| Most
historians agree somewhat, the age of the cowboy began in 1866, the first full
year of peace after the Civil War. The end came in about 1895, when the main trails
of the trail drives were closed by barbed wire fences with the railroads taking
over transporting the herds.
There is legitimate argument this is not
entirely true because of the fact railroads do not exist everywhere there are
herds of livestock. Agreed, railroads did the long-hauling of the north-bound
herds, however every head of livestock had to be gathered and driven to the railroad
loading pens. In fact in our modern world today, cattle still have to be gathered
from the ranges, driven to the pens to be loaded on trucks then hauled to their
destination. So, the cowboy is still alive and well today.
With these
thoughts in mind a more correct statement should be: "The original, primary Age
of the Cowboy began in 1866 and ended in 1895, but the cattle industry still requires
cowboys to handle the livestock of today."
In discussing the origins of
the trail drives, we find many versions. The most popular version states, "When
the survivors of the Civil War returned to their homes they gathered their now
numerous herds and began driving towards areas of dense human population to sell
for beef."
The fallacy of this thinking is there was almost no communication
in the outback frontiers of ranch country. Post-war national economics were almost
nonexistent and few individuals had money of any description in hand with which
to purchase beef at any price anywhere. How did the trail drivers know where to
go, and how did they know those people had money to buy beef?
A more probable
version, at least in early Texas was: "Dirt-poor war survivors returned home,
many afoot, to see wild cattle and mustangs roaming their lands. Desperate for
their almost destitute families, they trapped wild horses, broke them to use,
hunted and captured wild cattle and began driving them through the surrounding
unknown, unmapped Indian country with no definite destination in mind, in hopes
they could find someone to buy their cattle at any price."
History leaves
the impression that ranchers who owned the livestock contained in the trail herds
made the drives to the north. Sure, a few made the trip, but most of the older
ranch owners, just returned from the war, weary, recovering from wounds, tired
of being away from families so long and a bit cautious whether the drives would
be successful, hired others for the drives.
The result was most had teenage
sons and employee's sons, desperate to leave dirt-poor circumstances and escape
the drudgery of frontier life and see the outside world. There were a few experienced
trail bosses but most of the "Age of the Cowboy" participants were really teenage
boys raised on the ranches and in the settlements but craving change, travel and
excitement.
© Delbert
Trew
"It's All Trew" December
28, 2010 column
Delbert Trew is a freelance writer and retired rancher. He
can be reached at 806-779-3164, by mail at Box A, Alanreed, TX 79002, or by e-mail
at trewblue@centramedia.net. For books see DelbertTrew.com. His column appears
weekly. |
