traditions merged with it in terms of cowboy
culture; especially after the Mexican-American War.
When the railroads began to expand westward after the American Civil
War, older cowboy traditions changed with the need to drive cattle for
long distances to the nearest railheads
in order to get their cattle sold for market. As cities grew, the
demand for beef increased. By the 1880s, the cattle industry had
expanded in which required additional open range; so ranchers expanded
into the northwest territory where there were large tracts of unsettled
grassland. Texas cattle were herded north into the Rocky Mountain area
and the Dakota Territory/states. The cowboy had to adapt to the colder
climate conditions as this migration transformed and once again
traditions intermingled from California to Texas where the cowboy chose
to use the most useful elements of the traditions that could be applied
to conditions. Mustangs were gathered from the wild herds that roamed
the Great Plains and the San Joaquin Valley in California; and later this would include the Great Basin from the 18th century to the early 20th century.
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| Vaquero, 1800s |
During this period of roundup, mature animals were sorted out for preparations for sale, which usually took place in the spring season of the year and required a high level of skills on the part of the cowboy who had horses trained for cutting cattle by following the movements of cattle and then stopping and turning at a fast speed. Once the cattle was sorted out, the cowboys roped the young calves and restrained them with rope to be branded and selected bull calves were castrated.
 |
| Cattle Roundup, Cimarron |
herds from neighboring ranches. Wild herds of horses are called Mustangs. Once the horses were rounded up, the mature horses went through a process of taming called horse breaking or bronco-busting. This was usually performed by experienced cowboys who specialized in training horses. Some cowboys and ranchers tamed their horses using brutal methods, but they found that such animals could not be reliable; therefore a more humane fashion of horse breaking was developed, some methods being learned from the native Americans who had developed methods in which not only was the horse trained, but bonded with their rider; a method that was supposed to have been passed on by the vaqueros of California and learned by native Americans and some ranchers. Horses trained in a gentler fashion were more reliable and willing to learn more tasks than those broken harshly.
As
time went on, cowboys being the competitive type, would compete against
each other with their cattle and horse-handling skills against each other on the ranch and thus the sport of rodeo was born.
 | ||
| Cowboy, 1888 |
CODE OF THE WEST
Cattle drives
prior to the middle of the 1800s was primarily used for selling surplus
meat and hides locally, with a limited market for hides, horns, hooves,
and tallow being sold to manufacturers in the middle and eastern part
of the United States. In Texas herds were so large that they became
strays or free-ranging cattle, that had not been branded and were
available to anyone who would round them up. This helped those who,
after the American Civil War, were looking to leave the war torn
southern states and carpetbaggers to venture westward to find new
beginnings and take advantage of the bigger demand for beef as cities in
the North and East began to grow and the meat packing industry
expanded. By 1866, cattle sold to northern and eastern markets were
going for as much as $40 a head and this increased as the meat packing
industry grew larger because of more demand for beef. This higher price
made it more profitable for Texan ranchers who had to herd cattle long
distances to get to market. The major packing plant at the time was
founded by Phillip Danforth Armour, who opened a meat packing plant in Chicago, which became known as the Amour and Company.
 |
| Former Slave - post Civil War Cowboy |
York and all points in between. Opportunity was also available to freed slaves in the US Army to tame the frontier from hostile native Americans and still others joined the ranks of the cowboys where large and growing cattle ranches needed their skills and service.
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| Caballeros: Mexican-American Cowboys in Festival |
Although some cowboys had wives, most were “free roaming” men who found love whenever they could but never settled down long enough to marry and raise children.
The
first large, long-range cattle drive was from Texas to the nearest
railhead that would ship the cattle to Chicago, where the Union
Stockyards there became the largest in the nation. This first drive was
formed by several Texas ranchers who banded together to drive their
cattle to the closest railroad tracks, which was Sedalia, Missouri.
