...
Acknowledgments
The funding for this project was provided by the Ellwood
Foundation of Houston, Texas. Additionally, the Institute of Texan
Cultures wishes to recognize the many people throughout Texas
who have contributed their time and service to The Other Cowboys
project. From horsehair braiders to musicians to video producers,
all have given freely of their skills to make this project a reality. We
thank you.
TRAVELING TRUNK
Inventory
Institute of Texan Cultures Sign
The Other Cowboys Instructional Guide
Gene Autry Poster
Activities #1, #17, #19
Fifteen "Work of the Cowboy" Photographs
Activity#2
"The Other Cowboys" Bar Graph Transparency
Activity#3
Dona Marfa Doll and Audiotape
Activity#4
"The Spread of Horses in the Americas" Transparency
. Activity #5
Saddle Blanket and Saddle
Activity#6
Fifteen Cowboy Tack Catalogs
Activity#7
Twisted Horsehair Horse Gear
Activity#7
Vaquero Photograph
Activity #8, #17
Williams Family Photograph
Activity#9
"Johanna July" Audiotape. Side A
Activity#9
"Workin from Can't to Can't:' Videotape and Script
Activity #10
"Dangers on the Trail" Audiotape. Side B
Activity #11
"Prairie Fire" Poster
Activity #11
Lizzie: Queen of-the Ca-t-tle Trails Book
Activity #12
"Cattle Trails Map" Transparency
Activity #13
Cowboys Bathing Photograph
Activity #14
Lye Soap with Bandanna
Activity #14
"Arbuckle Boys" Audiotape
Activity #16
Arbuckles' Coffee and Poster
Activity #16
"Tumbling Tumbleweed" Transparency
Activity #16
"Ranchero Ballads" Audiotape, Side A
Activity #16
"The Other Cowboys" Audiotape, Side B
Activity #16
Stetson Hats
Activity #17
I able of Contents
lntroduc;tlon 1
5actceround 2
lntroduc;tlon to Stereotype
Activity #1 The Stereotypical Cowboy S
Dispelling the Stereotype
Activity #2 The Work of the Cowboy 8
Activity #3 The Other Cowboys 10
Activity #4 Dona Marfa del Carmen Calvillo 14
Cowboys and Their Horses
Activity #5 Horses in America 16
Activity #6 The Equipment of the Cowboy 20
Activity #7 More Horse Equipment 22
Meet ~e Other Cowboys"
Activity #8 The First Cowbpys: Vaqueros 24
Activity #9 The Other Cowboys: African-American Cowhands 26
Activity #10 More African-American Cowboys 28
Activity #11 Dangers on the Cattle Trail 30
Activity #12 A Woman on the Trail 32
Activity #13 More Women on the Trail 34
On the Trail
Activity #14 Dirt on the Trail 38
Activity #15 A Cattle Drive 40
Activity #16 The "Coffee of Cowboys" Sing-a-Long 42
Activity #17 The Clothes of the Cowboy 4-6
Reaching Closure
Activity #18 Cowboy Vocabulary 48
Activity #19 Stereotypes and "The Other Cowboys" 50
5ibllography of Student Resources 53
Introduction
This traveling trunk presenting The Other Cowboys is filled with a variety
of teaching resources. It contains artifacts, photographs, maps, posters,
audiotapes, a videotape, and reading material for use with students in
kindergarten through grade eight over five days in 30- to 45-minute time blocks.
The activities and materials in this guide may be used in several ways:
A. The activities, if used in sequence, compose an instructional unit
developed to assist students in attaining the following objectives:
• To assist in understanding the concept of stereotypes.
• To provide information about African Americans, Mexican
Americans, and women who were cowboys/cowhands which
dispels our stereotype of the cowboy.
• To provide practice in analyzing and interpreting maps and
graphs for historical information.
• To reinforce the skill of making inferences.
B . If you are presently teaching about the American West, cattle drives,
ranching, or cowboys, you may want to review the content material of
the activities and artifacts and select those that focus on vaqueros,
African Americans, or women to address the omission of this
material in the textbooks.
C. You may wish to select only those activities and artifacts with
objectives that emphasize skills you have previously taught and
want to reinforce with different content material.
D. If you wish to use these materials as a display, then you may want to
review the activities and select only those activities and artifacts
that are appropriate for the age or grade level of the specific
students or the time available.
E. The artifacts, photographs, and other resources of the trunk can
easily be used in other activities and ways of your own choosing.
The content and artifacts of The Other Cowboys Traveling Trunk provide you
with a rich resource to supplement your instruction. Students enjoy touching
and handling the real objects while learning about the diversity of the people
involved in the cattle industry of Texas.
1
Background
The story of the cowboy has become a national mythology. It is one of the
greatest romantic myths produced by this country, but, as with all
mythologies, the story isn't quite complete. The vaqueros of Spanish Texas were
our first cowboys. Many African Americans worked as cowboys and were a part
ofthe cattle drives. Several women went "up the trail," and at least one of them
was responsible for driving her own cattle herd. Indians were also cowboys,
having learned the skills of caring for cattle and breaking horses in the 1700s
working at the early missions of South Texas. There is more to be told than is
in our history books. It is important that we as educators strive to present
a more accurate picture of the diversity of the cowboys and cowhands in
early Texas.
As educators we have all learned the Anglo-American version of the
history of the United States. That's what we learned in elementary school, high
school, and college. We rarely saw an African-American or Mexican-American
person in the pictures of our textbooks. We rarely learned of their contributions
to the history of our country. We haven't looked at other perspectives, such as
the Tejano view of the Battle of the Alamo. By the year 2025, 61 percent of the
student population of the United States will be of non-European-American
heritage. In 1994-95 the racial and ethnic minority students in Texas
accounted for 53 percent of students, a majority.1 Our country has been one of
diversity since the arrival of the f irst explorers, and it is now essential that we
integrate and present the history and viewpoints of our country's many
cultures in order to provide an accurate history and relevant education for all
our students.
The story of the cowboys in Texas is reflective of our history. Our first
cowboys were the indios and mes'tizos of Mexico who were taught to care for
and train the horses and cattle of Cortes. When explorers, priests, and soldiers
came north into what became Spanish Texas, the Indian people of Mexico were
brought along to care for the cattle and horses. As the missions of South
Texas were built, additional local Indians were used to take care of the mission
animals. Indians escaped from the missions, and Indian raids to capture cattle
and horses occurred frequently. Additionally, cattle and horses had been
multiplying in the open country for many decades, and the Indians, having
become skillful in capturing the animals, built their own horse herds and became
skillful riders.
In 1814 Dona Marfa del Carmen Calvillo inherited her father's ranch,
El Rancho de las Cabras, near present-day Floresville. The ranch was established
by her father in 1772. Her family sent cattle to feed General Washington's men
during the American Revolution. Dona Marfa inherited Las Cabras in 1814 upon
the death of her father. It is known that Dona Marfa rode a white stallion and
that, along with other families living on the rancho, she worked the cattle and
tended the animals. She was a ranch owner and a cowgirl!
1State Board of Education, Long-Range Plan for Technology 1996-2010: A Report to "the
75th Texas Legisla-ture (Austin: Texas Education Agency, 1997), p. 9.
2
There were 30,000 people in Texas by the middle ofthe 1830s, and many
were raising cattle. It was acknowledged by all that the best hands for the
management of cattle, horses, and other livestock were the vaqueros.
As Anglo-American colonists began arriving, many with their slaves, the
Mexican vaqueros began catching and taming the mustangs-wild horses­which
they then sold or traded to the settlers.2 The skills of the vaqueros in
their use of the lariat/rope, as horsemen, and in the working of cattle in the
thorny brush of South Texas is legendary. Their equipment is with us today
and used by all cowboys. These facts are important in understanding the
cowboy legacy.
