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(as of Feb 07, 2025 10:07:04 UTC – Details)
May your belly never grumble
May your heart never ache
May your horse never stumble
May your cinch never break
–Cowboy blessing
Cattle were introduced to North America as early as the 1680s. But the true era of the cowboy required an intersection of inventions and conditions that finally happened about 1860.
The east of North America was thickly forested. Modern cattle thrive in grasslands, and when white Europeans made their way to Texas, Kansas and Missouri they found a bonanza of grasslands that were being connected to the big markets of the East, by the first railways across the plains.
Abilene, Kansas became a destination for cattle drives from Texas, that sent vast shipments to Omaha and the meat packers of Chicago. For a period of 50 years, the cowboy of legend had a vital role in the economy of America.
This is the story, in photos, texts and illustrations of who the cowboys were, what their lives and culture were, famous cowboys, outlaws and lawmen, cattle and horses — in short, the whole world of the cowboy from early days to now.
Packed with archival photos, posters, sidebars and museum-worthy artifacts, Cowboy includes:
Cowboys of the Old West
America’s early explorers and settlers Westward expansion, wars with Native peoples Wagon trains and the first railroads The creation of cattle ranches The vaqueros, the first cowboys What is a cow? Bovine biology Cowboy clothing and saddles Hazards of the trail The cattle drives: major railheads The last roundup (1910) Outlaws, rustlers and lawmen Cowboy-style entertainers (Annie Oakley, Kit Carson, Buffalo Bill Cody)
The Modern Cowboy
The up-to-date cowhand Seasons of the ranch Modern horse breeds: mustangs and quarter-horses Rodeos, and their future The cowboy legacy in art, film, TV and song Cowboy fashion: blue jeans and bolo ties The cowboy story: from Zane Grey to Cormac McCarthy.
Throughout, spectacular images and well-researched photographs designed in a “period” style make this a useful resource and a fascinating gift for anyone with a fondness for the real cowboy story.
From the Publisher
Spectacular images and well-researched photographs designed in a “period” style make Cowboy American Icon: A Short History of Wild West Culture a useful resource and a fascinating gift for anyone with a fondness for the real cowboy story.
Butch Cassidy
Robert Leroy Parker was born in Utah in 1866, the son of English Mormons who had traveled to the American West to ranch. As a young man, Roy fled his strict home, working first as a dairyman and then as a ranch hand. A short apprenticeship to a butcher led to his nickname, while his adopted surname was in honor of his friend and mentor, cattle thief Mike Cassidy.
Sitting Bull
A natural leader, this Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux chief—and his many followers—fiercely resisted United States government policies. Born in 1831 in South Dakota, he joined his first war party at 14, knocking down an enemy warrior and earning the name Sitting Bull.
Annie Oakley
Renowned frontierswoman and star of Wild West shows, Annie Oakley was born Phoebe Ann Moses in Ohio in 1860. Her humble beginnings included years spent with the family of the superintendent of an infirmary that housed the elderly, orphaned, and mentally ill. There, she received an education and learned to sew, a skill she later relied on to craft costumes. When she returned to her mother and step-father, she used her father’s old rifle to hunt small game for a grocery store, proving herself a crack shot.
Seth Bullock
Bullock was born in Canada in 1849, the son of British war hero General Sir George Bullock. He was elected to the Territorial Senate in 1871, in 1872 he helped create Yellowstone National Park, and the following year he was elected sheriff of Helena. Four years later, he and business partner Sol Starr decided to open a hardware store in the South Dakota gold rush town of Deadwood, perhaps the roughest camp in the West.
“Stagecoach Mary” Fields
Born in Tennessee around 1832, the offspring of slaves, Mary Fields was freed at the end of the Civil War.
In the 1890s, Mary Fields became the first African-American woman to transport U.S. mail. Dressed in men’s clothing and toting two guns, she feared no man or animal.
Theodore Roosevelt
Before he went on to become the 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt had dreams of becoming a prosperous cattle rancher. He first visited the badlands of the Dakota Territory to hunt bison in 1883 and quickly became enamored with the West’s rugged lifestyle and its “perfect freedom.” He invested in the Maltese Cross Ranch, a cattle spread seven miles south of Medora.
Publisher : Firefly Books (September 1, 2023)
Language : English
Hardcover : 240 pages
ISBN-10 : 0228104491
ISBN-13 : 978-0228104490
Item Weight : 2.8 pounds
Dimensions : 9 x 0.56 x 11 inches
