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Real American Cowboys

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.

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Real American Cowboys

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  1. Real American Cowboys

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 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.com

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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

  9. Is this different from cowboy movies and country music?

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