During the Civil War, newly arrived white immigrant men went off to war,
leaving behind their women and the slaves they had brought to Texas. The
women and slaves had to learn how to care for the animals if they were to
survive. Following the Civil War, the slaves were freed, and many with new horse
and cattle skills became cowboys or cowhands. One of these slaves was
Thornton Williams, who had been brought from Africa. He was bought and sold
four times. He came to Texas as a slave and worked as a horse breaker on the
O'Connor Ranch near Goliad. His son, Butler, known as Buzzard, also became a
horsebreaker and pasture rider on the O'Connor Ranch. In turn, his son, Mack
Williams, became a third-generation African-American cowboy working on the
ranch. Mack's son, Roy, learned to ride and work drag herding cattle as a child,
but, when he grew up, he became a truck driver. Mack Williams is now over 81
years old and is a noble reminder of our Texas heritage, the African-American
cowboys .
.Johanna .July was interviewed by a WPA worker in Brackettville, Texas.
She was a black Seminole horsebreaker. She came to Eagle Pass with her family
as a member of a band who signed a contract in 1871 with Major Perry of the
U.S. Army to help clear the Texas side of the Rio Grande of depredating Indians.
After her father died and her brother ran away, she was forced to learn how to
break horses and mules along the Rio Grande.
There were also at least 13 women who went "up the cattle trails" between
1860 and 1896. Lizzie .Johnson is the best known because she took her own
herd along with that of her husband, who wasn't much of a cattleman. Then
there was Willie Matthews, who d ressed as a man and went up the trail with
Samuel Dunn Houston's crew in 1888.
The following activities will be useful in introducing your students to
"The Other Cowboys" of Texas.
2David Dary, Cowboy Cul'ture: A Saga of Five Cen'turies (New York: Alfred Knopf. 1981), p. 75.
5
.~- ····························. .. ·~···. . ···,.·······. · ···--······_,.. .............,' •• •• i Activity #1 ~
! The Stereotypical Cowboy i
' . .• • ~
~ ................................................. ._ .. ~··························-···
6
Materials:
Eq,uipment:
Objective:
Gene Autry poster
None
The students will be introduced to the concept of stereotypes.
Tell me what; you know about; cowboys.
Take oral responses from the students.
•What; do cowboys do?
•What; is t:.he work of cowboys?
•How do cowboys dress?
•Where do cowboys live?
•Where did you learn about; cowboys? [Movies, television,
at home, on the ranch]
Pass around the Gene Autry poster In Old Monterey so all
students can look at it closely.
Tell me about; "this poster.
•What; is t:.he poster about;? [A movie]
•Who is on t:.he poster? [Gene Autry]
• What; is t:.he t;it;/e of t:.he movie? [In Old Monterey]
•What; is t:.he act;ion on -the poster? [Autry on a horse,
men singing]
This is a 1989 movie post;er for Gene Aut;ry's movie In Old
Monterey. This is where many of our ideas about; cowboys
st;art:.ed. The movies present:.ed cowboys chasing rust;/ers and
rescuing beaut;iful women while playing gui-tars and singing. This
view of t:.he cowboy is a st;sreut;yps. Today's movie cowboys use
/ot;s of violence, and everybody seems t;o get; shot;. This view of
t:.he cowboy is also a st;ersut;ype.
I
A a'tereotype is an oversimplified or overgeneralized idea or
opinion about; a group of people, such as -the cowboys, and is rarely
-true for specific individuals.
Life for -the working cowboy or cowhand was really very differen-t.
The stereo-typed views of -the cowboy don,t; present; -the whole
s-tory.
7
.•~ · ···········. . ···············~·~···················. ····--······~·····--····~··,' ' .• i Activity #2 ~
it The Work of the Cowboy i'
• • '" ·~ ' ................................................................................... .
8
Materials:
Equipment:
Objective:
Photographs #1-15
None
The students will gain an understanding of the work of the cowboys.
Wha-t is the job of "the working cowboy?
Put the students in pairs, and give each pair a photograph.
Look carefully at; your photograph. Wha-t do you see? Wha-t is the
cowboy's job? Each of these photographs shows something "tha-t
a cowboy does in his or her work. Talk wi-th your partner, and see if
"the "two of you can determine what; the job of "the cowboy is in the
photograph. ·
Take the students' responses, and list them on the board
with the photograph number beside the response. Some
responses may not be correct, but accept them anyway. Once
you have a response for each photograph, have the students
pass the photographs around to the other pairs. A-fter the
students have studied three or four more photographs, stop
and have each pair keep the last photograph.
Look a"t "the response on "the board for "the number of the pic-ture
you have in your hands. Do you agree wi-th the response, or do you
see some other job? Does "the photograph give you any more ideas
about; "the work of "the cowboy?
Take the students' responses to correct any previous
responses that may have been wrong.
Listed on the next page are descriptions of the photographs
with one job of the cowboy identified for each photograph.
There are many correct responses, though, as the primary
objective is to generate a list of all the jobs of the cowboy.
#1 Wagons taking silage (food) to the barn or pasture to feed the cattle.
(.Job: Feeding the horses and the cows)
#2 Cowboy herding cattle across the river. (.Job: Moving cattle to get to
more grass or water)
#3 Rounding up cattle. (.Job: Herding the cattle together in one place)
#4 Moving cattle through the chute. (.Job: Sorting cows to sell or to brand)
#5 Cooking the food for the working cowboys. (.Job: Cooking when away
from the ranch)
#6 Women branding a cow. (.Job: Branding calves)
#7 Vaqueros castrating a bull. (Job: Removing sex organs of a bull)
#8 Cowboys operating on/ doctoring a cow in the cattle pens.
(.Job: Doctoring sick cows)
#9 Cattle in dipping vat to remove ticks. (Job: Removing ticks)
#10 Cowboys dehorning a cow. (Job: Removing horns from cows)
#11 Ranch hands skinning a cow out on the range.
(.Job: Butchering cows for food)
#12 Cattle in pens ready to ship by railroad to market.
(.Job: Getting cows in pens to go to market to sell)
#13 Cowboy roping a horse in remuda. (.Job: Catching horses and
saddling to ride)
#14 Vaquero breaking a horse. (Job: Breaking horses to ride)
#15 Woman riding a bucking horse. (.Job: Taming horse$ to ride)
There are more jobs of 'the cowboy. Can you 'tell me any other jobs
of t;he cowboys beyond those in 'the photographs?
Some examples might be:
Mending gear like horse bridles, clothes
Pulling cows out of muddy bogs
Helping cows give birth to calves
Collect the photographs.
Fixing fences
Finding cows that are lost
Killing sick cows and horses
Extension: Creative Writing
........... ,,,..,, ...
Select one of the photographs, and have the students write
a story about the photograph. They can make up what the
people are looking at, how the people in the photograph feel,
what happened before the picture, etc.
~····························· ... ·~···~············~··· .. ···_,. .............. •• ,• ' '• i Activity #3 i t • i The Other Cowboys3 i
.' -~
~ .............. .._ .................................... ~ .. ························-···
Materials:
Eq,uipment:
Objective:
Bar graph transparency
Overhead projector
The students will analyze a bar graph for historical information
about the "other" cowboys.
The great; days of cowboys caring for cat;t;/e on t;he open range in
Texas occurred from t;he 1860s to t;he 1890s. From 1865 t;o 1885,
6 t;o 10 million cat;t;/e were driven up t;he t;rail t;o t;he railheads in
Kansas and ot;her st;at;es for shipping to market;s in -the East;.
Project "The Other Cowboys" bar graph transparency on the
screen, and ask the following questi9ns:
•What; informa-tion is on t;his graph? [Information about
the number of cowboys]
•How many cowboys went; up t;he t;rail? [35,000 cowboys]
•How many African-American cowboys were on t;he t;rail?
[9,000 African-American cowboys]
•How many Mexican-American vaqueros went; up t;he t;rail?
[ 4,500 Mexican-American vaqueros]
•Can anyone give me a summary st;at;ement; about; -the graph?
[There were many non-Anglo-American cowboys.]
The movie and 'television st;ereot;ype of t;he cowboy is -typically t;hat;
t;he cowboy was a whit;e, or Anglo-American, man.
•Is -that; t;rue? [No]
•How do we know t;hat;•s not; t;rue?
[This graph tells us there were many cowboys
who were not Anglo-American men.]
