Dbq Essay On The Cowboys

The glory days of the cowboys was but a small one, hardships would soon fall in the form of big swimming and buffalo chips. After the invention of barbed-wire in the 1880’s, long drive was introduced (Background Essay). With five million longhorns unbranded and unclaimed, ex-soldiers, vaqueros, and some Native Americans rounded the cattle up and begun the trestrus four month journey from Texas to the far away states of Kansas and Wyoming (Document A). Despite the raw adventure the cattlemen experienced, death and complications arose. Once the expedition was over and done with many cattlemen were faced with the question: Will I be willingly do this all over again? Personally, I would not do it again because of the underpayment, sleep deprivation, and the high water levels. …show more content…
The route from Texas to Kansas wasn’t an easy one yet the cowboys were paid at least twenty dollars less than a teacher (Document B). Going on such trips were always accompanied by the risk of dying in more than one possible situation. The expedition was by no means easy, everyday was filled will laborious work that seemed to never end yet subsequently each cowboy was heavily underpaid. The price of a Stetson hat was worth ten dollars which is one third of what a cowboy gets in a month (Document B). Compared to the experiences throughout the cross country journey, pay didn’t give justice for the labor making it one of the key factors in my decision not to re-up next