Real cowboys had to survive off the land day after day. They had to herd cattle and cook their own food. They had to deal with horrible conditions and still figure out how to make it. If we learn the survival tips they used, we will have a better chance of surviving just about anything!

Some Survival Tips From Cowboys Include:

1. His Best Friend

A cowboy’s best friend is his weapon.

The weapon of choice of those old westerners was the Colt .45 six-shooter because they could carry it in their belt and it was easy to use.

Another weapon of choice was the Winchester model 73. The Winchester is a repeating arms rifle, so longer than the Colt .45. Cowboys would ride with these fastened to their saddles, ready to pull out when needed.

2. Repairing a Break

 

As land rights started to enter the arena, around the latter part of the 19th century, fences started to be erected. In 1862, homesteaders were given the right to 65 hectares of land if they agreed to live on it and improve it. As the land became broken up and given to the new homesteaders, the competition for land increased and existing ownership had to be protected.

Homesteaders would go around cutting the barbed wire the ranchers had used to designate their land, to try and push it back into the public pot. Ranchers would have to go around the circumference of their land and fix any broken fences to retain their ownership rights.

3. Skinning a Buffalo

 

The hides had a multitude of uses, including, teepee covers, clothing and moccasins.  The bones for knives, arrowheads and even dice, the fat used to make soap and to cook with and even buffalo dung could be used for fuel. The whole animal was made use of, there was little or no waste.

Occasionally the cowboys would use the bones for fertilizer too. But the hide was used for many purposes including making drive belts for machinery. The cowboys of old did make use of the buffalo hide, using it for clothes and bedding against the harsh winters.

Buffalo tastes good; A little like lean beef. They were such a popular food source that by the end of the 19th century, they ended up being hunted to almost extinction, with only 300 individuals in the wild by 1900.

 

4. Horses were of the utmost importance in ranching life.

Horses were a valuable part of the ranch workforce. So if a horse was stolen, this was seen as a massive crime, certainly in the league of murder and could result in certain states in delivery of the death sentence.

 

5. A Long Shot

The Wild West cowboy had to be a marksman.

The weapons of choice were the Colt .45 revolver for shorter ranges and easy shooting, but for longer ranges, the Winchester was his preferred piece. The cowboy would often need to make a shot from atop a horse.

 

6. Cowboy Courtship

Courtship for cowboys was a mutual affair, if the man wasn’t right, the girl would make sure he knew.

The woman would need the necessary personality and skills to take up life on the ranch.

 

7. Evening on the Prairie

They had to spend many a night sleeping in the outdoors, under the stars;  if it rained, the cowpuncher got wet. Their camp was basic and they camped wherever they could find a suitable spot, but some would sleep in the saddle.

Cowpunchers were a hardy lot and knew what it was like to go without sleep whilst on the trail. Each person in the outfit had to guard for two hours through the night, to protect the horses and cattle against rustlers and predators.

During those two hours they would ride amongst the herd, singing quietly to the cattle to let them know they were being watched over, the songs were gentle to prevent the herd from bolting if startled, but to let them know that the rider was there.

 

8. Heading a Stampede

Cattle can be dangerous animals.

Cowpunchers would use tricks like driving the herd into a tight grouping, making them feel more secure. They’d also sing to the herd to calm them. If the herd were to panic, the skill of the herders and their horsemanship meant they were able to ride around the front of the stampeding herd, pushing them into a tight grouping again to calm them.

 

9. A Balky Pupil

The horse needed to be mature, because of the work it was expected to do, such as carry a rider for days on end. So the horse would be weaned by the ranch owners and when ready ‘broken in’. The breaking in had to be done within a week, which meant that the horse needed to be able to be ridden within about four days. The breakers were often highly skilled and were intuitive with animals and the use of the word ‘break’ in this context is perhaps over harsh at times.

 

10. Outnumbered

The Wild West wasn’t called wild for nothing. It was a dangerous place. It had dangerous animals like bears and snakes to contend with. There were harsh winters and rough country to traverse. There was also a war raging between the Native Americans and the settlers. The West was seen in the 1800s as an undiscovered country, devoid of human habitation and ripe for settlement.

However, when the first settlers got there they found it was in fact the homeland of Native Americans. To try and alleviate the problem, the government formed reservations for the Native Americans. This didn’t work out well and as resources became depleted, anger spread and the Indian Wars of the late 1800s began.

Cowboys lived through these violent times and when they rode out with the herd they literally took their life into their own hands. Even fully armed with their trusty Winchester, a lone cowboy was easy game.

 

11. A Lucky Bag

Food during the earlier days of the Wild West, before the railroads opened up trade, could be monotonous. Vegetables, like beans, were often out of a can, the meat variety was limited, squirrel being an alternative to the usual buffalo.

Provisions such as coffee, sugar and flour were scarce.

The cowboy and girl would need to use preservation techniques, like salting, pickling or dehydration to keep food over the winter.

Dugouts were also used to store food in. Early cowboys really had to make use of their hunter-gatherer instincts.

For fresh vegetables they would have to forage for fresh berries, wild fruit and other green edibles and roots.

 

12. Branding Calves

To do this they used to brand the calves. This entailed a painful exercise involving applying a hot iron to the animal’s skin. The branding iron has a distinctive metal symbol at the end to represent a particular ranch.

Branding was a two-man job. The cowpunchers would find a mother and calf, separate them form the herd and then lasso the calf. The cowpunchers were masters at lassoing. They’d get the rope under the calves back legs and take the calf down. One man would then hold the calf, while the other quickly branded it.

 

13. Rounding Up

In the early days of the Wild West, early Texan settlers would hire ‘Vaqueros’ who were skilled horseman, used to driving wild cattle to market.

The Vaqueros had strength, agility and they understood how cattle moved and could be controlled.

This was a major feat and cowboy and his horse had work together as one seamless entity. This meant that the horses too, had to be highly trained as the cowboy relied totally on their working to his commands.

 

14 Queen of the Ranch

A woman, who accompanied her husband on the long arduous trip to settle land, had to be as hardy as her husband.

These women soon learned how to make the most of scraps of food, when the meat ran out, they’d make soup from the bones and left over scraps. The women would also be the gatherers and occasionally the hunters too, of small animals, like mice and rabbits.

The women of the West as well as being the persons who cleaned and cooked, were also doctor and nurse. They would use homemade remedies to treat wounds and cope with fevers.

15. How The Cowboys Tied Their Lasso

First you need to make a loop about 1 food from the end of the rope. At the end of the rope tie a simple knot. Then pass this knot through one of the loops and tighten the lasso. Pull the other end of the rope through the new loop.

Cowboys had many skills in order to survive. They had to know which guns were best and how to shoot from far away. They had to know how to work with their horses and break them. They had to know how to sleep and survive off the land. This meant knowing how to hunt or forage for food and herbs. They also had to know how to preserve food. They had to know how to brand their cattle and how to keep the cattle calm. Even the woman that lived and worked with cowboys had to know how to survive and cook, clean and tend to any wounds with natural remedies. When a survival situation does happen, you'll be glad that you know these survival tips that the cowboys used.

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Source: Survivopedia