3 Kenneth W. Porter. The Negro on "the American Fron-tier (New York: Arno Press & The New
York Times, 1971), p. 495, from J. Marvin Hunter, ed., The Trail Drivers of Texas (Nashville:
Cokes bury Press, 1925), p. 453. NOTE: Graph on p. 12 is taken from this source.
10
•What; is "this graph about;? [The number of cowboys
working cows between 1865 and 1885]
•What; would be a good t;it;/e for 'this graph?
Take the students' responses.
Extension: Circle Graph
··············~····
This graph information can easily be converted to percentages.
Have the students create a circle or pie graph of percentages
of the "other" cowboys to give them practice in making graphs
and seeing the same information several ways.
11
Co\Nboys in Texas on the Trail1865-1895
35,000 ,..----
30,Q(X)
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000 t---
5,000 t------1
0 1-------J
Cowboys Anglo­Americana
African
Americana
Mexican
Americana
(\]
""'"
.~· ····························~·~····. ············. ·· ..· ··_,. ..............,' •• •• i Activity #4 ~
i Dona Marfa del Carmen Calvillo !
.!. :' ~
~ ..................................................... ~--························-···
14
Materials:
EGJ.uipment:
Objective:
Doll, Corrido audiotape
Cassette player
The students will make inferences about Dona Marfa del Carmen Calvillo.
There were many cowboys during t:.he 1880s, and some of t:.hose
cowboys were African Americans and Mexican Americans. What:.
about:. cowgirls?
•What:. do you know about:. cowgirls?
Take the students' responses . .
When we t:.hink about; cowgirls, we usually t:.hink about; rodeos. There
are many cowgirls taking part:. in rodeo event:.s, but:. where did t:.hey
learn how t;o ride their horses, do barrel races, rope cows?
Women learned how 1;o t:.ake care of horses and cows just:. like t:.he
men. If you grow up on a ranch or farm wit:.h horses and cows, most:.
of you would learn t;o ride horses and herd cows.
This doll represents a person who really lived in South Texas
near Floresville.
Pass around the doll for students to get a closer look.
Tell me all you can about:. t:.he person represented by t:.his doll.
•What:. can we infer about; Dona Marfa from t:.his doll?
•What:. do you see?
Take the students' responses.
This is about; a woman named Dona Marfa del Carmen Calvillo. She
was born in 1765 near present-day San Ant;onio. Her father had a
ranch near Mission Espada, and she inherit;ed it; in 1814- when her
father died.
Let;'s /ist;en t;o this audiotape, which t;el/s us more about Dona Marfa.
Play the Corrido of Dona Marfa, stopping after each stanza.
Tell me what; you heard in the corrido about; Dona Marfa.
Take the students' responses. Play the next stanza and stop.
Repeat the process.
•Was she a cowgirl? [Yes]
Many girls and women back in t;he old days had t;o work outside
taking care of the horses and cat;t;/e because there was t;oo much
work for t;he men 1:-Q do, there weren't any men around because they
had gone off t;o war, or they didn't; have money t;o pay anyone t;o help.
Dona Marfa is just one example of the women who were also among
The Other Cowboys.
The audiotape we just heard about Dona Marfa is called a corrido.
Corridos are songs or ballads t;el/ing a st;ory in many verses. Most
corridos are in Spanish because corridos originat;ed in Spain and
t;hen were brought; t;o Mexico and Texas.
Extension: Textbook Reading
,,,.,,.,, ... ,,~,.,.
Have students read the section in their Texas history
textbook about Spanish Texas. Dona Marfa del Carmen Calvillo
lived between 1765 and 1862 near present-day Floresville.
15
Materials:
Equipment:
Objective:
"The Spread of Horses in the Americas" transparency
Overhead projector
The students will analyze a map to learn about the arrival of horses in the
Americas and how the horse and the cowboy connected.
All cowboys valued t;;heir horses because t;;hey depended on t;;he
horses t;;o do t;;heir jobs and for t;;ransport;;at;;ion, but; how did horses
come t;;o America?
In 149:3, when Christ;;opher Columbus came t;;o t;;he West; Indies, he
brought horses roped t;;o wooden frames in his ships. The king and
queen of Spain ordered: ·
We command that certain vessels be prepared to send to the
Islands and to the mainland which has been newly discovered
in the ocean sea in that part of the Indies, and to prepare these
vessels for the Admiral Don Christopher Columbus ... and among
the other people we are commanding to go in these vessels there
will be sent twenty lancers with horses ... and five of them shall
take two horses each and these two horses which they take
shall be mares.4
Horses were first; brought; t;;o t;;his part; of t;;he world by
Christ;;opher Columbus.
Project "The Spread of Horses in the Americas" transparency
so all students can study it, and then begin asking questions
such as:
•Where did Columbus land wit;;h his 25 horses?
Have a student point to the place on the map.
4 Robert Moorman Denhardt, The Horse of "the Americas (Norman: University of Oklahoma
Press,1948). p. 30.
16
Does anyone know who Cortes was? [Another explorer from
Spain who came with soldiers to Mexico]
When Cortes came t;o Mexico :30 years after Columbus came t;o
t;he West; Indies, he t;oo brought; horses for himself and his soldiers.
The people of t;he Indian t;ribee in Mexico 'thought; he was a god
when t;hey saw him sit;t;ing up on one of the big animals.
•Find North, Sout;h, East;, West; on the map.
•What; count;ries are on t;his map?
•Where on t;he map did Cortes t;ake t;he horses?
[West Indies/Caribbean]
Cort;es had a huge rancho in New Spain (Mexico), where he forced
t;he Indian people t;o t;ake care of him and hie horses and cat;t;/e.
Over t;he years he raised many horses and cows, and t;he Indian
slaves got; very good at; riding horses and roping cat;t;/e, even
'though it; was illegal for them t;o ride the horses.
•Show me on t;he map where Cortes took his horses.
[Mexico]
When Cortes sent; explorers, soldiers, and priests t;o explore t;he
count;ry t;o t;he north, he sent; horses for t;hem t;o ride and cows
t;o feed t;hem.
•Show me on t;he map where the explorers went; north.
[Texas] ·
Anot;her explorer brought; horses when he went; t;o what; is
now Florida.
•Show me Florida on 'the map.
•Can anyone t;el/ from this map what; count;ry sent; all t;hese
horses t;o America? [Spain]
Let;'elook now at; t;he right; side of the map. These were t;he colonies
eet;t;/ed on t;he East; Coast; in the 1600s and 1700s by ot;her
European count;riee about; 100 years after people came t;o Mexico
and what; is now Texas.
•What; count;ries sent; horses t;o t;he East; Coast;?
[England, Sweden, Flanders, France]
• In what; years did the people and horses come t;here?
[1620, 1629, 1660, 1665]
•The first; horses in t;he Americas came from what; count;ry?
[Spain]
17
18
•Were the horses from England or from Spain t;aken t;o
Canada? (Spain]
•What; other European count;ry sent; horses int:.o east;ern
Canada? [France]
•How did horses come t;o Texas? [From Spain with
the explorers]
•In what; year did horses first; come t;o Texas? (1665]
The horses used by the cowboys which originally came from Spain
and Nort;h Africa were called Andalusian/barbs. They were small
horses t;hat; were strong and fast;. The Indian people of Mexico
rode t;he horses t;o care for t;he Spanish cat;t;le and t;hus became
our first; cowboys.
Extension: Fact Finding
~-~···········,.,····
Have a student find information in an encyclopedia on the
Texas longhorns and read it aloud to the students. Then
reuse the transparency to trace the arrival and spread of
the Texas longhorn.
The Spread
of Horses in
the Americas
_.,
o'
-, '
Courtesy of Robert Moorman Denhardt, The Horse of-the Americas
(Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1948 ), p. 30.
•
F.U.N..C I
FLANOUS
1660
tNGLAND
16.29
SW£DtN
1619
ENGLAND
16ZO
SPAIN
19
~, ........................................ ~············ .. ·· .. ······~····--····--··, .•• •• ' i Activity #6 ~ ! The Equipment of the Cowboy i
.• • ~
~ ............ ~ ..........................~ . .................................... _.. .
