Riding off into the sunset, sleeping under the stars, at home on the range -- scenes from what once was the life of the cowboy have made the cowboy an enduring and romantic symbol of the American spirit of independence.

Although the life of the cowboy has been romanticized in American Western films, the job was tough and physically challenging, involving long hard hours of labor in conditions ranging from blistering heat to bitter cold. Cattle had to be watched around the clock, so the cowboy often had to work in shifts. The ability to withstand such hardships, though, reinforced the image of the cowboy as sturdy and independent.

Long days in the saddle were broken up by meals from the chuck wagon that traveled with the cowboys on longer drives. The standard diet of beef and beans and sourdough bread varied little from meal to meal, although occasionally home-canned vegetables offered a respite.

The late 1870s and 80s saw a boom in the cattle industry, as the gold rush, the railroad, military forts and Native American reservations all created a demand for beef. Ranchers grazed their cattle on western prairies and hired more and more cowboys to help manage and drive their herds.

According to David Stanley, cowboy poetry dates to the second half of the 19th century, as cowboys drove cattle from Texas to other parts of the West, first to railroad stations in Kansas and on to grazing grounds. Such drives lasted as long as six months and, in their spare time, the cowboys played and sang the music of their cultures, told stories, and composed songs and poems. Many of the cowboys were not literate and the ability to recite lengthy verse from memory was highly prized. The popular practice of dramatic recitation-in schoolhouses, parlors, and picnics contributed to the spread of cowboy poetry as well.