From 1866 to the mid 1870's cowboys had to drive cattle from Texas to cow towns which were located on railroads. This could take up to 2 months. But, eventually when ranchers set up along the great plains this was taken down to 35 days.This trips were still very dangerous. The average herd was from about 2,000 to 3,000 but there were some herds that only had 600 head of cattle. 15,000 head of cattle was the largest herd ever recorded. The main goal of the cattle ranchers is to sell as many head of cattle as possible even the loss of a few on the long drive could cost them a lot of money. This put a lot of responsibility on the cowboys. Each cowboy would be in charge of a group of cattle. a cowboy would generally be in charge of around 250-400 head of cattle.The trail boss had the most responsibilty. He had to wake up at 3:30 am and make sure there was enough food before he woke all the workers and he had to ride ahead to find water. He usually decided where they would set up camp and he would also take care of the welfare of the workers. The Trail boss normally rode in the front of the pack in the chuck wagon. I personally think any of these jobs would suck. Especially the trail boss because i dont think i could handle getting up at three in the morning. But it would also stink to ride a horse that far. Your rear end would be pretty sore.There was a few other jobs that you could be assigned on the trip. First there were the pointers. they rode at the front of the pack like the trail boss. They were supposed to lead the heard when the trail boss rode ahead to look for water.Next was the swing and flank men. These were people who rode beside the herd towards the front and rear to keep the heard from spreading.Then there were the dragmen. They rode in the back of the heard to make sure the cattle in the back stuck with group. They were covered in dust from the cattle in front of them.And last there were the wranglers. This was a job for the most inexperienced cowboys. they rode in the back and were used to take messages up and down the line. They also watched after the remuda which are the extra horses they kept together in the back of the herd.Personally my least favorite job would be being a dragman. Because they are always in the dust and dirty.At least the wranglers get out of the dust from time to time to carry messages.There were many different dangers on the long drive. One of them was the stampede. These were most likely to happen on the first few days of the trip when the cattle were restless and anxious because they wanted to get back to the land they were familiar with.Next there was the weather and landscape. Cowboys were in really hot winds and hail and rain. And when it rains the rivers would wash out and be deeper then normal or there would be quick sands.Another threat was indians. Some were nice and would let them pass with a small toll like a certain amount of cattle but some were crazy and attacked them and drove them off.I personally dont think it would be fun to have to deal with any of these issues i would rather sit at home.
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