Materials: Saddle l71anket, saddle
Eq,uipment: None
Ol7jective: Students will learn various parts of the saddle and how
it is a part of the cowl7oy's work .
.............. ~····
Pass around the saddle blanket.
•What is 'this? [A saddle blanket]
•What do you do with i't? [Lay it on the horse's back]
•What is it; used for? [To protect the horse's back from
being rubbed by the saddle]
Set up the saddle on display, and have the students gather
around so they can see and touch it.
•Does anyone know any parts of 'the saddle and 'their use?
•Can anyone show me the stirrups?
•What; is t;he purpose of stirrups?
[To put your feet in to keep you in the saddle]
•What are these 'things covering t;he stirrups?
[Tapaderos]
•Why have tapaderos?
[To protect feet and legs from thorny bushes]
Some cowboys used t;o be called "brush poppers." The cows would
hide in 'the 'thorny brush of South Texas, and the cowboys would
have 'to ride 'their horses int;o t;he brush t;o drive t;hem out;,
'therefore t;hey were "brush poppers."
Let;'s figure out; some more parts of t;he saddle.
•Would someone show me t;he saddle horn?
•What is it;s use?
20
[To hold onto to stay in the saddle, if necessary,
but cowboys use it to wrap their lasso around when
they rope a cow or calf.]
•What is a lasso?
(The rope that cowboys use to rope cattle]
There is a part of the saddle called a skirt.
•Does anyone have any ideas where that; would be?
(Something hanging down along the sides]
•Does this saddle have a skirt? (No] .
The cantle is the ridge at the back of the saddle seat; where you
rest; your rump.
•What; do you use to keep the saddle on your horse?
(The leather straps and cinch hanging from the
saddle goes under the horse and through the
rings to tighten.]
Let's review the saddle parts.
Quickly point to parts of the saddle, and ask the students to
name each part.
Our first; saddles, like the horse, came from Spain to New Spain
(Mexico). Saddles today have many more parts and are often very
ornate, but; their basic structure is the same as in the 1700s.
The Spaniards arriving with Cortes sat; in saddles on the horses
they brought. As the Mexican Indian slaves became cowboys, some
also became craft;smen who learned the fine art of making saddles.
Extens.i.o. n: Brainstorming ,,,,,,,,,,,,.,,, ..
Review the rules of brainstorming. The saddle blanket is used
as padding under the saddle to protect the horse. What other
uses might a saddle blanket have? Let's brainstorm.
~·························,.··~·~·················· .. ·· .. ···_,. .............. , •• •• I ~ Activity #7 ~
!..~ ·( ......·.. , ...' ,·' 1 M ore H orse Equ.• pment ::- ~
~ ............ ...._ .................................... ~ .. ························-···
Materials: Cowboy Tack Catalogs, twisted horsehair reins and cinch5
Eq,uipment: None
Objective: The students will become familiar with additional horse equipment, or cowboy
tack, and its relationship to the horse and cowboy.
,. ......•....• ~····
Put the students in groups of two or three, and distribute
the Cowboy Tack Catalogs. Allow time for them to browse
through the catalogs, then refer them to the cover.
•What; is ·~owboy "tack"?
[The equipment used by cowboys on their horses]
Have the students turn to page 38 in the catalog and read the
shaded paragraph "Cowboy Tack Braided Rawhide is the .... "
•What; is rawhide? [Untanned leather from cow skin]
•Why would "the vaquero braid "the rawhide?
[To make it stronger]
•What; is a hackamore? [A bosal, or noseband, used in
breaking in colts and young horses to the lead]
Pass around ~he twisted horsehair reins.
They used the materials "they had, such as hair from "the mane or
"tail of "the horses. Vaqueros would cut; "the manes or "tails of -t,heir
horses or save the hair "that; came out; when "they combed "them,
then "twist; it; to give i"t s-trength and use i"t for rope/laria-ts,
whips/quirts, reins, and cinches .
. Hold up the cinch, then pass it around.
•What; is the purpose of "this cinch?
[A strap/cinch attached to the saddle goes under
the horse to make the saddle stay on the horse.]
5 Special thanks to Mr. Bill Brett of Hull, Texas, for the donation of the twisted
horsehair gear for this project.
22
Twis-ting of -the hair or rawhide was done during -the long win-ter
evenings in -the bunkhouse. The reins and cinch are made -the old
way by -twis-ting horsehair.
The -twis-ting of horsehair is becoming a dying ar-t. Today we just;
order -the equipmen-t out; of a ca-talog or go t;o -the s-tore and buy i-t.
Have the students turn to page 45.
•Wha-t is a hobble? [Rope tied around a horse's legs]
Cowboys on -the -trail used hobbles as -they had been used for many
years before so -tha-t -their horses would not; wander off and leave
-the cowboys s-tranded.
Pages 17-21 have informa-tion on saddle blanke-ts. Read -the shaded
sec-tion at; -the bo-tt;om of page 21 on -the weaving of blanke-ts.
•How is -the saddle blanke-t we have here wi-th -the saddle
-the same or differen-t from -those in -the ca-talog?
[Not as thick, not lined, very plain pattern, dull
·earth colors]
Old--time saddle blanke-ts were always in ear-th colors. The wool
used -to weave -the blanke-ts would be dyed wi-th nu-ts, leaves,
berries, or o-ther i-tems from na-ture. Dyes -tha-t made brigh-ter
colors were hard t;o ob-tain and expensive t;o buy.
Extension: Cost of Cowboy Gear ,,, .. ,.,,,,,,,..,,,,.
Put the students in pairs with the Cowboy Tack Catalog and
have them make a list of the gear they would need or want
for their horse if they were a cowboy. Once they've decided
on what gear they would need, have them list the price for
the item and then total the list to arrive at the cost of a
cowboy's gear for his/her horse.
23
I
I
I
. ~····························--··~··················· .. ·· .. ···_, ............... , •• •• ' . i Activity #8 ~
t • ! The First Cowboys: Vaqueros :
.\ 't ~ ...................................................................................... .
Materials: Photograph #16
Equipment: None
Objective: The students will acquire information about the first cowboys.
Horses and cows in Texas came from Spain, and various Indian
people of the 'tribes in Mexico were made slaves to 'take care
of 'the horses and cows. These men became our first; cowboys,
los vaqueros. Vaca is 'the Spanish word for cow, eo 'the first;
cowboys were called vaqueros.
The vaqueros came to Texas wit;h 'the explorers, priests, and
soldiers, 'tending 'the cows and caring for the horses. They became
very skilled in working cat;t;le from their horse, using at; first; a lance
or spear and later 'the lariat;, or looped rope.
Show Photograph #16 of "Cuca, a vaquero," and then pass
it around.
Tell me about; 'this man.
•What; do you see in this picture?
[Rugged and durable clothing. man with weathered
face standing proudly]
•What; do we call what; he is wearing over his "britches,?
[Chaps]
•Does anyone have any ideas why cowboys wear chaps?
[To protect from the thorns in the brush]
•What; was a brush popper?
[A person who rides into the brush and pops out
the cows hiding there during roundups]
Liet;en carefully while I read you a short; paragraph about; 'the way
a vaquero looked in 'the 1800s. After I have read 'the paragraph,
I'll help with any strange words you might; not; understand.
24
Thie was writ;t;en by Captain George Hughes on a march from San
Antonio t;o Sa/t;il/o, Mexico. 6
Fancy to yourself a rather light-colored Indian dressed in a pair of
leather unmentionables, without suspenders, buttoning from the knee
downwards, which are usually left open in warm weather for comfort,
and to exhibit the white drawers underneath; a common cotton shirt;
a red sash tied tightly around the waist; a pair of sandals on his feet,
with a heavy conical felt hat on the head, and a long iron pointed aspen
goad in hand, and you have a perfect picture of the ranchero, or rather
vaquero. Mounted on a spirited pony, with a lasso at his saddle-bow,
he is no mean adversary for a single man to encounter. He rides well and
fearlessly, and throws the lasso with unerring aim. It is a beautiful sight
to see him with his old blanket (worn as a poncho in cold weather)
streaming in the wind, his head bent eagerly forward, and lasso whirling
in circles high in the air, chasing down some refractory animal that he
seldom fails to catch, at the first throw, by the neck or hind foot,
bringing him violently to the ground?
