Cows Cowboys Cattlemen Characters

Cowboys are an American legend, but despite ubiquity in history and popular culture, misperceptions abound. Technically, a cowboy worked with cattle, as a ranch hand, while his boss, the cattleman, owned the ranch. Jacqueline M. Moore casts aside romantic and one-dimensional images of cowboys by analyzing the class, gender, and labor histories of ranching in Texas during the second half of the nineteenth century. As working-class men, cowboys showed their masculinity through their skills at work as well as public displays in town. But what cowboys thought was manly behavior did not always match those ideas of the business-minded cattlemen, who largely absorbed middle-class masculine ideals of restraint. Real men, by these standards, had self-mastery over their impulses and didn’t fight, drink, gamble or consort with "unsavory" women. Moore explores how, in contrast to the mythic image, from the late 1870s on, as the Texas frontier became more settled and the open range disappeared, the real cowboys faced increasing demands from the people around them to rein in the very traits that Americans considered the most masculine. Published in Cooperation with the William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies, Southern Methodist University.

Surveys the past and present-day activities, character, and ways of life of the cowboy and the history of the American cattle industry

Winner of the 2010 T.R. Fehrenbach Book Award Cowboys are an American legend, but despite their ubiquity in history and popular culture, misperceptions abound. Jacqueline M. Moore casts aside romantic and one-dimensional images of cowboys by analyzing the class, gender, and labor histories of ranching in Texas during the second half of the nineteenth century. As working-class men, cowboys showed their masculinity through their skills at work as well as public displays in town. But what cowboys thought was manly behavior did not always match those ideas of the business-minded cattlemen, who largely absorbed middle-class masculine ideals of restraint. Moore explores how, in contrast to the mythic image, from the late 1870s on, as the Texas frontier became more settled and the open range disappeared, the real cowboys faced increasing demands from the people around them to rein in the very traits that Americans considered the most masculine. Published in Cooperation with the William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies, Southern Methodist University.

Russell's colorful narrative takes us from the earliest days of the Spanish vaqueros, the ranches of Old Mexico and the great cattle drives across Texas. Along the way meet historical and legendary characters, including Howard Eaton, Charlie Russell, Pat Burns and John Ware--men who helped shape the West and our perceptions of it.

Philip Ashton Rollins's remarkable book is perhaps the most accurate and detailed description of the real-life American cowboy ever written. Here he describes the beginnings of ranching in America, and how horses and cattle were raised. He details, with flair and expertise, everything about the cowboy and his work -- his tools and weapons, his clothes and tack, the specialized skills he perfected, and the life he led while on the range. He explains that there was really no typical American cowboy and definitively separates fact from legend. A wonderful resource for anybody who lives or loves the cowboy life, this book is an incredible record of these men, their lives, and their work. - Back cover.

One of the most colourful chapters in the history of North American settlement began in the 1880s when the rich Alberta grasslands spreading east from the foothills of the Rockies became the magnet for cattle ranching. Award-winning Cattle Kingdomprovides readers with all the colourful tales of raffish characters, political intrigues and partnerships, fortunes made and lost, and the harsh realities of prairie winters. The era also gave us the mythic figure of the cowboy, still prominent in Alberta today. Nowhere is the story of ranching more rich and varied than in Alberta. There was an assortment of high rollers, big-money men from the east, English lords and remittance men, along with refugees from the American west and ordinary folk seeking a homestead and a new dream. The newly formed North West Mounted Police was on hand as well. Famous ranches were created during this period, including the Cochrane, the Oxley and the North West Cattle Company (Bar U). The cast of characters included John Ware; the brave and foolhardy Major-General Thomas Bland Strange, who had plans for a ranch for retired British army types; and the scrappy Pat Burns, who parlayed a small slaughterhouse in Calgary into a giant meat-packing and cattle empire. By the time of the first Calgary Stampede in 1912, the cattle kingdom was on the wane. More and more settlers arrived and began fencing and farming the once limitless grazing lands. And then came the discovery of oil. But during its brief and brilliant season in the sun, early ranching in Alberta put an indelible stamp on the history and culture of the Canadian west.

The cowboy mystique and the ranchers and ranching that are part of it is buried deep in the heart of Texans. Although cattle drives, Comanches, the cavalry and gunslingers are lost to history, if you look closely enough, Old Texas lives on. Texas Stories consists of twenty tales and character sketches about an era quickly passing: lore of cowpunchers and cattlemen, ropers and riders, drinkers and brawlers, and assorted outsized only-in-Texas characters. Humorous, entertaining, poignant-these profiles are nostalgia in the present tense. Equal parts Charles Kuralt, Garrison Keillor, Studs Terkel, and William Least Heat-Moon, reading this collection will leave you with a Lone Star glow. It's a curl-up-by-the-fire fun read and a great gift. To get a feel for the book, please hit the Sample Chapter button above, which will connect you to the first chapter.