What was a typical day for a cowboy on a cattle drive?

Hollywood has given the public a somewhat 'idealized' view of life on a cattle drive. The reality was very different. Hard physical work, hour after hour on the back of a horse, in temperatures that ranged from sizzling heat to mind-numbing cold, rain, snow and wind that blows the endless dust from the hooves of cattle into the nose, eyes, ears and mouths of the cowboy.

Depending on where the drive started, the trip was usually several hundred miles and took 4 to 6 months to reach the railroad, one of the biggest cattle towns was Abeliene, KS. Sleeping on the hard ground, prey to biting insects and deadly snakes, unfriendly native Americans and cattle rustlers intent on relieving the cowboys of their livelihood or their life. Rivers had no bridges or ferries, you crossed on horseback, all worldly possessions completely soaked. They cowboy supplied his own horse, rope, and other tools necessary to the job. At trail's end, the cattle town held it's own dangers. After months on the job, the cowboy's pockets full from their pay, indulged in drinking, gambling and lewd women. Fights were commonplace, guns were drawn when tempers flared. Many of the cowboys spent their entire salaries within a few days, left scrambling for other work.

These men were independent, tough and couragous. And for some of them it was the only thing they wanted to do. It was a way of life that will never come again.