In Spanish Texas during the 1600s and 1700e, the vaqueros lived
and worked on t;he ranchos in South Texae. Many families living
there today and still working cat;t;/e are descendants of the Indian
and Spanish families who set;t;/ed that; part of Texae.
Extension: Drawing a Vaquero
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,.,,,,.
Reread the description above. Have the students use white
paper and colored pens or pencils to draw pictures of an early­day
vaquero, and then display the drawings on a bulletin board.
e .Joe S. Graham, EI Rancho in Sou-th Texas: Continui-ty and Change from 1750 (Denton:
University of North Texas Press, 1994), p. 29.
7Note: Underlined words are ones with which students typically are not familiar.
25
~-·························· .. --· ..... ····--············~··· .. .l Activity #·9···· ·~····--····--··,~ i The Other Cowboys: ' ~ i African-American Cowhands i ' ~ ~ .............. .._ .......................... ---..... .-~--························-···
Materials:
Eq,uipment:
Objective:
Photograph #17, "Johanna July" audiotape, side A
Cassette player
The students will make inferences from photographs of African-American
cowboys and learn about a woman horsebreaker . ........ ,,.,.,,.., ...
There were approximat;e/y 9,000 African-American cowboys who
were part of cat;t;/e drives between 1865 and 1895.
Show Photograph #17, and then pass it around for the
students to study.
This photograph has four pictures.
•What; do you see in t:.his picture?
•Describe each picture.
•What:. commonalities can you find among t:.he
four photographs?
•Does it:. look like any of these men were cowboys?
These men were all re/at;ed. The older man is Thornton Williams,
who came from Africa. He was bought and sold four times. He was
brought:. to Texas to be a slave on the O,Connor Ranch south of
Goliad in the 1860s. He was a cowboy and a horsebreaker.
The other old-looking picture is his son, Butler (Buzzard) Williams,
who worked as a cowboy for Dennis O'Connor,s son, Martin. He ran
t:.he remuda. Each cowboy usually had six t;o t;en horses t:.hat; he
used for different; purposes. The horses not:. being used at:. a
particular time were kept together in t:.he remuda.
The man in front; of the house is Buzzard,s son, Mack Williams. He
also worked as a cowboy on t:.he O'Connor ranches. He was 81 years
old in 1996. His son, Roy, was born and lived on the O,Connor Ranch.
He learned to ride horses and helped wit:.h t:.he cows, but:. he wasn't;
really a cowboy.
26
Both Thornton Williams and Buzzard Williams were horse breakers.
Let's listen t;o this audiotape telling us about; Johanna July
breaking horses.
Plat side A of the "Johanna July" audiotape.
The following are some questions that could be asked about
the audiotape:
•Who was Johanna July?
[A black Seminole woman horsebreaker]
•Where did Johanna live? [Eagle Pass and Brackettville]
•How did she break horses? [By riding them in the river]
•What; is another way t;o break horses?
[By roping them, getting on, and trying to stay on]
•What; was unusual about; Johanna?
[She was a woman who broke horses.]
Extension: Research
,,,.,,,,,,,,,,..,,,,.
There were many African-American cowboys, but information
about them is hard to find. Start a month-long research
project in which students use school, local, and community
resources to find information about the African-American
cowboys to bring in and share with classmates.8
8There is much-needed research to be done about the African-American cowboys.
Copies of any information obtained would be welcomed. Please send it to:
Dr. Sarah Massey, Institute of Texan Cultures, 801 South Bowie Street,
San Antonio, Texas 78205-3296.
~~··········· .. ······•········ ........................................ .,. .............. , •• •• l : i Activity #1 0 i 't .• i. More African-American Cowboys i ~
~ ..................................................... ~ .. ························-···
Materials: "Workin' from Can't to Can't" videotape and script
Equipment: Video projector and monitor, chalkvoard or chart paper
Ovjective: The students will compare yesterday's cowvoys with today's cowvoys.
Le't's wat;ch a video'tape and lis'ten 'to some old-'time African­American
cowboys.
Show the videotape "Workin from Can''t'to Can''t."
Wha't did 'this video'tape 'tell us abou't 'the Afrit;an-American cowboy?
Take the students' responses.
The following are some questions to ask about the videotape:
•Wha't does 'the 'ti'tle "Workin from Can't to Can't" mean?
(Can't see when you get up and can't see when you
lay down]
•Wha't did cowboys ea't? [The main dish was pinto beans.
They also had beef from all those cows. They also
took 'tasso, or beef jerky, with them when working.
Tortillas rather than biscuits were a main staple of
many cowboys' diets.]
•Wha'tlanguage did many of 'the cowboys speak? [Spanish]
Why?
Make a chart on the board with two columns labeled
Yes'terday's Cowboys and Today's Cowboys.
How were yes'terday's cowboys differen't from 'today's cowboys?
Take the students' responses from things they remember from
the videotape or know from other experiences. Examples on
the next page are taken from the videotape.
28
Yes'terday's Cowboys
t/ rode horses all the time
t/ got up at 3-4 a.m.
t/ drank lots of coffee
t/ moved cows to feed
t/ rode on open prairie
t/ stood watch over cattle
in open grassland at night
Today's Cowboys
use pickups and trailers
get up at dawn
also drink orange juice
feed from back of truck
ride to check for fence breaks
don't do this anymore
as land is fenced
Extension: Summarizing
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,._,,,.
After viewing the videotape and discussing its contents,
have the students write a brief summary which a producer
could print on the video jacket to describe the contents of
the videotape.
...................... , ........ ~ ..................................... , ..... -.. ··-··,
~~~ Activity#11 ~
.( ~ ~ Dangers on the Cattle Trail i ~
~ ............................................. , ....... ~ .. ························-···
Materials: "Dangers on the Trail" audiotape, side B, "Prairie Fire" poster
Equipment: Cassette player
Objective: The students will learn about the dangers faced by cowboys on the cattle trails.
.............. .., ....
Cowboys' work was not; easy, and they faced many dangers.
Let's listen t;o the audiotape of some people who went; up the t;rail
to identify some of the dangers faced by cowboys.
Play side 6 of the "Dangers on the Trail" audiotape.
Pair the students up, and have them make their lists of
dangers. Replay the audiotape if necessary.
Go around the room taking from the students various dangers
faced on the cattle trail. Some examples are:
II' fire II' getting kicked by cows
II' stampeding herds II' fighting off Indians
II' drowning in flooded rivers II' chasing rustlers stealing
II' getting thrown from a horse horses or cattle
•Was there anything unusual about; what; you heard on t;he
audiot;ape? (All were women.]
•Do you think the women were cowboys?
[Some were, and some weren't.]
Several women left; writ;t;en records of their experiences going up t;he
t;rail. We have just; /ist;ened t;o some of t;he words of these women.
Hold up the "Prairie Fire" poster, and then pass it around to
the students.
30
•What; do you see in this post;er?
[Two cowboys on horses dragging something]
•What; else do you see? Describe the land.
•What are the cowboys doing? [Putting out a fire]
•Where are the cowboys? [Outdoors on the prairie]
•Why would cowboys use a cow to put out a fire?
[The cows were convenient.]
Here's what they are doing:
Hitch (a cowboy) helped Charlie Waide kill a Torrington cow, split her open
with an ax and flatten her out. Hitch tied onto one hind leg, Charlie onto the
other. They dragged the whole juicy mess up and down the front line of the
flame, smothering it. Other cowboys were doing the same.9
A cowboy's job was not easy. Many cowboys were hurt or killed in
their work. They were rarely near doctors when accidents or injuries
occurred. When a cowboy was hurt and could no longer work on a
horse or with cattle, he was sometimes hired on as a cook.
