By Dawn Mellion-Patin, Ph.D.
Agricultural Specialist

The current images presented in the media most often portray the American cowboy as being a hip swaying, boot wearing, gun toting white male. While this portrayal is accurate, it is not complete. The story that Hollywood forgot to tell is of the African-American trailblazers who helped expand the country beyond the Mississippi river.

Immediately after the civil war, many newly freed slaves began to head north in search of a better life. This has been well documented and the story told. However, another story exists, that of the former slaves who headed to the western frontier, which became a viable alternative for thousands. Stories and promises of land, riches, and the escape of the harsh realities of living in the South, were the catalysts that convinced countless Blacks to leave their homes. Of the approximately 38,000 pioneers of the western frontier, it is estimated that 8,000 to 9,000 of them were ex-slaves of African-American descent. Many of the ones who decided to head west had previous experience as cowboys, a term that was first used as a derogatory name to describe the enslaved black men who tended cattle.

In several instances, the work on the frontier was believed to be harder than both slavery and sharecropping. However, many Black cowboys experienced a better fate: wages on the trail were generally equal, and both Black and White cowboys shared camps and often ate side by side. Blatant racism did not usually rear its ugly head until the cowboys went into the established towns, where Black cowboys were not allowed to stay in the White-only hotels, eat at the White-only restaurants or enjoy the other services the towns offered. On the frontier, Black cowboys were primarily judged by their talents and hard work not the color of their skin. In fact, they were more often than not called upon to do the hardest work.

Many Blacks on the western frontier pursued careers as cowboys. Some were hired as rodeo performers and others were hired as federal peace officers in Indian Territory, often excelling as mediators and negotiators. A very few ultimately owned their own farms and ranches while some with a greater zest for life became gunfighters and outlaws. Still others worked as miners, prospectors, farmers, soldiers, business persons and even politicians.

Earl Jones, a modern day Black cowboy in Slaughter, Louisiana who volunteers with youth in the community said, "The Black cowboys made many contributions to the American western frontier. I along with others have committed our lives to sharing this legacy with the next generation."

The stories of several Black cowboys have been immortalized through books, movies, folklore and short stories. The most famous of all Black cowboys is probably Nat "Deadwood Dick" Love who wrote his memoirs in 1907, making it one of a few written accounts of the life of the Black cowboy. The character Deadwood Dick appeared in more than 30 novels written by Edward L. Wheeler from 1877 until 1885.

William M. "Bill" Pickett, another well known Black cowboy, was known for his invention of bulldogging, a technique he used which involved jumping from a horse onto a steer and taking the animal down by biting on its lip. Bill Pickett performed in rodeos in Canada, Mexico, South America, England and all over the United States. Using this technique, he mesmerized audiences for years until bulldogging was outlawed in competitive rodeos. Along with his brothers, he started Pickett Brothers Busters and Rough Riders Association in the 1890s, the first Black cowboy association. He later stared in a few Black western movies and was admitted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1971.

Joshua Deets' character on the television mini-series Lonesome Dove was based on Bose Ikard, a Black cowboy born a slave in 1847. As a young child in Texas, Ikard tended cattle and after the Civil War began to work for Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving. Ikard helped them build the Goodnight-Loving trail from western Texas and New Mexico into Colorado.

There were actually a few female pioneers who served in capacities other than the wives of the cowboys. Most notably were Stagecoach Mary and Aunt Rittie. Stagecoach Mary Fields, a stately woman, was known for carrying a Wesson gun and a .38 Smith and would take down anyone who attempted to disrespect her. Later in life she worked with the US Postal Service, in Montana, and never missed a route due to inclement weather, thus earning the name Stagecoach Mary. Henrietta "Aunt Rittie" Williams Foster was born a slave in Mississippi and was famous for working cattle bareback on a horse and providing medicinal herbal remedies. She developed such a reputation that men across the land feared her.

Many of the volunteers who later became known as the Buffalo Soldiers were Black cowboys. These members of the 9th and 10th Union Army Calvary and the 24th and 25th Infantry Regiment, got this title because of the wooly texture of their hair that resembled the fur of a buffalo. While several soldiers are noteworthy of mention, it was William Cathey was born Cathy Williams and enlisted under an alias in order to serve. Her secret went undiscovered until she faked an illness to be discharged. She served for two years.

The legacy of the Black cowboy lives on today, especially through the work of many community-based organizations, museums, corporations and associations whose primary goal is to preserve the legacy and tell the story of Black cowboys. The National Black Cowboys Association claims a membership exceeding 20,000 members nationwide. The Federation of Black Cowboys, which started in 1994, is a volunteer organization mainly comprised of retired police and corrections officers, who teach horsemanship and stable management to neighborhood and disabled children from the five boroughs of New York City. These organizations host many celebrations, Black rodeos, trail rides and even parades around the country.

A few of the organizations are mentioned, however it is important to note that this list is not inclusive of all those who have dedicated their lives to telling this very important story: the American Cowboy Museum, Negro Cowboy Rodeo Association, American Black Cowboy Association, Black Professional Cowboys and Cowgirls Association, Federation of Black Cowboys, The Black American West Museum and Heritage Center, The Oakland Black Cowboy Association, Cowboys for Kids, The Southwest Black Cowboys Association, The Real Black Cowboy Film Festival, Black Cowboy Parade; and the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo, that produces rodeos across the United States annually.

While the legacy of the Black cowboy is slowly unfolding, it is widely known that their contributions in the development of the western frontier as well as the rest of the country are immeasurable and worthy of being told.


References:

Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "'" http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/BB/arb1.html(accessed October 29, 2007).

Hardaway, Roger D., (2001). African American cowboys on the western frontier. Negro History Bulletin. Retrieved October 29, 2007 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1157/is_2001_Jan-Dec/ai_95149972

Slatta, Richard W. (1994). Black cowboys. Essay adapted from the book The Cowboy Encyclopedia. Retrieved October 29, 2007 from website http://social.chass.ncsu.edu/slatta/essays/blackcowboys.htm

Federation of the Black Cowboys. Reclaiming the legacy of the black west. Retrieved October 29, 2007 from website: http://federationofblackcowboysnyc.com/page/history2.html

This article appeared in Minority Landowner magazine, Spring 2008 issue.

For more information, contact Mellion-Patin at (225) 771-2242 ext. 201 or dawn_mellion-patin@suagcenter.com

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