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Where Did All the Cowboys Come From?
The multitude of American cowboys can be attributed to not just one desire, but to multiple sources. Following the American Civil War, during the latter part of the 1860's, most of the cattle farms expanded as the cattle industry also grew in volume. This expansion was supported by all the soldiers that were out of commission from the war.
The soldiers, all looking for work, came from both sides, the Union and the Confederacy, were among the large and diverse numbers of jobless white men. They all flocked to the west, where the ranches are, all looking for work to be done in exchange for money to send to their families.
A vast number of freed or runaway African-American slaves were also drawn to the life of the cowboy. There are many reasons for this, and not the smallest of which was the decrease in discrimination in the West as compared to other places in American society during that era.
In the ranches, everyone was equal, and at the time that the African-American people came to the ranches, other cultures were already working the fields. These included the Mexicans and the American Indians, most of whom were living in the nearby areas.
Many of the cowboys in Spanish American based ranches are actually American Indian people trained by trusted vaqueros from Spain and other areas of the Iberian peninsula who have sought better business in North America.
Later on, especially after 1890 and the "assimilation" that was promoted by American policy, the Indian people had boarding schools where they were taught ranching skills. Because of this, today, many Native Americans have the capacity and knowledge to own cattle farms and small ranches and manage them on their own.
They also employ many Native American cowboys, especially those that are established near Indian Reservations. Because of their skill, their participation in various rodeos is well accepted.
Because of the low social regard that the cowboy had during that era, there were no real and authentic numbers on the actual demography on the various races and ages of the cowboys working in the West.
One popular writer of cowboy literature and history states that there are two classes of cowboys, although they do not vary in benefits. One class are the cowboys recruited from Texas and other states, and the other class are the Mexicans, and those from the southwest region. One record tells that about 15% of all cowboys are of African-American descent. Also, Mexican cowboys, too, comprise another 15% of the population, but this number increases as ranches are nearing Texas and other Southwest areas.
But regardless of their ethnic roots, most cowboys came from the lower classes and were paid poorly. The average cowboy earned more or less a dollar a day, although they usually got free food and if they were ranch based, then they got a free bed in a bunk, which the ranch owner usually built as a building-like structure with only a single room.
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