XXIV 



The American cowboy has a Mexican cousin, the va- 

 quero, who does cow-punching in Chihuahua, and raises 

 horses for the Mexican cavahy and occasional shipment 

 across the Rio Grande. The vaquero is generally a peon, 

 and as lazy, shiftless, and unreliable a vagabond as all 

 men held to involuntary servitude are wont to be. He is 

 essentially a low-do\vn fellow^ in his habits and instincts. 

 Anything is grub to. him which is not poison, and he will 

 thrive on offal Avhich no human being except a starving 

 savage will touch. 



In his way the vaquero is a sort of tinsel imitation of a 

 Mexican gentleman, and very cheap tinsel at that. Our 

 cowboy is independent, and quite sufficient unto himself. 

 Everything not cowboy is tenderfoot, cumbering the 

 ground, and of no use in the world's economy except as a 

 consumer of beef. He has as long an array of manly qual- 

 ities as any fellow living, and, despite many rough-and- 

 tumble traits, compels our honest admiration. Not only 

 this, but the percentage of American cowboys who are 

 not pretty decent fellows is small. One cannot claim so 

 mucli for the vaquero in question, though the term " va- 

 quero " covers a great territory and class, and applies to 

 the just and the unjust alike. 



Our Chihuahua vaquero w^ears white cotton clothes, and 

 goat-skin chaparajos with the hair left on, naked feet clad 

 in huarachos or sandals, and big jangling spurs. A gourd 

 lashed to his cantle does the duty of canteen. He rides 



