Audio
The American Cowboy: Myth or Reality?
Transcript
He was a young man, late teens or early twenties, with a great responsibility: driving his cattle across the Plains. Awake through lonesome, starry nights on the open range, he sang soothing melodies to calm his cattle. Fearless and strong, he swam with his herd across swollen rivers and stayed with them during dangerous stampedes. A lover, a fighter, a just man, he was an American cowboy. But were cowboys really like this? Since the first trail drives, people were captivated by stories of the rugged men who herded half-wild longhorns across America’s prairies. Articles and dime novels treated readers to Wild West adventures. Handsome, honorable, and brave, cowboy heroes in these popular books and later movies rode proudly. They were tough and hardworking, independent and free. Many stories exaggerated cowboy life. Clothes, for example, were worn for specific purposes. A wide-brim hat protected him from the sun, a bandana covered his face from dust the cattle kicked up, and high boots shielded him from needles and thorns. Yet these practical aspects of cowboy life became cultural symbols of the values cowboys portrayed. Part myth, part truth, the American cowboy lives on.
Description
Is the legendary image of the American Cowboy Myth or Reality?
Duration
1 minute, 29 seconds
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