Extension: Problem-Solving
••••••• # •••• , • ..,,, ••
Form student groups of three to five and assign each group
one of the following cattle trail problems to solve:
What would you do if- .
a. You ran out of food on a cattle drive two months from the
trail end'?
b. Your horses were all stolen or ran away, and you were 100
miles from a town'?
c. You broke your leg in a fall from a horse'?
d. Your herd got mixed up with 3,000 other cattle crossing
the Red River?
e. The chuck wagon broke an axle in the swollen river and
couldn't be pulled out of the water'? ·
9 Eimer Kelton, The Day "the Cowboys Qui"t (Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday and Co., 1971),
p.226.
.~· ····························~· .... ··._ ........................... ,.. ............., ' .•. .•. I Activity #12 i
t ' ! A Woman on the Trail :
' .' .~' ~ ............ ~······--····--····--·--··· ... ·· .. --~--························-···
Materials: Lizzie: Queen of the Cattle Trails book
Eq.uipment: None
Objective: The students will learn about another remarkable woman, Lizzie Johnson.
Lizzie: Queen of -the Ca-ttle Trails tells the adventures of one of
the bold women who went up the trail in the 1870s. This story
can be read aloud to students in one sitting (approximately
30 minutes), or chapters could be read over several days.
Although the story is written at an elementary level,
students of all ages will find it an interesting tale.
The audiotape "Dangers on the Trail" tells of other women
who went up the trail.
Ask the following questions:
•What is a ca-ttle drive? [Moving herds of cows to market]
•Why did -they have cat-tle drives?
[To get cows to railroads in Kansas where the cattle
could be shipped back East]
•What does "going up -the trail" mean? [Taking a dirt trail
north from Texas with the cattle]
•What; was unusual about; Lizzie? [She had her own herd;
she made a lot of money out of cattle; she went up
the trail at a time when few women did.]
Several women went up the -trail. Johanna July, a black Seminole
Indian woman, was a horsebreaker. Lizzie Johnson -took her own
herd up the trail.
Our Gene Au-try stereotype of -the male cowboy is wrong. Women
on the trail were unusual, but; many women -took care of horses and
cattle, such as Lizzie Johnson and Willie Matthews. Willie was the
young girl on -the "Dangers on the Trail" audiotape who dressed up
like a boy and went; up -the "trail.
32
Extension: What I've Always Wanted to Do
Pair the students up, and have them tell each other about
"Something I've Always Wanted to Do." When they're done,
have them turn around and share with another partner. Then
take examples at random of things they've wanted to do.
Activity #13
More Women on the Trail
Materials: "Cattle Trails Map" transparency
Equipment: Overhead projector
017jective: The students will practice their map analysis skills.
Put the "Cattle Trails Map" transparency on the overhead
projector so all students can see it.
What do you see on this map?
•What area is covered in the map? [The states of Texas,
Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska]
•Where are the Rocky Mountains? [Left side]
•Where is the Rio Grande? [Center bottom]
•On this map, what would be North, South, East, West?
•In the lower left; is a key. What does the key t;el/ us?
[The various lines for the different cattle trails]
•What states did the railroad go through?.
[Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming]
Many women went up the t;rail. Using this map, Jet's see where
some of them went.
Read the following information, giving one name at a time, and
have a student come find the trail or place on the map.
Kat;e Medlin
Mrs. George Reynolds
Harriet Standifer Cluck
with two daught;ers
Amanda Burks
Sallie McLamore Redus
Mrs. T.M. Borland
Belle Vandever Barton
Mary Ann Goodnight
Minta Holmsley
34
1860
1868
1871
1871
before 187:3
187:3
1874-
1876
af1:er1876
Hays County, Texas, t;o
California
Pecos t;o Colorado
Chisholm
Chisholm
Chisholm
Chisholm
Mason, Texas, t;o Kansas
Western
Chisholm & West;ern
Elizabet:h Johnson Williams
Mollie Taylor Bunt;on
Willie Mat:t:hews
Mollie Taylor Bunt;on
Anna McAdams Slaughter
1879-89
1886
1888
1896
1896
Chisholm
Chisholm
Colorado
Western
Clayton,
New Mexico,
t;o Liberal, Kansas
Extension: Packing for a Trip
laking a herd of cattle from iexas up the trail usually took
three to four months. If you were planning to take a three-to­four-
month trip, what things would you take? Make a list of
the essential items you would need for your trip.
When cowboys went up the trail, all their gear was on their
horses, with a few things in the chuck wagon. What do you
think a cowboy took with him'?
Chisholm Tr-cdl " ...-
.S:hawnee. TrqiJ - • -· -·
We.si'ertl 'Tr"il ----­G'ooclnight-
Lovin,g Trqil • · • · • · •
Sedcali« Trail • • • • • • • '- ,-..,
Railroqds ~
36
IOWA
Material: Photograph #18, lye soap, bandanna
Eq,uipment: None
Objective: The students will make inferences from a photograph.
Ask the following questions:
•When you want; t;o get; clean, what; do you do?
•How often do you take a bath or shower?
•What; all do you use when you take a bath or shower?
•How did cowboys on the trail or at the ranch get; clean?
[Hauled pails of water from a well or stream, heated
the water sometimes, filled a metal tub; washed in
the horse troughs; bathed in the rivers; was no
indoor plumbing]
Hold up Photograph #18, and then pass i.t around.
38
•What; is happening in this picture? [Cowboys bathing]
•How can you tell they are cowboys?
[By the clothes of men sitting on the hill]
•Did cowboys get; very dirty? [Yes, especially those riding
behind the trail herds in the dust]
•Why are they bathing with their clothes on?
[This method also washed their clothes.]
•How often do you think cowboys bathed?
[Not very often; only when near water; didn't take
many baths; just washed their face and hands
before eating]
•What's unusual about; this picture?
[Horse in the river with the men]
• What; is the horse doing? [Cooling off, getting a drink]
•What; would be a good t;it;/e for this photograph? A good title
should summarize the picture.
Brainstorm possible titles, or go around the group taking
students' suggestions for a title.
Pass around the bar of soap.
•What; is thie? [Soap]
•How is thie soap different; from t;he soap you use?
[Rougher, no good smell, doubt that it lathers much]
•Would you want; t;o use t;his eoap? Why, why not;?
This soap is a bar of lye soap. All soap cont;ains grease (fat;), lye, and
wat;er. Lye can burn t;he skin becauee it; is a caust;ic soda, like t;he
Draino your parent;s may use t;o clean out; sink pipes! When you boil
t;he ingredients toget;her, a chemical react;ion takes place t;hat;
changes the lye and grease int;o eoap. The eoap get;s hard as it; cools.
Hold up the bandanna.
This is the cowboy wash rag! There are many ot;her usee for t;his
bandanna.
•What other uses might; a cowboy have for his bandanna?
Take the students' responses.
Extension: Making Soap
Students are interested in seeing everyday objects made,
and soap is a fairly simple product to make. If you do not wish
to handle lye, you can purchase castille granules at most
drugstores with directions for making the soap.
Basically, the process includes putting the granules into a pot
and adding a little water. Heat the mixture at low to medium
heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the
granules dissolve and the mixture is smooth. Pour the mixture
into some kind of mold, and let it harden.
39
Materials:
Equipment:
Objective:
White paper, colored pens or pencils
None
The students will convert information into a picture . ..•..... ,, .. ,,~ .. ,.
I am going to read some information about; a cat;t;le drive, and
I want; you to draw a picture. Visualize in your head the words you
hear, and see a picture of a cat;t;le drive.
Then, as I reread, you can draw and label the part;s of a cat;t;le drive.
Think about; what; symbols you'll use to show t;he part;s of a cat;t;le
drive. The picture can be as simple or as detailed as you want; to
make it;.
Let's /ist;en first;, and then you can draw your picture.
The cowboys gathered around the wagon for their final orders while drinking
strong black coffee. The trail boss made it plain that every man had a job and
everyone was a part of the group. Each man must instantly obey orders. The
ten men listened attentively and by dawn's early light the drive began. The
boss was in the lead with two cowboys (on each side as point). Four men were
on the sides (swing in front and flank in back). then there were boys on the
drag (in back) in the dust, followed by the chuck wagon with food, blankets,
and extra guns.10
The cattle would string out for miles, while the wrangler (in charge of horses)
would be way ahead with the remuda. Each cowboy had six to ten horses in the
remuda that no one besides himself rode on the drive.
