Cowboys and Cattle Ranching

With 124 photographs

Out of the soil of Texas, in the middle of the nineteenth century, sprang a wholly new kind of American—the tough, resourceful, self-reliant cowboy. He was created by the open range and the long-horned cattle that roamed it. The days of the great cattle drives were his time of glory—barbed wire and the railroad caused his downfall.

But the cowboy's independent spirit lives on in the modern rancher, whether he rides on horseback, in a jeep, a pickup truck, or a helicopter.

In this handsome book Patricia Lauber traces the evolution of the cattle industry and the changing role of the men who work in it. A lavish selection of illustrations documents every phase of the cattleman's life—from the days of the vaquero to today's scientific cattle breeder. The author's own photographs record the drama and hard work of a season on two very different modern ranches—one in Florida and the other in Wyoming.

Here is an exciting look at a legendary American hero and his modern counterpart.