The Real American Cowboy:Breaking the Stereotype

By Glennette BarclaySpoon River Valley Junior HighLondon Mills, Illinois

Who was the American cowboy?

Most were male between the ages of 15 and 2560% were White30% were African-American, Hispanic, or Native American

What did cowboys do?Cowboys were a vital part of the cattle drive economy in the years 1865-1885. Their most important job was to move between 1,000 and 10,000 head of cattle at a time. The average cattle drive moved 2,500 head about 1,000 miles.Cowboys drove these cattle from south Texas to railroad centers in Missouri and Kansas. Two vital railheads were at Abilene and Wichita.

Other Cowboy Jobs:Cowboys kept the cattle safe from predators such as coyotes.Cowboys kept the herds calm at night to prevent stampedes.Cowboys led the cattle across safe river crossings.Cowboys roped stray cattle that wandered off and brought them back to the herd.

Driving the HerdTrail Boss: Rode ahead to find the best pasture for the herd this was the most important positionChuck Wagon: Cooked all meals and served as doctorPoint: Guide cattle in desired directionSwing: Assisted point riders in guiding cattleFlank: Kept the herd intactDrag: Kept the lagging cattle moving along. This was the worst position on the drive because of the dust.Wrangler: Cowboys in charge of the Remuda.Drover: A person who herds animals, in this case, cattle.

Cowboys were superior horse-handlers.

Cowboys took excellent care of the Remuda, or the herd of horses used to drive the cattle.Cowboys would break wild horses for use on the ranch or to drive cattle.Cowboys were responsible for the purchase of their own saddles. The rancher provided the horses. Sometimes cowboys would bring their own favorite horse.

The Texas Longhorn

Photo by Glennette Barclay courtesy the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center

Famous African-American Cowboys

Nat Love

Nat Love was born a slave in Nashville, TN in 1854. At age 15 he won $100 in a horse raffle. He gave half of the money to his mother and took the other half and headed West.

Nat managed to ride a horse named “Good Eye”, the worst horse he ever rode. A trail boss offered him $30 a month to be a cowpuncher. In TN he was making $1.50 a month.He became an expert marksman and eventually drove cattle from Texas to Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakota Territory.Nat became an expert brand reader, a very important job in any outfit.

He also had to fight Indians who tried to stampede and steal cattle.In Deadwood, SD, Nat entered a roping contest and won. From then on, he was known as “Deadwood Dick”.One time, Nat roped a cannon and tried to take it back to Texas. He got caught and had to pay a fine. Another time he tried to rope a moving train, but lost!

Nat worked as a cowboy until 1890. By that time, the cattle drives were over because railroads had been built deep into Texas. There was no longer a need for cattle drives.

Nat became a Pullman Porter in 1890. He was active in the railroad labor unions and worked in the industry for 15 years. He took great pride in his job as a Pullman Porter and enjoyed the prestige of the job.

Nat wrote an autobiography about his life. He eventually settled in Los Angeles. He died there in 1921 at the age of 67.

Daniel Webster Wallace “80 John”

He was born a slave in 1860 in Texas.At age 15 he snuck away from home to become a cowboy. Daniel joined a cattle drive and they covered 15 miles a day. He later worked for Clay Mann, a famous cattle baron. Daniel became known as “80 John” because of Clay Mann’s unique “80” brand used on his cattle.

80 John was so trusted by Mann that he even carried $30,000 worth of gold back from the cattle drives.According to the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center, some trail bosses were responsible for up to $90,000 in gold. That’s equal to about $2 million in today’s money!Many people distrusted the government’s paper money and government banks after the Civil War. Ranchers demanded their pay in gold.

Chuck wagon (above) where all cooking was done on the trail.

Longhorn steer (left)

80 John took his pay in the form of 600 steers and later began buying land. He was a wise business man who continued buying and selling different types of cattle.

Daniel Webster Wallace was remarkably successful. Many African Americans headed West because there was less discrimination. However these men were still discriminated against and there are no accounts of African American cowboys holding the highest rank of trail boss.

By the time of his death in 1939, Wallace owned a 10,270 acre ranch.

Daniel Webster Wallace was a man who always did his best. He was respected and revered. He was born a slave, but died a cattle rancher. Very few former slaves were as successful as 80 John. Many African American cowboys encountered racial discrimination.

Photograph of Daniel Webster Wallace

Charley Willis

He was born a slave in Texas in 1847.By the time the Civil War ended, Charley was already an experienced cowhand. For six years, he worked as an expert horse-breaker.He went on his first cattle drive on the Chisholm Trail. It was a 2,000 mile round trip on horse back in all kinds of weather conditions.

In 1871, Charley was one of many cowboys who drove 600,000 cattle over the Chisholm Trail.Charley happened to be an excellent singer. At night, he would sing to the cattle to keep them calm and prevent them from stampeding.One of Charley’s songs survives to this day. It’s called, “Good-bye, Old Paint”. The song became very popular among cowboys and the public. (Charley did have a horse named Old Paint.)

Charley passed away in 1930 at age 80.In 1947 Jess Morris, a friend of Charley’s, recorded “Good-bye, Old Paint”. The Willis family is very proud of their very own singing cowboy.

Photograph of Charley Willis and his wife, Laura

For those who are interested:

Nat Love’s autobiography:

Nat Love, 1854-1921. Life and Adventures of Nat Love, Better Known in the Cattle Country as "Deadwood Dick," by Himself; a True History of Slavery Days, Life on the Great Cattle Ranges and on the Plains of the "Wild and Woolly" West, Based on Facts, and Perso

One of many versions of Charley Willis’s “Good-bye, Old Paint”:

Goodbye Old Paint - Norman Luboff Choir.avi - YouTube

Resource:Wagner, Tricia Martineau 2011. Black cowboys of the old west, True, sensational, and little-known stories from history. Guilford, CT: TwoDot.

Photographs:All photographs displayed in this presentation with the exclusion of those of Nat Love, were taken by Glennette Barclay. Permission to use the material photographed is generously granted courtesy of the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center, Duncan, Oklahoma.