Origin

• Even though the typical cowboy look wasn't prevalent from the outset, cowboys are as old as America itself. Colonists who owned a large amount of cattle used techniques learned from the Spanish to move their herd across large amounts of land. However, the traditional cowboy didn't develop until American settlers began migrating westward, and mingled with Mexicans. Borrowing some parts of the Mexican ranchers' attire, American cowboys began fashioning their own image that is well-known almost 200 years later.
  
  

Jobs

• The cowboy's job isn't exactly hard to figure out--they dealt with cows. Cowboys were charged with leading cattle drives, moving large herds of cattle across the vast, wide open ranges of the burgeoning Western United States. The work was extremely taxing and tiresome, and the pay was mostly meager. The lifestyle was a very rough and lonely one, not anywhere as glamorous as the movies portray.
  
  

Equipment

• However "cool" the cowboys' look may be to some people, their clothing was entirely practical. Their hats were made big so that they would keep the blistering sun and harsh rain out of their eyes and faces. Their boots were sturdy, made durably to withstand the sometimes harsh landscape of the frontier. Chaps protected their legs during the long and rough horse rides. Cowboys also invented barbed wire to keep control of their herd.
  
  

Cowboy Codes

• The cowboys of the West lived by a code that was meant to keep their honor. The codes dealt with respect for fellow cowboys (things such as always greeting your fellow cowboy on the trail), respect for women (the well-known "never swear in front of a woman" code) and respect for their horses (things like tending to your horse and never touching another man's horse).
  
  

Cowboys Today

• As the West became more and more settled, cowboys began to lose their relevance. However, they never completely went away. The rodeo is considered by many to be the last home for true cowboys.
  
  The cowboy aura and image have grown into an American legend over time, thanks to things like the Wild West shows in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the immensely popular Western film genre.