Remuda comes from t;he Spanish word meaning "t;o exchange."
Cowboys used t;he word to mean t;he extra horses of each cowboy
herded together and not; currently saddled. The number of horses
allott;ed each cowboy varied according to his work, the size of the
ranch, and t;he kind of country being worked. Cowboys could have a
morning horse, a cut;t;ing horse, a night; horse, a river horse, and
an afternoon horse, plus all the broncs (unbroken horses) he
want;ed to ride. 11
10Hettye Wallace Branch, The5-toryof''80John"(NewYork: Greenwich Book Pub.,1960), p.14.
11Ramon F. Adams, The Old-Time Cowhand (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1961), pp. 135-36.
40
List the following parts on the board:
V' boss in the lead V' several boys in drag at back
V' 2 cowboys, one on V' wrangler with horses in remuda
each side as point V' chuck wagon with cook
V' 4 cowboys on sides:
swing in front and
flank in back
Nowt;hink-
What; a cat;t;/e drive would look like.
About; t;he land around t:.he cat;t;/e drive.
What;'s coming up ahead.
What; symbolslpict;ureslsket:.ches you want; t;o use
t;o show t;he part;s of "this cat;t;/e drive.
How many miles long "the cat;t;/e drive might; be.
Extension: A Cattle Drive Equation
~~~··········~..,··~·
If you were riding drag behind a herd of :3,000 cattle, how
many miles behind the lead cowboy would you be? Cows are
2 feet wide and 8 feet long going through a canyon 40 feet
wide. A mile equals 5,280 feet.
41
r·;·tr;---·~::;~;;;-;-;;·····-----·1
i. The "Coffee of Cowboys" Sing-a-Long i- ' ~ ~ .......... --................ _.. ............ .., ....... ~--························-···
Materials:
Equipment:
Objective:
"Arvuckle Boys" audiotape, coffee veans, "Tumvling Tumvleweeds"transparency,
"Ranchero Ballads" audiotape, side A, "The Other Cowvoys" audiotape, side 6
Cassette player, overhead projector
Students will acquire information avout cowvoys from cowvoy ballads.
Play the last song, "Arbuckles' Coffee," on the Arbuckles' tape.
•What: is t:his song about:? [Coffee]
Coffee was t:he primary st:aple of all cowboys, and -the Arb_uckle
brand became synonymous wit:h coffee. The brand was so common,
most; cowmen didn't: know t:here was any o-ther kind. ··
Pass around the bag of Arbuckles' Coffee, and have students
smell and feel the real coffee beans.
The real t:reat; t;o cowboys, t:hough, was t:he premium hidden in t:he
coffee. In 1870 Mr. Arbuckle began put;t;ing a st:ick of peppermint;
candy in t:he coffee. Cowboys didn,t: get; many sweet;s out; on t:he
range, so -they all want:ed t;o help -the cook when it; came -time t;o
grind -the coffee beans and get; -the peppermint: s-tick.
Project the transparency of "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" on
the screen, and play it ("The Other Cowboys" tape, side B)
and other cowboy ballads with the class singing along.
Cowboys sang t;o -the cat:t:le at; night; when -they were on -the
-trail t;o keep -the herds calm.
The "o-ther,, cowboys had t:heir music -too. The vaqueros of Sout:h
Texas would sit; around t;he campfires at; night; and sing about;
-the women t:hey missed. Most; of -their songs were love songs.
Play a couple of the "Ranchero Ballads."
42
Extension: Spanish lranslation
Our first cowboys, the vaqueros, spoke Spanish. Most cowboys
in Texas spoke Spanish in the 1800s. English did not become a
common language in Texas till late into the 19th century.
In most Texas schools today, there are many people who
speak Spanish. Invite a person who speaks Spanish into the
classroom to join the class in listening to the Ranchero Ballads,
and have him/her explain the meaning of the songs and the
Spanish words. Many students will know the meaning of the
words and can be encouraged to help explain the songs as well.
43
r 'Jum"Siin3 'Jum-5/ewee~s ..... ., ........... .,1
.'' .'' :'' :''
'' .' ' . :' See them tumbling down :' ! Pledging their love to the ground !
: Lonely but free I'll be found :
! Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds :
• • '' .' ' . i' Cares of the past are behind :'
~ Nowhere to go but I'll find :
: Just where the trail will wind :
.i' Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds. :' ' .' ' . ;•' Bridge: :•'
' . : I know when night has gone •
:'' That a new world's born at dawn .'• : I'll keep rolling along :
:' Deep in my heart is a song :'
~ Here on the range I belong :
: Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds. :
'' '' '' .' : - BOB NOLAN :
'' '' '' '' '' .' ''' .'' ' . •' • ' .' ' . :' .' '' .' ' . ' ' . : . ' . '' ' . • • '' '. :• '• ' . • •
''' '' . ' .
'•' •• •
Content Summaries of t he Ranchero Ballads
lndita Mia/Little Indian of Mine
He sings of his love, which she does not return. His heart aches when she ignores him, and he
doesn't know what he's done wrong because he loves only her.
A/bur de Amor/Gambling wit;h Love
He made a mistake, and his life is now sad. His young love was a gamble. He'll fight anyone to
keep her, and, if he is killed, he doesn't care because he loves her.
Es'trel/it;a Marinera/The Sailor's S-tar
He asks the star to tell him about his love. He heard that she was going north and wants the
star to tell him if that is true. Her name is engraved in his heart, and he is worried about her.
E/ Abandonado/The Abandoned
He sings of being abandoned because he's poor and married. He has three strong vices: being a
drunk, a lover, and a gambler. He doesn't know what he's going to do if she abandons him.
Los Laure/es/The Laurels
He's thinking about his girl, who lives near the blooming laurels. He wants to be with her, but he's
timid and doesn't know how to do this.
E/ Rancho Grande/The Big Ranch
He sings of a girl at the ranch whom he loves. He loves her so rrwch that he doesn't care about
her domineering ways.
4-5
~-························,.··--··~···~············--····--······_,. .............. •• ,• ,. .• • • i Activity #17 i
t ' i The Clothes of the Cowboy i
.• •'
~ ..................................................... ~ .. ························-···
Materials: Gene Autry poster, Photograph #16, Stetson hats
Equipment: None
Ovjective: The students will compare the dress of the movie cowvoy with the dress
of the working cowvoy and learn avout the cowvoy hat.
Show the Gene Autry poster again.
Part of our stereo-type of -the cowboy, which we got; from movies and
television, was how cowboys dress.
•How is Gene Au-try dressed on -this poster?
[Clean shirt, bright colors, fancy buttons, white hat]
The movie cowboy usually had on a fancy cowboy shirt in a bright;
color wi-th pearl bu-ttons and piping down -the front;. Their pan-ts were
always -tight; wi-th sharp creases and were very clean. They wore huge
ha-ts, often in white, and had cowboy boo-ts wi-th sharp-pointed t;oes.
•Do you -think -tha-t's how -the working cowboys dressed?
[No]
Show Photograph #16, the vaquero.
•How was Cuca, -the vaquero, dressed in -the photograph?
[Levijacket,jeans, chaps, dark hat]
The working cowboys didn't; have much money, and -they weren't;
close t;o st;ores, so -they had t;o have very rugged clo-thing.
One -thing all cowboys saved for, -th~ugh, was -their hat;.
The famous hat; of all cowboys was -the Ste-tson, created by
J.B. Ste-tson about; 1850.
Show the students the big Stetson hat, and pass it around
with the smaller hat.
46
Not; all cowboy hat;s are St;et;sons, but; because 'the hat; called
t;he "Boss of t;he Plains," which Mr. St;et;son creat;ed, became
so popular, everyone began calling 'their hat; a St;et;son. The word
"St;et;son" came t;o mean any cowboy hat;. The cowboy hat; has
become a symbol for 'the cowboy. When Mr. St;et;son died in 1906,
his fact;ory in Pennsylvania was making four million hat;s a year:
The cowboy hat; had many uses.
