Cowboy

Fun Facts About Cowboys

• The Golden Age of the American cowboy lasted only about 25 years (from the end of the Civil War until the late-1880s). Two main factors led to the cowboy's demise: the expansion of railroads, which eliminated the need for long-distance cattle drives, and the widespread use of newly invented barbed wire that fenced in the open range cowboys depended on to move herds.
• The iconic, large-brimmed, 10-gallon cowboy hat is largely a Hollywood creation. Real working cowboys usually wore more practical, lower-profile hats like bowlers (derbies) or simple flat-brimmed felt hats.
• Historical accounts suggest the average cowboy was about 5'6" to 5'8" tall and weighed between 140 and 160 lbs. The physical demands of a long cattle drive favored small, wiry, tough men — the bigger guys wore out their horses pretty quick.
• Calling someone a "cowboy" was originally an insult. Before the 1870s it usually referred to horse thieves, rustlers and bandits (especially during the Civil War era in Texas). The romanticized image of the cowboy came later, thanks to dime novels and Hollywood.
• Cowboys sang slow, low songs to the cattle at night. It would calm the herd and keep them from stampeding when something spooked them in the dark.
• The longest cattle drive in history — along the famous Chisholm Trail — moved Texas longhorns 1,000 miles north to Kansas railheads in 2–3 months. Active from 1867 to the late-1880s, it was a grueling journey that covered about 10–15 miles a day. The trail largely overlaps with, or runs near, modern-day U.S. Route 81.