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A
lariat darts from a hand over the horns of a target in a herd of cattle.
The critter is brought down and quickly branded.
Then she is back up on her horse, with her two trained cow-dogs at the
ready.
Yes, you read correctly. Many of us
have looked over history journals and various newspaper clippings of the past
and know that there were various females in history.
Yet the ladies are hard to get to "know" as what is written is
mostly from a man's point of view... mayhap that is why I hear the jab of
HIStory.
The cowgirls were a hearty group of women, and some of the shrewdest
business-persons of the period. Many
were raised on cattle ranches, while others seemed to have been brought out west
with their spouse - who might have been killed, or just left.
These women did what I say women still do.
They took a hard situation and made the best of it.
Struggling with or outright taming the land, these women forged new
chapters of history.
"Riding the fence", roping, bronco breaking, branding,
etc. were the trademarks of the cowboy and cowgirl.
These people were more than just caretakers of cattle, as their skills
earned them great respect and prestige.
Of course the shooting ability of these women was also expected to be wondrous.
To this day many people still attend the small "Bronco Billy" style
western side shows and carnivals. I
recall the one cowgirl in my youth stating to the crowd, "A six-shooter
makes all men and women equal." By
the skill she showed while riding, I could see where this would be well
justified!
Of course one of the most difficult tasks was designing clothing (A slight jest)
for how could a lady ride side saddle, and still rope cattle. Well many
didn't. Necessity is the mother of
invention, and so the ladies got together with mother and made some changes.
The skirts were changed by dividing them - much like the fashion of
modern ladies to wear the pant-skirts. Leather
'gauntlets' were worn almost to the elbow to attempt to maintain the soft skin.
Many cowgirls refused to wear the summer bonnets, instead going for a
more 'practical' Stetson. The
cowgirls. America's hard working ladies.
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