Texas - 1879
Following the Texas Revolution, many Mexican landowners fled the region, leaving their cattle behind. By the 1850s, large number of wild cattle roamed the Texas range. During the mid-1860s, when railroads reached the upper Mid-West, Texas cowboys began to drive cattle northward to rail towns in Kansas and Missouri.
The cowboys borrowed their clothing, customs, and even songs from Mexican cowhands known as vaqueros. Like the vaqueros, the cowboy used a rope known as a lariat to corral cattle and used a special saddle with a horn. Cowboys also borrowed the vacqueros' clothing, including the wide-brimmed hat, the high-heel pointed-toe boots, and leather leggings that protected the cowboy's legs. Their nickname, wrangler, came from a Spanish word, catallerango. Many cowboy songs, like "The Streets of Laredo," were actually translations of Mexican ballads.
During the 1880s, the major railroad lines finally reached Texas, bringing the colorful era of the cattle drive to an end.