Farmers in eastern Kansas were against this cattle drive venture because
they were afraid that Longhorns would transmit cattle fever to their
animals as well as trample crops and so formed groups to threaten,
fight, or shoot cattlemen found on their lands. So, the very first
cattle drive in 1866 failed to reach the railroad and the cattle herds
ended up being sold for low prices. Someone saw opportunity in this
failure, and in 1867, a cattle shipping facility was built west of
eastern Kansas farm country around a railhead at Abilene, Kansas, and it
became the center of cattle shipping that loaded 36,000 cattle on
railcars in that year. The route developed from Texas to Abilene became
known as the Chisholm Trail, named after Jesse Chisholm, who marked the route for others to follow. It went through the Indian
Territory, now known as Oklahoma. Despite the Hollywood portrayal,
there were few conflicts with the Native Americans, who usually allowed
the cattle herds to pass through their lands for ten cents per head or
cutting a couple of head of cattle for their tribe's use. However, there
were other dangers the cowboy faced, mainly weather, like storms that
would stampede the cattle.
 |
| Joe Beaver - Native American Rodeo Star |
Later,
other trails were developed that forked off to different railheads that
included Dodge City and Wichita, Kansas – famous cattle towns of the
Old West. Dodge City, Kansas became the largest cattle town that by 1877
was shipping out 500,000 head of cattle in that year.
Cattle
could be driven as far as 25 miles per day, but they lost too much
weight when driven hard, which meant less money at the end of the trail;
so most cattle were herded at a slower pace, allowing them to rest and
graze at midday and at night. Cattle could maintain their proper weight
if they were moved 15 miles per day. That meant that it would take two
months to travel from a home ranch to a railhead. Cowboys were paid by
the month. If the cattle drive showed good productivity because of their
skills and ability to keep weight on the driven cattle, ranchers would
often provide a bonus at the end of the trail drive, which not only
rewarded the cowboys, but gave them incentive to ensure that cattle were
well taken care of. The Chisholm Trail was 1,000 miles, and one can see
the hardship and tiring days that cowboys endured to ply their trade.
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| Annie Oakley - Cowgirl Icon |
The cowboys had to eat and didn't have time to prepare their own meals, so a cook was included on the cattle drive who drove the chuck wagon, usually pulled by oxen, as well as a horse wrangler to take charge of the spare horses (remuda) required for the job. The wrangler on a cattle drive was often a young cowboy or one of lower social status, but the cook was well-respected and he was not only in charge of the food, but he was also in charge of medical supplies as well as having a practical knowledge of first aid and practical medicine. A good cook who knew his stuff was invaluable to cowboys.
END OF A GOLDEN ERA
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| 20-Mule Team, Death Valley |
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| Nat Love, Deadwood - African American Cowboy |
The
American cowboy not only represents an industry in the form of cattle
ranches, but also represented a “melting pot” of people who became
cowboys – African American freedmen, as previously described, Mexicans,
and native Americans. After 1890, when native Americans were being
“assimilated” into “civilized” ways of life, Indian boarding schools
were also teaching ranching skills.
 |
| Nez Pierce Cowboys - late 1800s |
Today,
Native Americans own cattle and small ranches in the western United
States, and many are still employed as cowboys (as they were in late 1800s), a trade passed down
generations; especially on ranches located near Indian Reservations. The “Indian Cowboy” has become a common sight on the rodeo circuit.
 |
| Texas Rangers |
As
far as demographics, it is estimated that 15% of all cowboys were of
African American ancestry, where 25% could be found on trail drives out
of Texas with few in the northeast. That is because it was Texas where
freed slaves ended up after the American Civil War. Also, the Mexican
descent cowboy is about 15% of the cowboy population, most commonly
found in Texas and in the southwest states. These are all estimates of
the population in the late 19th century that also suggests that one of every three cowboys were Mexican vaquero, and 20% were African Americans.
Regardless
of their ethnic backgrounds, the cowboy came from lower social classes
and the pay was poor, most being uneducated. The average cowboy made
about one dollar per day, and, when working near the home ranch, was
provided a bed in a bunkhouse in a barracks-like building with a single
room with a footlocker at the end of his bunk for storing his personal
belongings.
In the social world, the cowboy of the American West developed their own culture that blended frontier wisdom, Victorian values, and remnants of the old world chivalry.