• What; are all t;he ways a cowboy hat; could have been
used by a cowboy on t;he open range?
Do as a brainstorm activity. taking all kinds of responses from
the students.
Some examples of the real ways cowboy hats were used are­to
drink water out of
to fan the wood fire to get it blazing more
to wave with to shoo along the cattle
to protect the cowboy from too much sun
to protect the cowboy from the rain
to store odd things in when on his head
to carry rolls or biscuits in
to raise a bit and say howdy when greeting a passerby
to give a drink to his horse
to cover his face during a nap.
Collect the hats.
Extension: Cowboy Clothes , .................. ,.
Replay portions of the videotape "Working from Can't; t;o Can't;,"
having students describe the dress hats and clothing of the
African-American cowboys. Do you think these are their
"working" clothes?
47
Materials:
Equipment:
Ovjective:
Brown vag, vocavulary words on cards
None
The students will review new words they've acquired during the instruction
of this mini-unit.
Throughout this mini-unit, words new to the students have
undoubtedly been used, even though there has been no
attempt to make them part of the instruction. As we near
the end of this unit, one way to review the content of
The Other Cowboys is to create a list of words new to
the students.
Write each of the following vocabulary words on an index card,
and put the cards in a brown bag. Then walk around the room,
having each student take a card. Read the word on the card
aloud, and have the students give the definition or meaning.
Make additional cards for other words that are appropriate
to the group or that have come up during instruction to
expand the list.
BROWN BAG COWBOY VOCABULARY
A stereo-type is a belief about a group of people that is not true for an individual person.
A s-tallion is a male horse.
A mare is a female horse.
Tack is horse equipment.
Rawhide is untanned cow skin.
A vaquero is a cowboy of Mexican descent who is skilled with horses and cattle.
Mustangs are wild horses.
A tapadero is a cover on the stirrup which protects the foot.
A hackamore is a loop that can be tightened over a horse's head.
A bit is a metal bar that is placed in a horse's mouth.
A cinch, or girth, is a wide strap that encircles the horse and holds the saddle on.
A brush popper is a cowboy who rides into the brush to find cows that are hiding and pops
them out into the open.
A cattle drive is the moving of a herd to market.
48
A prairie is a large, open, flat area with lots of grass for horses and cows to eat.
A wrangler is a cowboy who takes care of horses.
A remuda is the group of extra horses used for a variety of different jobs by the cowboys.
A roundup is the herding of all the cattle to one place to brand and sort for selling.
A 1:7ronco is an untamed or unbroken horse.
A corrido is a song which tells a story in verses.
Once all words have been selected, the cards can be put back in
the bag and presented again as spelling words.
Extensio,,n,. :.. C...r..e..a•, t.i,v. .e.. Writing
Have the students write a six-sentence paragraph about a
cattle drive using five of the vocabulary words.
49
~····························· ... ·~·····._ .......................... .,. .............. ,
i ~ Activity #19 *~ ~ !. Stereotypes. and "The Other Cowboys" i . ' ~
~. .................................................................................._ .. .
Materials: Gene Autry poster
Equipment: Chalkboard
Objective: The students will summarize their new information about "The Other Cowboys"
ana the cowboy stereotype.
•Who were "The Other Cowboys?"
[African Americans, Mexican-American vaqueros,
and women]
We started this unit; by looking at; a poster of Gene Autry -for a 1939
movie t;it;/ed In Old Monterey. Gene Autry wore a big white Stetson
hat; with a fancy shirt, was playing his guitar t;o his horse, Champion,
and having a fist; fight;. This is the movie stereotype of t;he cowboy.
•Are real working cowboys like the movie cowboy? [No]
The movie cowboy is an oversimplified. version of the working cowboy.
Let's see what; we can remember about; the life of real cowboys.
Create a chart on the board, and have students add
information in the columns.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Movie Cowboys Working Cowboys
The following questions could be asked to stimulate recall.
50
•What; was the work of the cowboy?
of the cowboy movie star?
•What; clothes did the movie star cowboy wear?
the working cowboy?
•Were working cowboys very clean?
movie star cowboys?
•What; dangers did working cowboys face?
movie s"tar cowboys?
•How did "the horse help "the movie s"tar cowboys?
"the working cowboys?
•Were all cowboys whi"te men?
movie s"tar cowboys?
•What; did cowboys eat;?
movie s"tar cowboys?
Extension: ".L..e..t 's Pretend" Role-play ,,.,, .... ~ ....
Have the students pair up. Pretend you are talking to your
mom or dad this evening, and she/he asks, "What did you
learn about cowboys?" Have each student take turns being
the mom or dad and the student summarizing the new
information. Then reverse roles. After the pairs have
completed telling what they learned, you may want to select
two or three pairs of students to do this for the whole class.
51
The following is a brief listing of books that you may want to have
the librarian order for use by students who want to continue to
learn more about cowboys.
Anderson, .Joan. Spanish Pioneers of the Southwest. New York: Lodestar Books,
E.P. Dutton, 1989. Through words and photographs, interpreters re-create
what life was like in the 1700s at El Rancho de las Golondrinas, a fort and an
inn for travelers on El Camino Real.
Callihan, D . .Jeanne, and Samuel P. Nesmith. Our Mexican Ancestors, Stories for
Young Readers .. San Antonio: Institute of Texan Cultures, 1981. Presents
short biographies and stories of people important in the early history
of Texas.
Christian, Mary Blount. Hats OfftoJohn Stetson. New York: Macmillan Publishing
Co., 1992. Presents the story and history of the man and how he created
the great cowboy hat, the Stetson.
Crawford, Ann Fears. Lizzie: Queen of "the Cattle Trails. Austin: W.S. Benson & Co.,
1990. Presents the true story of a woman in early Texas who owned her own
herd and took them up the Chisholm Trail to sell.
Granfield, Linda. Cowboys: An Album New York: Ticknor & Field, 1994. With over
100 photographs, the book celebrates the history and the myth of the
cowboy throughout the West. Filled with historical information and a
treasury of old prints.
Greenlaw, M . .Jean. Ranch Dressing: The Story of Western Wear. New York: Lodestar
Books of Dutton Children's Books, 1993. An information-packed history of
the clothing once worn by cowboys on the range.
Katz, William Loren. Black Women of the Old West. New York: Atheneum Books for
Young Readers of Simon and Schuster, 1995. An outstanding source of
information and photographs on the role of African-American women of the
West.
Kauffman, Sandra. The Cowboy Catalog. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., of
Crown Publishers, 1980. A visual and comprehensive compilation of cowboy
paraphernalia with history, lore, and the practices of the cowboy.
53
Liles, Maurine. The Ut:tles"t Vaquero. Austin: Eakin Press, 1996. A story set in
Spanish Texas about Manuel Ruiz, who dreamed of becoming a true vaquero
and played on the ranch with Dona Marfa.
Merker, Meghan, and Nate Brown. Roll On, Li-t-tle Dogies: Songs and Ac-tivi-ties for
Young Cowpokes. Salt Lake City: Gibbs-Smith Publisher; 1996. A book of
activities such as How to Dance the Flatfoot, which provides much
information about cowboy music.
Miller; Robert H. The S-tory of S-tagecoach Mary Fields. Morristown, N . .J.: Silver
Press, Paramount Publishing, 1995. The story of an African-American woman
who drove a stagecoach in the Northwest.
Munson, Sammye. Los Vaqueros: Our Firs-t Cowboys. Austin: Eakin Press, 1996. An
easy-reader book about Francisco, who lives on a ranch in South Texas and is
learning to be a vaquero as the men in his family have done for generations.
Pinkney, Andrea, and Brian Pinkney. Bill Picke-t-t: Rodeo-Ridin' Cowboy. New York:
Gulliver Books of Harcourt Brace and Company, 1996. Bill Pickett worked as
a cowhand on Texas ranches and went on to become a famous Wild West
· rodeo star:
54
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