What bacon did trail cowboys eat?
Dave Macon
Shreveport, Louisiana
Bacon was a staple on trail rides and at line camps. The cowboys were actually eating “sowbelly.” It was pork fat from the belly, and perhaps the back and sides, of a hog carcass, cured with salt. Sowbelly could last a long time without spoiling.
Marshall Trimble is Arizona’s official historian and vice president of the Wild West History Association. . His latest book is Arizona’s Outlaws and Lawmen; History Press, 2015. If you have a question, write: Ask the Marshall, P.O. Box 8008, Cave Creek, AZ 85327 or e-mail him at marshall.trimble@scottsdalecc.edu
Related Articles
-
What bacon did trail cowboys eat? Dave Macon Shreveport, Louisiana Bacon was a staple on…
-
Were cowboys superstitious? Bill Dunn High River, Alberta, Canada Rodeo cowboys believed in dozens of…
-
Can you imagine Gunsmoke’s Festus belting out a tune for Miss Kitty? Why not? Do…
