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15 Things Cowboys Carried With Them in the Wild West to Survive

Wednesday, December 21, 2016 15:48
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15 Things Cowboys Carried With Them In The Wild West To Survive

Those of us who are fascinated with life in the “Wild West,” beyond what Hollywood shows us, realize that our pioneering forefathers had it hard. True history, not the kind shown on Netflix, isn’t filled with gunfighters and stick-up artists, but rather hard-working men and women who faced deadly situations on a regular basis. While some succumbed to the dangers of the West, many more survived.

We can honestly say that each and every person who took part in settling the West was a survivalist — especially those who chose to live outside the city. Whether they were farmers, ranchers, prospectors or shepherds, their first job was to survive. So everything they did and pretty much every item they owned was centered around that need.

The average rancher had few permanent employees. A few hands to check the herds and ride the range to look for dangers that might hurt or kill the cattle were all he needed. Many would try to pick terrain to settle on, which would naturally mitigate against the cattle wandering. One of the best things for this was water.

Cattle, of course, need water, and few will wander beyond a day’s walk from that water, unless being driven by men or predators.

Source: http://www.offthegridnews.com/extreme-survival/15-things-cowboys-carried-with-them-in-the-wild-west-to-survive/

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  • the first item should be:
    1) Stole from the Indians (natives)

    • The Truth About The Native American Genocide
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNHKDJzgqJg

      Natives, like Europeans, may have been peaceable or creative in their atrocities, Franklin referring to dusky Germans as ‘palatine boors’, and natives as being beautiful. Some Europeans were discouraged from voting, while Western democracy is occasionally attributed to the civilized tribes.

    • I think that some of us have quietly pushed ourselves, and became acclimatized, and see these things as a matter of being handy, in an everyday situation — if you would like to compare notes.

      But, the rest of us are demoralized, somewhat past the point of rehabilitation. They don’t have understand how to interact with the simplest, most-elemental parts of their surroundings, or have no useful frame of reference, from which to start.

      It’s like Romans 1 or Bezmenov.

  • Good lessons. Only in the movies were things as imagined. The planes Indians were wonderful people, it was as now, Government hacks, and Sleezy quick buck thieves that made things bad. Then as now politicians do not keep their word. Leading to the westward expansion.
    Prepping for disaster is as important today as it was then. I try to keep all that junk with me all the time. Having been a traveling salesman you learn that if you get stranded on the road, it might be a few days before someone rescues you. Even today.

  • No mention of toilet paper, hmmmm……. :mrgreen:

    • b4

      they had a square of cardboard–like a match book cover today –they would cut about a 1 inch square of it and cut a slit for their index finger to go thru-they would wipe their butthole with index finger and take the cardboard to clean under their nail- tales of the west by john seymour

  • Seems like good list to me.

  • Toiletry bag is missing. Small&light – just a toothbrush, scissors and a comb. And shaving set for men.
    My grandma taught me to clean my teeth with a walnut twig (it makes lips nicer too!). I used to pick any twiglet as a toothpick, but it’s not wise in wilderness.
    As for a comb: once I rode for 2,5 months and quickly stayed without a comb. I just tied my semi-long hair in a ponytail. In autumn I came back home and tried to unravel it for days, even with spray for unclothing dog hair, but nothing worked. When few hairdressers gave up, I had to let them cut my hair short and it never grew as long as before.

    With the rest I agree it’s enough. Just to say this about blankets: you do need two of them. More important is one you lay on then one you wrap yourself in. Ground is cold in the night.
    But that lower blanket you already have on a horse – I saw that posh riders buy some special item for between a horse and a saddle, but we in Balkans put army blankets there.

    As a person with experience, I’ll tell you important things about smell/stink. I was in Croatian territorial defense cavalry. We had 10 days military exercises in woods and mountains. We didn’t stink. Uniforms were made of domestic natural materials, no plastic or unnatural materials. Boots: leather, processed classical. With local and not-from-supermarket food and 100% natural underwear it makes a healthy human smell fine even if he bathes once in a blue moon.

  • Man

    smartphone with gps and a solar charger pls.

  • Somebody always has to start pulling out the color cards, or start crying about who has been abused. This article was written to give some history of what cowboys carried with them while they were on the range. Then “BAM” mate395 had to go and start crying about the Indians being abused. What a little snowflake!

  • I would rather have a rope than piggin strings.

  • HI PROBABLY MORE-BUT CHAPS-LEGGINGS-GLOVES-HAND AXE-JERKY-COFFEE
    MY OLD BOSS WAS AN ORIGINAL BORN AND RAISED IN BACK COUNTRY-
    AND HE HAD A MUSEUM OF OLD COWBOY STUFF-HIS NAME GEORGE R PROCTOR
    RIP-AND BE HAPPY RIDING THE SKIES NOW

    • I have known a few men of the West. Ranchers, and cowboys in the true sense of the words. Their word was their bond, and were very good friends, or very bad enemies. If you have ever known one of the men like that, you have been lucky.

  • megahydrate

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