The hard work required and the isolated conditions also bred a breed of men that were self-dependent and individualists, who held great value upon honesty, which have been exemplified in songs and poetry. In the frontier west, men often outnumbered women, and cowboys worked in an all-male environment, especially on cattle drives.
The hard work required and the isolated conditions also bred a breed of men that were self-dependent and individualists, who held great value upon honesty, which have been exemplified in songs and poetry. In the frontier west, men often outnumbered women, and cowboys worked in an all-male environment, especially on cattle drives.
The traditions of the working cowboy became more familiar to the general public and those who had never seen one when the Wild West Shows began
in the late 1800s and early 1900s, which also romanticized life in the
Old West as well as fantasized views of Native Americans.
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| Tom Mix - Film Cowboy |
Then
silent films were invented, which took the place of Wild West Shows,
and so the positive and negative stereotype was developed out of
Hollywood. Fred Thomson was a famous silent film cowboy, but Tom Mix (1880-1940)
became the most popular megastar western portrayal actor. He made 336
films between 1910 and 1935. He learned to ride horses while working on a
local farm owned by a lumber businessman and had dreams of being in the
circus. In April of 1898 he was enlisted in the Army and sent overseas
during the Spanish-American War, and during an extended furlough married
Grace Allin in 1902. The marriage only lasted one year. In 1905, he married again, to Kitty Perinne, but this ended in one year. He married Olive Stokes in 1909 in Medora, North Dakota and that marriage lasted longer. He found employment at the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch that
covered 101,000 acres. He was a skilled horseman and expert shot,
winning the 1909 Riding and Rodeo Championship. Mix became a cowboy film
star with Fox Film and after divorcing Olive Stokes in 1917 he married
his co-star in several films, Victoria Forde in 1918 and had a daughter, Thomasina Mix.
In 1922. Tom Mix was “King of the Cowboys” when Ronald Reagan and John Wayne were youths. In fact, Tom Mix helped John Wayne when he first entered his acting career. Wyatt Earp
was an unpaid film consultant for several silent cowboy movies including Tom Mix films. As a side note, Wyatt Earp also provided tips to Marion Morrison, the famous John Wayne, as Morrison served Earp coffee on the sets, and later advised Hugh O-Brian, another western star and John Ford, who later directed a film about the OK Corral shootout received much input from Wyatt Earp. Tom Mix attended the funeral of Tom Mix and helped William S. Hart write an obituary.
In 1922. Tom Mix was “King of the Cowboys” when Ronald Reagan and John Wayne were youths. In fact, Tom Mix helped John Wayne when he first entered his acting career. Wyatt Earp
was an unpaid film consultant for several silent cowboy movies including Tom Mix films. As a side note, Wyatt Earp also provided tips to Marion Morrison, the famous John Wayne, as Morrison served Earp coffee on the sets, and later advised Hugh O-Brian, another western star and John Ford, who later directed a film about the OK Corral shootout received much input from Wyatt Earp. Tom Mix attended the funeral of Tom Mix and helped William S. Hart write an obituary.
Later “talky” movies would be made that come from more realism, like the novels written by Louis L' Amour.
Hollywood made cowboys famous with stars like Red Ryder (a character from a comic book and a BB gun), Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autry, (“Man of the Frontier”)and Roy Rogers/Dale
Evans. Roy And Dale are legends in themselves, bringing into the American culture the concept of a cowgirl through Dale Evans, representing the spirited horse women of the Old West and the modern cowboy/cowgirl culture. Boys dreamed of being like Roy Rogers and girls dreamed of being like Dale Evans, who had a popular television show. Both were singers, but Dale was the talented songwriter as well as seasoned actress. The show featured Bullet, the wonder dog and Roy's famous horse, Trigger. The setting was not in the Old West, although the cowboy theme was, the side kick running around in a Jeep. “Happy Trails to You” was a popular song in the early 1950s.
