Q&A Questions and Answers:
Hey Mr. Bob
I really enjoyed reading some of the Q&A's, but there are so many to read. I need information on cowhands in the 1800's. My daughter is doing a report on cowhands in the 1800's. I got some of the information, but I need more. Here is what she has to answer:
1. Job description: what type of work do you expect them to do?
2. Salary (I found this on your site.) A working cowhand in the late 1800s was paid $25 to $30 a month "and found." The phrase "and found" meant he also got his meals (and a bunk when he was at the ranch headquarters.) A top hand might even get $40 a month and a foreman $50 or more. On a drive, a trail boss was sometimes paid as much as $100. For comparison, back then a typical school teacher's wage was $30 a month, and dinner in a restaurant would usually cost about 25 cents.
3. Benefits: what else can you offer them if they come work for you.
4. Some picture of them doing what ever it is they do.
Any help would be welcome.
ANSWER:
I hope these responses will help a bit with your daughter's report. (If you have time, you'll find other little bits and pieces scattered throughout my website.)
1. Job description:
2. Salary (I found this on your site.)
3. Benefits: If a good hand were injured, the ranch might fetch the sawbones from town, but in most cases the cowboy got whatever care the others on the ranch could provide. Fortunately, in the late 1800s there was a high likelihood that one of your riding partners had some experience with frontier doctoring -- if he had been in the army he may have even helped hold down a wounded buddy while a field surgeon sawed off an arm or leg. As for security, if he stood up for the brand, the rest of the ranch would stand up for him -- even at the risk of their own lives. It has been said that if, at the end of your life, you have had one true friend, you were a success. By that measure, most cowhands could be counted as very successful. The main benefit that lured a ranch hand to the job was a lifestyle he loved -- spending most of his time in the beauty of the great outdoors, working with some incredible critters, and the pride that came from doing a real man's job. And, truth to tell, most of them were probably adrenaline junkies who lived for the excitement that was often part of a cowboy's life.
4. Some picture of them doing what ever it is they do. (All black and white photos by Solomon Devore Butcher, 1856-1927, and courtesy of the Library of Congress.) |
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