From: george.kincaid@worldnet.att.net   
      
   Thank you. The term cowboys has changed through time, then, too-from thief   
   to folk hero. So there were border raids from Mexico into Texas. I heard of   
   Villa's raid's in the 1910s, but that was part of a long pattern then.   
   Interesting set of relationships down there.   
   "Wyvern75"  wrote in message   
   news:1114638936.688527.144320@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...   
   > Almost all of the gear used by the American Cowboy comes from the   
   > Vaquero.   
   >   
   > The lariat (aka lasso), the pommel for the saddle, the high back of the   
   > saddle, the wide brimmed hat, the boots, the chaps and so on and so on   
   > all come from the Vaquero.   
   >   
   > There are other words like the Remunda (horse herd) that comes up,   
   > Mexican spurs were popular (with the large rowells).  Andy Adam's "Log   
   > of a Cowboy" talks about getting a large herd of cattle and horses from   
   > the Mexicans for the march north.   
   >   
   > While there was a lot of problems with the Mexicans (and this spread to   
   > the Tejanos because of Mexican raids into the Republic), but there was   
   > a very large cultural exchange between the Mexicans (and thus the   
   > Spanish) and Americans (Texans).   
   >   
   > When you look at the Census of the 1870s and 1880s, the men who watched   
   > the cows were called "herdsmen".  Cowboy was more of a dimestore novel   
   > word that eventually was accepted (because Cowboys were portrayed in a   
   > very favorable light).   
   >   
      
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