Evans. Roy And Dale are legends in themselves, bringing into the American culture the concept of a cowgirl through Dale Evans, representing the spirited horse women of the Old West and the modern cowboy/cowgirl culture. Boys dreamed of being like Roy Rogers and girls dreamed of being like Dale Evans, who had a popular television show. Both were singers, but Dale was the talented songwriter as well as seasoned actress. The show featured Bullet, the wonder dog and Roy's famous horse, Trigger. The setting was not in the Old West, although the cowboy theme was, the side kick running around in a Jeep. “Happy Trails to You” was a popular song in the early 1950s.
Final scene of Silverado ...
Western films have pretty much died out, but now and then a realistic film of the period will appear. A popular series based upon Canadian rancher cowboys and cowgirls that includes a horse whisperer trainer is Heartland, a television series. It is a western version of the long-running The Waltons TV series.
Western films have pretty much died out, but now and then a realistic film of the period will appear. A popular series based upon Canadian rancher cowboys and cowgirls that includes a horse whisperer trainer is Heartland, a television series. It is a western version of the long-running The Waltons TV series.
Another great TV series is The Last American Cowboy.The cowboy and cowgirl tradition remains today, with real life cowboys still “punching” cows, roping, branding, and appearing in rodeos.
There are even shooting contests, hitting targets while at full gallop.
There are even shooting contests, hitting targets while at full gallop.
Let's face it, Hollywood may have tired of the cowboy tradition; but Americans in the rural parts of states, both men and women, are still living the legend. Good westerns can still be obtained (see at end of this article) starring Clint Eastwood, Tom Selleck, and other great western film stars.
Showdown scene from Unforgiven (1992) ...
Showdown scene from Unforgiven (1992) ...
That is why a national celebration of cowboys and cowgirls is most appropriate and long time in coming.
As a very young boy, (parents would dress me in Hopalong Cassidy attire as
in picture at left) -- I dreamed of being a cowboy; sometimes dreams are
not realized – but the spirit still remains. I made the decision of being a professional soldier instead. Even the
art of leatherwork, which was my hobby, is fading from view. Cowboys and cowgirls are alive and well in western Canada, just as the American West, with an annual celebration occurring in Calgary and other smaller towns in that province.
- Take responsibility for your actions. Don't blame others for the consequences of what you choose to do. Always exercise self control.
- Treat others as you want to be treated, fairly and equally. Never look down on anyone.
- Respect yourself first. Then you will respect others and what is theirs, to include their outlook of life.
- Be happy, joyful, and live your life the very best way you know how. When you work or given chores, do all in an excellent way.
- Be a moral leader. Set an example for others to follow, to include always presenting good appearance.
- Be trustworthy, truthful, a keeper of your word, honest even when you think no one is looking.
- Choose your friendly carefully. Stay away from those who are looking for trouble.
- Show concern for the other fellow. Be the champion of the underdog, the oppressed, the disadvantaged. Help someone, some way, every day.
- Stand up for what you know is right. Don't follow the crowd just because everyone else is doing it.
- Remember: What you do to others comes back to you – be it good or bad.
Above all, cowboys and cowgirls are Patriots.
As Albert Einstein so aptly and wisely stated:
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.Maybe the youth of today need real heroes, heroes that have good character; and maybe the next generation will improve itself. It certainly wouldn't hurt the family unit or America as a nation to do so. It might even save it from its own self-destruction.
Wikipedia, “Cowhand”, History.
REFERENCES AND SOURCES
Grafton, John; "The American West in the Nineteenth Century"; NY 1992
Sovak, Jan; "Prehistoric Mammals"; NY, 1991.
Metin, Bosnak; "Riding the Horse, Writing the Cultural Myth"; Turkish Journal of International Relations.
Jones, Allan C., "Texas Roots"l TX, 2005.
Clayton, Lawrence, "Vaqueros Cowboys and Buckaroos"; TX, 2001.
Draper, Robert; "21st Century Cowboys: Why the Spirit Endures"; National Geographic, Dec 2007, pp. 114-135.
Varian, Sheila; "The Vaquero Tradition"; CA, 2004.
Vernon, Glenn R.; "Man on Horseback"; NY, 1964.
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