cowboy

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US cattle herder working on horseback; one of the great figures of American history and part of the folklore of the rugged adventurous West portrayed in books, films, and plays. Thousands of cowboys worked across the Great Plains in the heyday of the early US cattle industry 1866–87, initially on the long cattle drives, herding cattle from the ranches to the cow towns, and later on the open range, the vast unfenced grazing grounds belonging to the cattle barons. They represented the spirit of adventure and independence that was seen to epitomize the American spirit during the USA's push to take over the West in the 19th century.

The number of cowboys was severely reduced when the open range system collapsed between 1886 and 1887. Falling prices, drought, and unusually harsh winter conditions combined to bankrupt the cattle barons and, although the cowboy lived on, demand for their work declined.

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