|
Pewter Belt Buckle - American Cowboy & Flag
This belt buckle of a cowboy who looks as he just came off the range is finely sculpted and cast in pewter, the American Flag has an enamel finish to really show off the the flag and American Pride.
The American cowboy is an icon of the wild west, just the mention brings to mind gun fights at high noon, outlaws, Indians and cattle. The American cowboy played an essential role in pioneering and homesteading the "wild west" with the help of congress passing the Desert Land Act in 1877 where you could purchase an acre of arid land for 25 cents up to 640 acres as long as you cared and irrigated it properly for farming. With the passing of this act and the Great Land Run of 1889 they helped push settlers deeper into unsettled regions. Thus is the birth of the cowboy.
Being a cowboy meant hard work usually with cattle or as a ranch hand getting payed as little as a dollar day plus food and lodging. Cowboys would partake in cattle drives, which might take place over a few states and would involve up to 3000 head of cattle per herd. Eventually the modern cowboy evolved and with it came chivalry and self preservation due to working and living in such faraway places and with unknown hazards. The modern cowboy also had a sense of loyalty and personal honor. Modern cowboys is what most people think of due to them being highly romanticized by Hollywood and actors like John Wanye. Even now if want to see what it was like living during these times many "dude ranches" have sprung up in states especially after the movie "City Slickers" which stared Billy Crystal.
|
