The Vaquero – Genesis of the Mexican Vaquero and the Texas Cowboy

The Asian continent ended, except for a small bridge of land. They crossed it, not in a day, or a year perhaps; perhaps it took lifetimes to find and keep what the bridge led to. But lost memory has no time, only action; and they came to North America, bringing their animals, their blind history, their implements and the human future of two continents.

The” Vaquero” came into being due to the harshness of the land in New Spain. The “hacienda”, or agricultural estate, was strong in Yucatan and on the south-central plateau, but in the rougher area and less fertile regions to the north it soon gave way to the Yestancia de Ganado, or “rancho” (which always denoted a relatively small state) devoted to cattle raising. The first Spanish cattle were brought to Mexico in 1521; the famous Spanish conquistador, Hernan Cortes and the importer, Gregorio de Villalobos were responsible for the initial shipment of cattle which eventually led to a new way of life and started the first European colonization of what is now Maverick County, Texas.

The great conquistador, Cortez was the first man to use brands – not on his livestock, but on his Aztec slaves. Captive Indians were branded with the letter “ (G) for “Guerra”, signifying prisoners of war. Many of these men were put to herding their master’s cattle, and the transfer of the personal identifying mark, or brand, from man to beast came about soon afterwards. The brand in New Spain, took both legal and symbolic associations. It became sacred.

Spanish law at first expressly forbade any Indian slaves to ride a horse, but this practice proved to be worthless, especially as cattle ranchers push north into arid, hostile and open country. On the extensive semi deserts of the Sonoran Plain, and in the mountains a man on foot was helpless herding cattle. As the Indians became more “Hispanicized”, they were mounted in the emerging “Mestizo” or Mexican” culture and in the process became a horseman – perhaps the greatest the world has ever known.

Spanish-Mexican cattle were lean, rangy, long horned, and incredibly tough, like the Afro-Arabian horse, they were greatly suited to roam wild, they flourished and increased. With such stock, and possession of almost unlimited grazing land, the Mexican cattle industry became completely different from that of Europe. Cattle were branded for identification, then turned loose on what was virtually open range (on land owned by”hacendados); here the cattle were protected from bandits, rounded up or slaughtered by a new breed of laborer, the “vaquero”, or cowboy. Such cattle were not much good for beef, but in this poor developing frontier society, as was developing in what now is Maverick County, they could be raised profitably for hides.

In this environment of open spaces, rough frontier where there were still dangerous and hostile Indians, and labor was performed almost entirely on horseback, there developed a new breed of men called “charros”. The charro was not just a horseman or a cowboy; he was a unique man with a powerful tradition and mythology. He developed the code of chivalry; bravery and a disregard for personal danger; comradeship with peers; an almost mystical loyalty to the Hacienda and its brand; the determination to ride any horse that lived, skill with the rope; and utter disdain for any kind of work that could not be done in the saddle. The man who possessed all of these qualifications was at all times greatly desired and sought after. And these men are our ancestors.

The attitudes, even the peculiar outfits of this society were marked by the 18th century: the immense “sombreros”, broad leather belts with silver buckles, the buckskin jackets, boots and the chaps, or”chaparreras”. The Charro culture even used its own language, which every modern person will recognize: corral, bronco, loco, arroyo, lazo, la reata, rodeo, adobe, pinto,caballada, and rancho. Other words passed into the English-language with changes: mesteno (mustang), jaquima (hackamore), and vaquero.

This cattle culture was already ancient and developed when the government of New Spain took steps to expand the adjacent frontier to the Rio Grande River. It is from these new frontiers that later would emerge Maverick County and the Texas Cowboy.

Future articles will feature the people who built this home of ours. This story will not be written in any chronological order nor feature only the great and famous. Our story will be about the real heroes – the farmers, ranchers, teachers, carpenters, blacksmiths, Masons, doctors, wives, husbands, children and grandparents – generations of them and culminates with you.

We urge all of you to contribute articles concerning our history for publications in one of our future columns. This is a great way for all to share your genealogy and family history and it’s another way of preserving it for future generations. In addition, the Maverick County Historical Commission is seeking authentic photos, paintings and documents dating back to the beginnings of Maverick County to help and preserve the past for our future. Contact us to help preserve your family’s heritage and history. Please contact Don Williams at (830) 776-3569.

Attention: D. B. Williams
Maverick County Historical Commission
PO Box 2858
Eagle Pass, TX 78853
Lacopita@stx.rr.com

Bibliography

Bancroft, Hubert Howe, History of the North Mexican States and Texas. A.L. Bancroft & Co., Publishers: 1884-1889.

Horgan, Paul, Great River: The Rio Grande in North American History. Rinehart & Company Inc.: New York, 1954