b'DID YOU KNOW, IN THE OLD WEST.By Lee Anderson, Old West Living Historian, Award Winning Author, and Old School HorsemanLee Anderson and his horse, Concho, are well known around the state doing presentations in schools, corporate events,and civic events. Learn more about them and his book on his website. historicaloldwest.orgI n 1886 Harpers Magazine didThe original cowboy of this country was4,000,000 head, a 10-page feature article onessentially a creature of circumstance,worth nearly the Americanand mainly a$50,000,000.cowboy. Here are a few selected passagesproduct of western from that article. and southwesternIt is impossible Texas. Armed to thefor one who has During the last fifteen years (1871-1886)teeth, booted andnot had actual the American cowboy has occupied aspurred, long-haired,experience in place sufficiently important to entitleand covered withriding on a cattle drive to imagine the him to a considerable share of publicthe broad-brimmeddifficulties involved in driving a large herdattention. His occupation is unique. Insombrero, theof wild cattle over mountain ranges, across the exercise of his function, he is always adistinctive badge of hisdesert lands where in some cases food and man on horseback. His duty as a worker incalling, his personal appearancewater are not found for many miles, and where the cattle business is at times to ride over theproclaimed the sort of man he was. streams must be crossed which are liable to range in order to see that straying cattle dodangerous freshets.not rove too far from the assigned limits ofThe life of the cowboy is always the herd of which he has charge; at times toone of excitement and of romanticOn the northern ranges sobriety, self-drive the herd from one locality to another;interest. His waking hours whenrestraint, decent behavior, and faithfulness and at times to round up the dispersedriding on a cattle drive are spentto duty are enjoined upon the cowboys. A cattle, by which is meant to collect themin the saddle, and at night hegreat improvement is also observable in the together for the purpose of branding calves,makes his bed upon the lap ofcowboys of Texas. Deeds of violence among or of selecting beef cattle, which latter aremother earth. The great herdsthem are now few. The morale of the entire driven to railroad stations for shipment towhich are yearly driven out ofrange and ranch cattle business of the United market. The chief qualifications of efficiencyTexas to the northern ranges andStates now compares favorably with that of in this calling are courage, physical alertness, ability tomarkets usually embrace from 2500 to 4000other large enterprises.endure exposure and fatigue, horsemanship, and skill inyoung cattle each, and the movement has, since its the use of the lariat. beginning about eighteen years ago, amounted to aboutRemember now, all of this was written in 1886. Used Tractors: Kubota,John Deere, New Holland, etc.New Tractors: LS from25 hp and up.from UTVS to Car Haulers,Landscape and Dump Trailers, Special We Service & RepairOrders also available on New Trailers.Tractors, Trailers & UTVs.Grapple Buckets, Box Scrapers, Straight Blades,Rock Rakes, Chain Harrows, Arena Groomers, Brush Hogs, Post Hole Diggers, Post Drivers and More.45563 N Grand Avenue 1302 W Apache Trail Morristown, AZ 85342 Apache Junction 85120SWEQUIPMENT.comArizonaRealCountry.com September 2022 9'