The REAL cowboys.

If i was to ask, what is a cowboy i would get many answers and most would not be true. We think of cowboys the way we see them in Hollywood. But in reality have little in common with the cowboys Hollywood portrays to us in movies and shows.
Hollywood exaggerates a bit when it comes to cowboys, the way they have portrayed them is they guy with the big cowboy hat, cowboy boots with spiky things on the back of them, the vest and a cigar in their mouth most important the gun. As well as the typical cowboy scene where they show the empty roads a ball of hay rolls by the step away from each other a couple of steps turn around and shoot. That is all fake and exaggeration from the movies and shows we have seen.

Now the question is how are the real cowboys if what we have seen is not true? Well cowboys were very hard workers. They worked hard for money and to support their family. Back then they had nothing compared to everything we have now a days, such as washer machines, dish washers , cars , t.v's etc. Back then they did everything by hand, washed all their clothes by hand, wash dishes by hand, instead of cars they had horses and wagons, and there was no t.v so they found other ways to entertain themselves. All though back then there was so much work cowboys had that there was no time. Cowboys had various jobs, their most important piece of equipment for work was their horse, to a cowboy the horse was like their best friend. Cowboys spent hours on their horses herding,roping the horses and cattle and preparing the meat for dinner.They worked extremly hard and the worst part was that in the west it was a more hot and dry climate. Cowboys lived on ranches with a lot of land, where they kept all their horses and their herd. The way the cowboys dressed were long sleeve shirts, jeans, long boots, and vests. As for wardrobe Hollywood was right for the most part. But what they don't show is how hard cowboys worked, to us they show them having fun all the time at bars they showed all the men who drank and fought often, or rodeos.
For a cowboy rodeos was the one thing thing always looked forward to. To them it was like a reward for all their hard work. The rodeos was when everyone from their towns got together, danced, horse races, and bull riding. Bull riding was one of the biggest events in the rodeos. In conclusion Hollywood portrays cowboys with a bit of exaggeration compared to how cowboys really were back then. They were not all about drinking, fighting, and sitting on top of horses looking good. There is a lot more to the real cowboy.










http://www.cartermuseum.org/collections/smith/collection.php?asn=LC-S6-123&mcat=1
http://www.cartermuseum.org/collections/smith/collection.php?asn=LC-S59-302&mcat=9&scat=30