Cowboys Essay Research Paper Although the main

Cowboys Essay, Research Paper

Although the main existence of the cowboy lasted only about two decades, the

mark that they made on society, then and now, is significant. The cowboy was just a

regular person that worked hard and earned little. Although his life has been embellished

by movie makers and writers, he was just a regular American looking for a way to earn a

living. We usually think of cowboys as white males, however, there were also women and

people of all nationalities.

The word cowboy was coined in Ireland over a thousand years ago. It means a

hired rider who looks over cattle. During the years following the Civil War, the range

cattle industry developed, first in Texas, and then spread into the Southwest and the Great

Plains. And with this, the development of cowboys came. The most prominent time of

the cowboy lasted until about the mid 1880 s. The total number of cowboys never

amounted to more than 40,000. About 2/3 of the cowboys were white, and another 1/3

were either African -American or Mexican-American.

Cowboys clothing were comfortable, yet tough. His apparel consisted of boots,

pants, chaps, and his hat. His most significant piece of clothing was his boots, at a price of

at least two weeks of hard work. However, they were worth every cent. They helped

keep his foot in the stirrup, and protected his legs from rattlesnakes and thorns! Cowboys

also wore one-piece underwear, known as long-johns, all the time, except for in scorching

hot weather. These were very warm, but offered little protection. Which is why they

wore chaps as well. A cherished possession of the cowboy, was his hat. It offered him

protection from sun and rain and could be used as a pail or as a fan. Hats also differed

from one region of the country to another. In the windy northern plains, the brims were

narrower and the crowns were lower, so that the hat would not blow away. And in the

Southwest, the hat had a tall crown and a wide brim to offer maximum protection from the

desert sun.

Their work year centered around two main events, the round up and the extremely

lengthy cattle drive. During the year, the cattle wandered off in all directions. Twice a

year, in spring and in fall, round ups were held to gather these widely scattered longhorns,

to sort them out. A productive spring roundup might cover hundreds of square miles, and

last for several weeks. These roundups usually utilized up to four-hundred cowboys! The

roundups always closely followed a carefully worked out plan. Each group of the

cowboys were assigned to a chuckwagon. At the first light of dawn the men moved out.

Hiram Craig, a cowboy in the 1800 s described a Texas round up by saying;

The men, so sent out, all going in different directions formed a veritable spiders

web, with the roundup grounds in the center. As soon as the boys would get them

all together the cattle were on the run, and would make for the grounds. There

was little danger or chance for any of the cattle to be escaping, as the path of the

next man, and the nearer they came to the grounds, the more men would come

into sight- finally forming one big herd, and then the fun would start. (Freedman

p.38)

The cowboys then spent the rest of the afternoon sorting through the cattle and

branding the new calves.

The other main job of the cowboy was to take the cattle up the trail. In Texas, a

four year old longhorn was worth about three or four dollars, up north however, the same

cow could be worth up to forty dollars! The excruciating journey took about a total of

three or four months to drive a herd from Texas to Kansas. At night time on the trail, the

watches rode slowly around the sleeping cattle, humming or singing softly. The cows

seemed to be calmed by this. The most popular trail was the Chisholm trail. Other trails

included the Goodnight Loving Trail and the Western Trail. A typical cattle trail drive

might involve up to three-thousand head of cattle, sixty or seventy horses and about 12

cowhands. The man that was in charge of this operation was called the Trail Boss. He

earned the most money, earning up to one-hundred dollars a month. Usually the most

popular man along the trail, was the cook. Although he earned only forty dollars a month,

he was the key to a contented trail crew.

At the end of the trails were cowtowns. The Cowboys arrived in these towns and

were ready for some amusement. Rum, cards, and women are the epigraphs in the

cowboy s graveyard said a 19th century cowhand. (Ross p. 20) When cowboys reached

the end of their trail and received their pay, of approximately thirty dollars a month, they

thought they deserved some excitement. And all of their excitement came from rum, cards

and women! The towns had a dilemma though, in deciding if they wanted the cowboys

there or not. The cowboys did bring in a lot of money and business for the town people.

However, the cowboys also brought in more gambling and prostitution. Some of these

cowtowns were Abilene, Ellsworth, and Wichita.

Throughout the trail the cowboys were faced with many dangers. The greatest

danger of all was being thrown from a horse, or being dragged along by a foot caught in

the stirrup. Most of the men also carried water bottles with them, to prevent heat