Cowboys

The American cowboy has been altered quiet a bit in Hollywood. Hollywood definitely made some exaggerations because that is just what Hollywood is. Hollywood crated Gunsmoke which is a popular series about cowboys. The series apparently explains reality of cowboys along with some comedy. Gunsmoke had all the goofy fight scenes where you take your paces back turn around and shoot, but those were definitely exaggerated. Same with all dirt roads and the bars. Hollywood made the cowboys seem like much more than they really are. Not every cowboy had the same accent or dialect and maybe women did not dress in hoop skirt dresses everyday. Hollywood also emphasized stereotypes that were often brought up in the modern society back in the day.

The cowboys also had a tougher way of living than today. What are the truths of the American cowboy other than dont squat when you ware boots so the spiky things on the heals don't dig in to your butt? The cowboys never had cars or trucks. Back in the day where all there were, were cowboys, all they had were carriages and horses. NO air conditioning, just fans, No washing machine, just a big tub of hot soapy water. There was much more to do at home. The cowboys probably had a busy family life to just to get things done around the house.

Back then people were hanged for committing crimes, and people from the town came to watch, while today executions are by lethal injection where there isn't much of a crowd to watch at all. The cowboys probably had to deal with a lot of disease because they do not have all the great advances in the medical field that we have today. There was a lot of back breaking work herding animals and a lot of agriculture too. The rodeo and cowherding was very popular.

A popular event durring the Cowboy era was the rodeo. Some of the stereotypes are true. There are people riding bulls and racing maybe even auctioning. But bullriding was  definitely one of the events. Bull riding was a sweet chunk of culture from the cowboys. A long with that was just raising the bull or raising and herding animals in general. Working hard, getting money, supporting family was how they lived.

http://www.cartermuseum.org/collections/smith/collection.php?asn=LC-S6-381&mcat=1