Cattle Barons in the West

Cowpoke, Cowboy, Waddy...the cattle drives from Texas to Kansas are a part of Americana that legends are made of.  The character of the American Cowboy was actually derived as much from the folklore of the times as from reality.  The entire heritage goes back some 300 years to the Spanish caballeros.

In 1521, Gergorio de Villalobos, along with his six heifers and one bull, arrived at Vera Cruz and became the first cattle rancher on the continent.  Even the cowpoke's horse goes back to those of Hernando Cortez some 300 years ago.  Lasso, Corral, Chaps, Sombrero...all part of the American lexicon of the Cowboy.

The wild mustangs of the Wild West descended from the stallions and mares brought to Mexico in the 16th century by the Spanish Coranado and the Spanish explorer Sebastian Vizcaino.  After a century and a half of civilization abuse, the diminished herds of the 1800s had never recovered in Texas and Nevada.

Next time...the cattle ranches post Civil War.