Cowboys

What is a cowboy?

Cowboys were the men who drove the cattle along the cattle trails, from the ranches in the south to markets in the north.

What was life like for the cowboys?

A cowboy's life involved moving around 3,000 cattle at a time along the trails. They typically worked in teams of 12, with a trail boss to manage the process. They carried all their supplies and built a camp each night, sleeping in the open and taking turns to keep watch. They got paid at the end of each trail and spent their money on new clothes, alcohol, gambling and prostitutes.

What was a cowboy's life like?

Cowboys had to overcome a number of problems and hardships:

• ❖ Cattle are dangerous. A stampede could cause injury or death.
• ❖ Riding at night. Stampedes often happened after dark, which meant cowboys had to trust their horses to be sure-footed.
• ❖ Dangerous animals. Wild animals posed a risk, as the cowboys lived for months at a time in the open air on the cattle trails.
• ❖ Native Americans. Cowboys often needed to cross Native American lands, so had to negotiate with them to avoid conflict. Sometimes negotiation failed and they had to fight.
• ❖ Attacks by outlaws.

How much were the cowboys paid?

A cowboy could earn $25-30 a month on the Chisholm Trail. A trail boss could earn $100 a month.

Did cowboys obey the law?

Once paid, cowboys would often cause problems in towns. They often broke laws to do with alcohol, prostitution and gambling.

What was life like on a ranch for cowboys?

Cowboys on ranches still looked after cattle, but they did not travel along the trails. Fewer cowboys were needed to keep an eye on cattle that roamed the vast ranches. In spring, they rounded up the animals, separated them into groups, and branded them according to ownership. Cowboys lived in communal bunkhouses on the ranches.

What did the cowboys do in the winter months?

Cowboys could not work the trails in winter and there was also less work on the ranches. Instead, cowboys often got jobs in the towns or did odd jobs around ranches.

How old were cowboys?

Being a cowboy was a young man's life, and most were in their 20s. When they were older they could find maintenance work or start their own ranches and employ others.

Why did Native Americans join cowboys?

As the cattle industry grew, the number of buffalo declined severely. With the loss of their livelihoods, many Native Americans became cowboys.