Cow-boys.
During the Revolution a band of marauders, consisting mostly of Tory refugees who adhered to the
British interests, infested the neutral ground in
Westchester county, N. Y., between the
American and
British lines, and because they stole many cattle were called Cowboys.
They generally plundered the
Whigs, or adherents of the Continental Congress; but, like their opponents, the Skinners, they were not always scrupulous in the choice of their victims.
In recent years the phrase has been applied to the men employed on the great cattle-ranches of the West and Southwest.
They are a fearless set of fellows and expert horsemen.
Many modern “cow-boys” were mustered into the two volunteer cavalry regiments for service in the war with
Spain (1898), popularly known as the “Rough Riders.”