Describing the American cowboy is not an easy task as he reached into the heart of so many people. In the minds of both the young and the old, the cowboy rivals Santa Claus. He instills good in everybody. Being a cowboy was not all romance and horses.Tracking the historic life of the cowboy is a difficult job. The American cowboy left few tracks. Historians find themselves dealing with an image rather than facts. For instance, how many cowboys were out there roaming the range at any given time? How many were Black, Mexican, Indian, or of any other ethnic character? Nobody Counted Cowboys.Even men who once worked as cowboys and then went on to greater accomplishments, such as banking or other business ventures, will invariably label themselves as "cowboys". The "cowboy" label indicates greater accomplishment than do the more mundane business activities of the entrepreneur, whether it be banker, lawyer, or Congressman or a writer of books on Western History. It's "Once A Cowboy, Always A Cowboy."
