At the End of the Long Drive

When a cowboy got to a cattle town after a long drive, making his dollar a day, what would have been his thoughts on spending a part of that money on a shave, bath, new clothes, etc, and what would those things have cost him, not to mention a few drinks. What would have been his priorities?

When the cowboys hit a trail’s end town like Abilene or Dodge City after some two months on the drive the first thing they did was to draw their pay and head for the barber shop and get a bath haircut and shave. That would cost about six bits or 75 cents. Next, they shed their duds at the mercantile store and get some new ones. A pair of trousers would cost $1.00-$1.25. A new pair of long johns might cost a dollar. A new pair of boots would cost $7 to $15. A pullover shirt might cost a dollar and a new hat would set you back about three to five dollars.

A steak dinner would cost about a dollar and then on to the saloon where a glass of beer would cost one bit or 12 ½ cents and a shot of whiskey, two bits or a quarter.  He could try his luck at a game of chance then head for the red light district. A short time love affair with a prostitute would cost around a dollar. There were also dance halls where he would pay 75 cents to a dollar for a dance ticket. Prostitutes and dance hall girls sometimes outnumbered so-called decent women by as much as 25 to l.

That’s pretty much what a cowboy did when he hit the end of the trail.