The workings of the law of evolution are plainly discernible in the development of the "cowboy," a certain prominent and now well-defined character of the far West--one that was made necessary by, and has grown out of, the vast cattle interests which have, in the past two or three decades, spread over that mystic region. His counterpart is scarcely to be found anywhere else in the civilized world, for the very good reason that such a species of manhood is not required anywhere else. True, cattle-raising is carried on extensively in many States of our Union and in various other countries, but nowhere under the same conditions and on the same plan as in the West; hence, though herders, drovers, and the like are employed elsewhere, there is no locality in which a class of men endowed with such characteristics and requiring such peculiar tastes and faculties are to be found as are combined in the cowboy of our Western plains. The life he leads and the services he is required to perform call into the business young men possessing tastes and traits different from those of average human nature, and such as are not found in men following any other vocation, as a class. It is an occupation that entails, generally speaking, a life of isolation from society, and in many cases from civilization. It is one in which home comforts must be dispensed with; it is one requiring its devotees to live on plain food, in log huts, and to sleep in blankets at best; it is one in which there is often intense hardship and suffering, and which exposes its disciples to dangers of various kinds.
When all these facts and peculiarities of the calling are considered we must readily perceive that men of ordinary tastes and inclinations would not seek to engage in it. Cowboys are not "native and to the manor born." They do not follow in the footsteps of their fathers as do young men on Eastern farms. The business is yet too young in our Western Territories to have brought about this state of affairs, though it will come to exist in future. But at present cowboys are all exotics, transplanted from Eastern soil. Let us consider, then, what manner of boy or young man would adopt such a calling. Certainly not he who considers a well-spread table, a cozy, cheerful room, a good soft bed, and neat, tasty clothing essential to his health and happiness; nor he who is unwilling to sever his connection with the social circle or the family group; nor he who must have his daily paper, his comfortable office chair and desk; his telegraph and other commercial facilities and comforts; nor yet he who, when he travels, must needs ride in a comfortable carriage on the highway, or a Pullman coach on the railway. But the young man who is willing to engage in the occupation of "rustling cattle" on the plains, who is willing to assume the title of "cowboy," must be he who, although he may love all these luxuries, and may perhaps have been accustomed to enjoy them, has in his nature enough of romance, enough love for outdoor life, enough love of sport, excitement, and adventure, enough enthusiasm for the wild freedom of the frontier, to be willing to deny himself all these luxuries and to allow such pleasures as the ranch and range can afford, to compensate for them.