Cowboys
By the early 1870s, rail lines reached Texas so the cattle could be taken directly to the slaughterhouses. The winter of 1886-1887 was one of the worst in American history. Cattle died by the thousands as temperatures reached 50 below 0 in some parts of the West.2 thirds of the cowboys were African American.
The majority of ranchers didnt allow cowboys carrying their guns. They only allowed them to have them to protect oneself from wild animals. The Code of the West was known for forbidingthe armed on firing on an unarmed man.The result was, there were more cowboys walking around unarmed as there were armed.The American cowboy were hard working men. A cowboy’s daily routine working with livestock was hardly something that would make you famous. The cowboy had to adapt to a rugged and sometimes bitter environment. His job was not something just anyone could do.
The cowboy had a boss. The boss was either the rancher himself, the trail boss, or both. To start the cattle drive, cowboys would have to gather all their nessesity's together and then report to the trail boss. The trail boss essentially ran the operation. Normally, the steers would be left to graze in the morning and then slowly led down the trail. This type system of grazing and driving would be given for the purpose of getting the cattle used to the drive. After days of this, the herd would be accustomed to the routine and automatically begin to follow the lead steer who would be led by the point cowboys. The placement of the cowboys in relation to the herd were very important. In addition to the two point riders at the lead steer, there were swing and flank riders. The swing riders would be on each side of the herd about one-third of the way back. The flank riders would be two-thirds of the way back. The tail riders rode behind the herd. This was the least desired position. Their job was to keep the weaker steers moving. As you can imagine, the tail riders rode in a cloud of dust not to mention the smell. No surprise this wasn’t a happy job.
The majority of ranchers didnt allow cowboys carrying their guns. They only allowed them to have them to protect oneself from wild animals. The Code of the West was known for forbidingthe armed on firing on an unarmed man.The result was, there were more cowboys walking around unarmed as there were armed.The American cowboy were hard working men. A cowboy’s daily routine working with livestock was hardly something that would make you famous. The cowboy had to adapt to a rugged and sometimes bitter environment. His job was not something just anyone could do.
The cowboy had a boss. The boss was either the rancher himself, the trail boss, or both. To start the cattle drive, cowboys would have to gather all their nessesity's together and then report to the trail boss. The trail boss essentially ran the operation. Normally, the steers would be left to graze in the morning and then slowly led down the trail. This type system of grazing and driving would be given for the purpose of getting the cattle used to the drive. After days of this, the herd would be accustomed to the routine and automatically begin to follow the lead steer who would be led by the point cowboys. The placement of the cowboys in relation to the herd were very important. In addition to the two point riders at the lead steer, there were swing and flank riders. The swing riders would be on each side of the herd about one-third of the way back. The flank riders would be two-thirds of the way back. The tail riders rode behind the herd. This was the least desired position. Their job was to keep the weaker steers moving. As you can imagine, the tail riders rode in a cloud of dust not to mention the smell. No surprise this wasn’t a happy job.