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In the Days of the Vaqueros: America's First True Cowboys

Russell Freedman

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Nov 19, 2008 Luann rated it really liked it

Shelves: ms-rec, nonfiction, young-adult, 2008, childrens, western, american-history

I always enjoy Russell Freedman's books, and "In the Days of the Vaqueros: America's First True Cowboys" was no exception. Freedman gives clear and concise information in an interesting way. This book is slightly shorter than others I've read of his, but I still felt like the subject was well covered. Freedman mentions several times that the Mexican vaquero has not been romanticized like the American cowboy and thus not a lot has been written about him over the years. I also really enjoyed the m I always enjoy Russell Freedman's books, and "In the Days of the Vaqueros: America's First True Cowboys" was no exception. Freedman gives clear and concise information in an interesting way. This book is slightly shorter than others I've read of his, but I still felt like the subject was well covered. Freedman mentions several times that the Mexican vaquero has not been romanticized like the American cowboy and thus not a lot has been written about him over the years. I also really enjoyed the many paintings and sketches throughout the book, including several by Frederic Remington.

I was particularly interested in the chapter on contests and games, some of which are quite similar to events in our modern-day rodeos. I'll include a few excerpts from that chapter:

"One popular stunt was to lean down the from the side of a horse at full gallop and pluck from the ground a coin, an arrow, a kerchief, or, in a gruesome sport called carrera del gallo, a live rooster buried in sand with only its head showing. If the rider swung back into the saddle waving the wing-flapping rooster in his hand, he won all bets along with whoops of approval from the crowd." (pg 37)

"Colear, tailing the bull, was both a sport and a practical working skill. The coleador, the tailer, galloped up behind a bull, reached out from the right to grab its tail, passed the tail under his right leg, twisted it around this saddle horn, then wheeled his horse sharply to the left, throwing the bull off balance and causing the stunned animal to crash headlong to the ground. Tailing the bull required a certain knack. With the right leverage and timing, a small man on a horse could topple even the biggest bull. The reputation of being the best coleador in the district guaranteed a vaquero the respect of his compadres or comrades, and the admiration of numerous young women." (pg 38)

"When a man really wanted to show off, he took part in the paso de la muerte, the ride of death. In one version of this risky sport, a vaquero on horseback galloped alongside a wild horse - a bronco, from the Spanish word for "rough." He jumped from his mount onto the animals's back and rode that bucking bronco until he was thrown, or until the exhausted animal was tamed. Or he might pit his strength against a wild bull, roping the animal, then leaping onto its back and riding the enraged beast as he clung tightly to the rope." (pg 38-39)

"No sport was more dangerous than the grizzly bear hunts carried out by Indian vaqueros in California. Grizzlies, powerful giants with five-inch claws in each mighty paw, roamed the California coast country. When a bear was sighted, four or five men working together lassoed the beast by its legs and throat and choked off its air. As the dazed grizzly was being led away, the vaqueros took turns riding up close to the animal and provoking its charge. Captured grizzlies were pitted in violent battles against wild bulls. . . . The opponents were tied to each other with a long rope: One end was tied to the bear's hind leg, the other to the bull's foreleg. A grizzly sometimes killed several bulls before it was mortally gored." (pg 39-40)

And a random quote from page one that I found interesting from a Book of Mormon perspective: "Wild horses once roamed the grasslands of the Americas, but they disappeared mysteriously thousands of years before the first European explorers arrived. Columbus reported after his voyage in 1492 that he had found no horses or cattle in the New World." ...more

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