What were the duties of cowboys in the 1800?

They had to possess extreme confidence and mastery skills, because it was not easy to be a cowboy.

Cowboys in the 19th century, and even today, had to be jacks of all trades. The skills required are far too numerous to list, but here are some examples.

Cowboys needed to have basic woodworking skills in order to mend fences, buckboards and wagon wheels. They had to be able to work in extreme weather, hot and cold. They needed a basic knowledge of animal husbandry to care for their animals. The ability to treat minor, and sometimes not so minor, injuries was also an invaluable skill due to the paucity of doctors. A good memory was needed in order to locate animals, navigating by landmarks, verbal instructions and hastily sketched maps. The work requires a high level of physical fitness.

Contrary to popular belief, marksmanship skills were neither important nor widely held. Firearms are heavy, especially with most of your worldly possessions on a horse. Revolvers were most commonly used against varmints which, often as not, were as likely to run from the sound as be hit.

Probably the most important of all cowboy skills was the ability to improvise and adapt. There was no written rules for cowboys, only ever-changing conditions and tasks.