The 100 Best Historical Photos of the American Cowboy

Before the Mexican-American War concluded in 1848, American traders who traveled to the Western frontier encountered Spanish vaqueros of northern Mexico. The arrival of railroads and an increased demand for beef during the Civil War drove the need for the cowboy. The earliest known photographs of these iconic Americans are tintypes, taken as early as the 1870s, most likely captured during a trail drive or at an end-of-trail town.

The Texas Live Stock Journal wrote glowingly of the cowboy on October 21, 1882: “A man wanting in courage would be as much out of place in a cow-camp, as a fish would be on dry land.

Indeed the life he is daily compelled to lead calls for the existence of the highest degree of cool calculating courage…the cowboy is as chivalrous as the famed knights of old.”

"...cowboys” driving cattle to market in New York state."

I did a little more research and yes, it was used on rare occasion instead of drover or cowman or cowpuncher or cattleman. Still, it became more wide-spread from the outlaw gang/ranchers of the Clantons/McLaurys whose theft of Mexican cattle became known as the "Cowboys". BTW, the Clantons and McLaurys and associates were the first known group that could be called organized crime out West. New York had its Five Corner gangs.

The term morphed from those notorious cattle rustlers into a more benign acceptance of all those who wrangled cattle. Interestingly, the term now includes anyone who wears a cowboy hat.

I just visited a site about Stetson hats. They were not called cowboy hats. They had numbers and included everything from bowlers to 10 gallon to wide brim with flat top that Wyatt Earp wore and more. Plus there were numerous fur felt hat producers back in the day. That's why you see such a variation in modern westerns, not to mention the wear and tear on said hats. The old west fascinates me.

http://www.indianvillagemall.com/stetsonhats.html

Very cool photo. Google Wyatt Earp and you'll find a photo of him with Bat Masterson and others of the "The "Dodge City Peace Commission" June 10, 1883.

BTW, just finished the last episode of The American West on AMC. There are so many inaccuracies I can't count. The main one was they kept calling Wyatt Earp the Sheriff of Tombstone. Although Earp WAS the Sheriff of Pima County that included Tombstone at the time. Wyatt had yet to move to Tombstone with his brothers.

Later, Pima County partially broke off into Cochise County that included Tombstone. There, Wyatt became a temporary town Marshall for his brother Virgil and deputy Morgan when they went to Lot 42 to confront the Cowboys. He was never the Sheriff of Tombstone. The series was produced by Robert Redford. Need I say more?

Lots of true facts, but lots of speculation. Wyatt Earp was 6 foot not 6'2" as the series claimed. And Virgil Earp and Morgan Earp were NOT ambushed on the same day as the series portrays. Records show that Virgil was ambushed in December 1881 and Morgan was shot in he back in the March of 1882.

Personally, I don't blame Wyatt Earp, Doc Holiday, Turkey Creek Jackson, Sherman McMasters, Texas Jack, James Earp and others for hunting down and killing those bush-wacking murderous pricks.

The Cowboys lost in a fair fight after threatening the Earps for days, not to mention breaking local laws. Some people of the town even offered assistance to the Earps as recorded by The Epitaph newspaper. I've read the court records and eye-witness accounts and all the pertinent books. They all say that the Cowboys were itching for a fight, especially Ike Clanton. They got it - they died...and more died in the Vengence Ride. Tough on you Clanton ancestors who try to re-write history.

"He wound up working in Bill Cody’s Wild West Show, as an acrobat and cowboy."

Very cool. However, was never happy about Sitting Bull selling out to Cody's Wild West Show. Some claim he did so to keep the Native American culture alive. Then he went back to the reservation to re-organize his tribe and got shot by a soldier. A question mark for the West...much like did Pat Garrett really kill William Bonney?

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