Whispers of the West : North, South, East, West ~ The Spirits of the West Whisper on the Wind

Whispers of the West
North, South, East, West ~ The Spirits of the West Whisper on the Wind

The Vaquero

The Spanish brought the first longhorn cattle to America in 1493. Descendants of these longhorns formed the first cattle population in North America.The first Anglo-American settlers of Texas came to raise cotton. However, they brought with them a few cows, mostly of northern European breeds. These cows mixed with the Spanish breeds already in Texas and soon grew into considerable herds. Most of the cattle for the first stocking of the central and northern plains came from these herds.

Vaqueros were trailing cattle between Texas, New Mexico and the interior of Mexico long before the Americans arrived on scene in Texas. Don Juan Onate established the first gather and drive in 1598. The original cowboys were Mexican Indians, enslaved by Spanish conquerors who put them to work tending herds on their vast "rancheros." They wore broad sombreros to protect them from the burning sun and chaparjos (chaps) to protect their legs against cactus and mesquite. Their saddles were fashioned after the Spanish saddle with high pommels and cantles. The vaquero's life was one of isolation, with only a rawhide shelter to protect them from the elements, and a diet consisting primarily of corn mush and any game they could kill with a bow and arrow.

As ranching made its way north to Texas through the tier of provinces along the Rio Grande, these herdsmen were the vanguard of Hispanic colonization. In many cases they attached themselves to a patron (an influential rancher who owned a grant of land from the king), married, and built a shack on his property. Their children were born and raised in service to the patron, an arrangement that sometimes spanned generations. Early Anglo ranch owners in South Texas, such as Richard King and Mifflin Kenedy, fell heir to this tradition, which continued well into the twentieth century.

During the Cowboy Era (1866-1886) one sixth of the cowboys were Mexican, and many others were African-American or Native American. It is the skills of the Vaquero that were taught to those early American Cowboys which shaped the Cowboy of today. It was in working with vaqueros, that young Anglo cowboys learned their techniques and adopted them as their own. South Texas was heavy with wild longhorn cattle, well known for their stamina and adaptation to the land. After the Civil War these herds increased dramatically and, when rounded up and branded, formed the basis for a number of prosperous huge ranches, such as the Sixes. Vaqueros figured in this process, as well as in the drives to railheads and northern markets. Not only did they ride for Anglo bosses, they sometimes worked for the Mexican ranches on the other side of the border. By the 1870s, the vaquero's work gear, chaps, bandana, sombrero, lasso, spurs, as well as his expertise were so assimilated into the cowboy culture that they lost their identity as being Hispanic.

Horses came to the United States with the Spanish conquistadors and missionaries and only later spread across the continent. That's why much of the original language used by American horsemen and Cowboys comes from Spanish or Mexican Indian words.

vaquero: (cowboy) ...became "buckaroo"
la reata: (rope) ...became "lariat"
chaparejos: (leather pants) ...was shortened to "chaps" (shhhaps)
pintar (to paint) A "pinto" is a spotted pony.
remudar: (to exchange) A "remuda" is a herd of spare horses
Jaquima, the bit-free braided bosal, headstall, fiador and mecate, became Hackamore
fiador, the throat-skimming part of a jaquima rig, morphed into a theodore
A mecate rein, a 24-foot length of twisted horsehair rope, making a closed rein and lead combination, is called a "McCarty" out west.
rancho became ranch
ranchero became Rancher
mestenos became mustangs
juzgado, court of law, became Hoosegow, jaiil, a place which many trail hands became too familiar
charqui, dried flesh, which became Jerky, a long trail staple
lazo became lasso
estampida became stampede

Vauqero Links

Vaquero Heritage Foundation ~ Dedicated to preserving the history and ongoing legacy of California's vaqueros in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles.

Vaquero Enterprises ~ The western art and books of Ernie Morris all have extensive descriptions of the California Vaquero

The Llanos Mestenos ~ Sight-seeing the man-made Llanos Mestenos would fill any travel diary. But even more paths unwind in coming to know the region's natural history.Sight-lanos Mestenos would fill any travel diary. But even more paths unwind in coming to know the region's natural history.

La Mota Ranch ~ Recently, the state legislature designated the ranching community of Hebbronville, Jim Hogg County as the "Vaquero Capitol of Texas". The House resolution authored by State Representative Juan Escobar and passed concurrently by the House and Senate firmly establishes Hebbronville as the cultural center of the state's historical Vaquero culture.

EL MESTENO ~ A Magazine about Mexican American culture and heritage in south Texas and Mexico