Carrying Cattle…and the Methods of Handling Them

Cowboys Who Rode Proudly “…provides sketches of the lives of twenty-eight cowboys, or families of cowboys, who worked largely within the barbed wire, after the closing of the Southwestern frontier. They all lived primarily in Texas, Oklahoma or New Mexico, although some had cowboyed during their careers in Arizona and as far away as Montana and Nevada. Many of them worked for wages all their lives. Some became wagon bosses and range managers. A few retired or died as camp men. Several were ‘one man’ family ranchers. At least one describes an expansive, heavily integrated operation of a large family. One cowman doubled as a large independent rancher and the general manager of one of the largest and most venerable investor-owned cow ranches America has known.

“Our biographical focus on these subjects has been on their work as cowboys. As far as has been possible we have studied their techniques and recounted their stories illustrative of their spirit and attitudes. We have deliberately chosen our subjects those whose careers centered in the first four or five decades of the twentieth century. This was the first generation of cowboys working in the beginning of the transformation of the range cattle industry following the end of the free range.”

“The cow business is highly traditional. It will be continued as in the past on these ranges not just because it provides adventurous action for some young people, but also because its hereditary methods of handling cattle work. They are the smoothest and easiest. And working with them is still fun. Thankfully, some things don’t change. ”

Evetts Haley, Jr., Editor