The work of the cowboy on the yearly roundups west of the Missouri River was hard and dangerous. A day in the saddle could be long, hard, and sometimes fatal. Immense distance from medical care and slow transportation just added to the hazards they faced on the open range. In the summertime, the work was often hot, dusty, and bonebreaking; in the wintertime, it was cold, lonely, and demanding.
Most of the cowboys were young and many had no family in the area. Some of these fellows never shared much information about their family or friends back home. A number of these cowboys, some still in their teens, lost their life while working among the wild cattle and horses on these roundups.
Stampedes, rattlesnakes, and dodging prairie dog holes were some of the many challenges they faced daily. Others were victims of lightning and storms. It must be remembered that these young men had to work the hardest when the weather was the worst. Their motto was “Save the herd at any cost.” And in some cases, it cost them their life. How can we ever forget that!
In the case of a storm there was always danger of a stampede and every member, except the cook and horse wrangler, of the outfit was expected to be on duty. This was when the horsemanship of the cowboy was put to the ultimate test. If the cattle could be “circled,” they were soon quieted. If not, they might travel five to six miles or more before they were brought under control.
In some cases, those who lost their life while working on the vast open prairie were buried near where they died. Others were buried in the nearest cemetery and some were taken home to be buried by their family.
The secret to gathering the cattle on the open range was an early start which began at 4:00 a.m. when the cook woke everyone with the signal that breakfast was ready. He had gotten up earlier, built an inviting fire and prepared breakfast which included sourdough biscuits, white gravy, sowbelly, and lots of strong black coffee. There was always plenty for a second serving since the work that day would be long and difficult.
It was early in the morning when the riders and horses were fresh that the “gathering process” was the most successful. It was also a big advantage in the movement of the herd to a new location while they grazed as they moved forward.
The roundup was the most important single activity during the year for them. This was when they renewed old acquaintances and made new friends. It was also the one time when they could demonstrate their skills of riding, roping, reading and remembering brands, branding, and herding.
The open range cowboy was a new kind of American. He represented the values and ideals which were important to all Americans: unreserved personal freedom, honesty, pride, reliability, truth, hard work, and above all loyalty. His religious faith was simple and sincere. He worked and lived too close to His works to ever doubt that there was a wise and powerful loving God.
He was gentle with children, ladies, the elderly, and animals. He was a patriot and helped people and animals when in distress. With just one word and no more than ten seconds, he conveyed a meaning that others required and needed several paragraphs and at least thirty minutes. His motto was: “Speak less and say more.” And whenever and wherever he lost his bearings, he would simply let his horse find the way home.
He was part of American life for only a short time; however, he became our most famous and popular American folk hero. The cowboy was as American as anything this country has ever produced.
The cattlemen’s frontier lasted from about 1865 to 1890. It began with herds of bellowing longhorns. That was the day when the longhorn was King of the West. It all began in southern Texas and this resulted in the long cattle drives north to Canada.
By the end of the 1860’s, ranches covered most of Kansas and Nebraska as well as those portions of the Indian Territory where land was leased from the natives. It was then spread into Colorado, Wyoming, the Dakotas, and Montana.
By 1880, cattle ranching had been firmly planted throughout the Great Plains. By then, the longhorn had been replaced by improved breeds of cattle. The most popular being the white-faced Hereford. A mixture of longhorns and Herefords could be seen grazing together under the watchful eye of an experienced cowboy.
About 1890, homesteaders and sod-busters began to move onto the prairie. The “days of the cowboy” were numbered and the work on the ranch began to change. Even before the Great Plains were open for settlement, “squatters” began to appear along the streams, rivers, and other sources of water.
In an effort to preserve and protect the Texas longhorns from extinction, the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1912. It contains over 19,000 acres of high benchlands and rolling plains — traversed by the Niobrara River near Valentine, Nebraska. That longhorn herd is maintained as one of two government herds to protect the historical strain of basic breeding stock. The other is located at the Wichita Mountains Refuge in Oklahoma.
Author Clarence Shoemaker, originally published in the Gregory Times-Advocate on June 1, 2022