As the ever-practical cowboy adapted to the modern world, his equipment and techniques also adapted, though many classic traditions are preserved. The English word cowboy has an origin from several earlier terms that referred to both age and to cattle or cattle-tending work.
Cowboy, in the western United States, a horseman skilled at handling cattle, an indispensable laborer in the cattle industry of the trans-Mississippi west, and a romantic figure in American folklore.
Though they originated in Mexico, American cowboys created a style and reputation all their own. Throughout history, their iconic lifestyle has been glamorized in countless books, movies and...