Real American Cowboys

Who were the cowboys?• The word cowboy refers to the men who

drove herds of cattle from ranchland in Texas over hundreds of miles of rough and dangerous terrain to the stockyards in the North, a trip taking two to three months.

• A typical crew consisted of one trail chief, eight cowboys, a wrangler to take care of the horses, and a cook. – www.africanaonline.com

Who were cowboys?• Frontier regions lack the extensive

documentation typical of cities. • According to the highest estimate, the trail

drives north from Texas (1866 to 1895) employed about 63 % white, 25 % black, and 12 % Mexican or Mexican-American cowboys.

• Most black and Hispanic cowboys faced social and economic discrimination in the West as they did elsewhere in the country. – Richard Slatta of the Lazy S Ranch

Black Cowboys• African-Americans

came to cattle country most often as slaves.

• By the start of the Civil War in 1861, Texas had over 180,000 black inhabitants and close to four million head of cattle. – www.africanaonline.co

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Black Cowboys• Although black cowboys seldom became trail chiefs

or owned their own stock—although some did—they encountered less discrimination along the cattle trail than in most other occupations at the time.

• While riding herd, black and white cowboys depended upon each other. They lived, ate, and slept together.

• "There, a man's work was to be done, and a man's life to be lived, and when death was to be met, he met it like a man.” - Nat Love aka “Deadwood Dick”– www.africanaonline.com

Caballeros• Caballeros were Spanish-born Americans

that moved north of the Rio Grande to settle new lands throughout the Southwest 200 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.

• Cabellero means gentleman, and it was one of the highest, noblest positions a man could have.– National Geographic Online

Vaqueros• Lower class, independent

settlers were called vaqueros, and they were the original cowboys.

• They were very proud, skilled cattle drivers whose traditions and heritage continues to today. – National Geographic

Online

Vaqueros• “One out of every

three cowboys in the late 1800s was the Mexican vaquero.”– Kendall Nelson,

Gathering Remnants: A Tribute to the Working Cowboy

Is this different from cowboy movies and country music?