Black Cowboys of the Old West: True, Sensational, and Little-Known Stories from History

The word cowboy conjures up vivid images of rugged men on saddled horses-men lassoing cattle, riding bulls, or brandishing guns in a shoot-out. White men, as Hollywood remembers them. What is woefully missing from these scenes is their counterparts: the black cowboys who made up one-fourth of the wranglers and rodeo riders. This book tells their story.

When the Civil War ended, black men left the Old South in large numbers to seek a living in the Old West-industrious men resolved to carve ou...