The Never-Ending Tale of the Cowboys

The American cowboys have captured the fancy and imagination of millions as no other occupation has ever done. If the first cowboys were alive today, the iconic status of their calling would come to them as a shocking, but pleasant, surprise. After all, in the beginning, they were just humble farmhands, taking care of cattle on the vast plains and ranges of North America. There's hardly anything special or glamorous about herding cattle, that's for sure.

It was the Spanish conquistadors and settlers who brought the cowboy tradition to America through the hacienda cattle-raising system they took along from the Iberian Peninsula. The Spaniards brought in not only cattle but also the required horses for the herders who have to cover lots of ground to look after the animals which need to be grazed in vast territories where grasses are sparse and far between.

The arrival of the horses too was pivotal, as their populations rapidly increased, resulting in the reintroduction of these animals whose equine species had vanished in the Americas during the prehistoric ice age.

With the union of man, horse and cattle, the cowboy in America was born. Cowboy, some linguists say, is a literal translation of the Spanish word vaquero which in turn is derived from vaca or cow. These vaqueros were first seen in the haciendas that sprouted in the Spanish settlements in America during the 16th century, particularly in California and Florida, and in what came to be known as Mexico.

The Texas cowboys, now immortalized as pro football flag-bearers to the city of Dallas, came much later in the 1800s with the influx of immigrants and their cattle-raising farms.

Despite having cattle as their common ground in these regions, different working traditions have evolved due mainly to differences in culture, geography and climate. In Texas, where long cattle drives and railway transportation became part of the beef trade, the cowboy became a seasonal worker, moving from one ranch to another.

In sharp contrast, the cowboy in California is more of a regular guy who usually stays in one ranch for his entire life, a reflection of the true cattle-farming style in the state that has evolved from better grazing areas and nearer beef markets. It is in California, therefore, where the Spanish tradition of horse and livestock raising still persists.

Cattle-raising in the Americas has also evolved professions and their subcultures which are likewise as rich in lore as the cowboy. There's the wrangler whose primary role in the ranch is to take care of the horses. Also a fabled kin to the cowboy is the horse whisperer whose traditions in their natural handling of horses are traced to the California ranches of old. In Florida, its historical American cowboy counterpart is called a cow-hunter using dogs instead of horses, and employing whips to control the cattle herd.

The cowboys' culture of today appears a combination of the various cowboy traditions of old. The long history of this American heritage has influenced not only a practical trade, but also extended its reach to music, poetry, entertainment, sports and fashion. What makes the cowboy ready for an even richer legacy is the influence he has spread across America's shores. Clearly, there are more tales to be told for the cowboy.

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