What is a cowboy?
Billy Murphy
Las Cruces, New Mexico
A cowboy is generally considered to be someone who tends cattle herds on North American ranches—usually from horseback. Historically, cowboys were regarded as independent, self-reliant, resourceful, proud, fearless and sometimes reckless.
The word “cowboy” in the United States dates to the Revolutionary War, when British Tories used cowbells to lure Patriot herdsmen into the woods for ambush. “Cowboy” became synonymous with “r
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