The American Cowboy
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Though the American cowboy's
reign only
lasted about 30 years in the US, he has become a legendary
figure and a
firm part of the American persona. A profession orginated by the
Spanish vaqueros, cowboys were generally hired by
large ranchers to
herd and drive cattle, working for minimal
wages. After the Civil War, hundreds of young men headed west to tie their futures to the American frontier. What they found as cowboys was a country thinly settled where a man stationed at the ranch line cabin might not see another human for months. The daily grind was hard - housing was rough and usually filled with all kinds of unwelcome critters and the food was monotonous. Rounding up and driving huge herds of cattle hundreds of miles from ranches to markets in Abilene, Wichita and Dodge City was backbreaking work and required perserverence and spirit. Their ranks included some of the most famous names to come out of the west - Billy the Kid, Nate Love, Jesse Chisum, John Wesley Hardin, Charles Goodnight. Through the 1850s and 1860s, the cowboy was an integral part of western life. With the introduction of barbed wire and crowding of the west in the 1880s, however, the cowboy was forced to adapt or find another way of life. There are still cowboys in the US, rounding up and branding cattle, but somehow the profession has lost the romanticism that still clings to that 30 years of tumult and change. Dime novels idolized them, Hollywood glorified them, but their impression is lasting on the American psyche. Shore 'nuf, partner. Yee hah! #P138 Shirt, vest, and chaps. Available in Mens sizes Small (30-32) Medium (34-36) Large (38-40) X-Large (42-44) XX-Large (46-48) Brown or Black heavyweight suedo leather vest and chaps; and Blue, Green or Red Cotton/Polyester print shirt $150.00 (jeans, boots, gun not included) Hat sold seperately, see: Cowboy Hats |
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