where did all the cowboys go?

Where Did All The Real Cowboys Go?

A cowboys’ life is unpredictable.  In the novel The Brave Cowboy by Edward Abbey an old fashioned cowboy named Jack Burns finds trouble without even looking for it.  He is a loner and his greatest confidant in life is a horse named Whiskey.  Together they run from the law and modern civilization.  Jack wants a life of an old fashioned cowboy as society edges toward the advancement of modernization.  Abbey adequately shows these extremes by comparing and contrasting various subjects in each chapter.

The ironic symbolism I found in The Brave Cowboy seemed to repeat in each of the chapters.  Extreme opposites like: the soft soil and the hard pavement, a loner being chased by a horde of lawmen, the flames from a campfire and the smoke from automobiles, the love/hate relationship he has with his horse, basic human needs as compared to overindulgence, and the set boundaries and wide open spaces.  I believe Abbey used these extremes to drive home a definite point.  Where there is one opinion, there will always be another on the opposite side.    

Jack Burns is an old fashioned cowboy and doesn’t believe the ways of the old    West need any change.  He is disgusted by the removal of beautiful grazing lands to be replaced by buildings and highways.  He travels around on a horse named Whiskey and carries only the essential utensils in his saddlebag.  “The man reached out toward the juniper and pulled a wrinkled beaten old cavalry saddlebag close to his heel, unbuckled its one remaining strap and removed from the interior a black skillet, battered and ancient, then a cylindrical tin labeled Handyman Tube Patching Kit, a can of pork and beans, a punch-type can opener and a slab of salted mutton wrapped in a greasy back copy of the Duke City Journal.” (Abbey 4)

Now days comfort is important to most when approaching an outdoor adventure.  It seems when people camp in the wilderness they take the comforts of modern society like blow up mattress, port a potty, cooler filled with prepared meats, an I-pod, and even a microwave.  As seen earlier, a true cowboy lives off the land and few modern materials.  I am sure one wouldn’t find a wire cutter, rope, or a can of baked beans in a typical R.V. campsite.

Jack Burns is a gentle man with a good heart and mistrust for the law.  He has many strengths and weaknesses in his character (like we all do).  Being a loner may be considered to be a weakness to some and strength to others so the question is two sided in some cases.  Maybe another weakness he faces is mistrust in modern society and the people who abide by the law and its enforcers.  He can’t relate to their way of life but can relate to his horse and his own instincts.  It seems ironic that a cowboy would prefer to hang out with another loner, being his horse, than to trust a group of men supporting the law. I think Burns would have respected the lawmen more if they chased him on horseback rather than in jeeps or in a helicopter. 

Another one of the samples of extremes is the love/hate relationship with his horse Whiskey.  Most of the time he is irritated by the animal and the reader thinks he should find another mode of transportation.  In one part of the story though, Jack has a chance to escape without his horse and decides not to.  I believe it is then that he realizes how important the horse is.  He is not just for transportation but for companionship as well.  The horse is stubborn yet relies on Jack for all the needs in his life.  Jack is upset by the horse yet he doesn’t want to leave him behind.  He finally realizes that he too relies on the companionship of the horse. They share a love hate relationship in which both drink from the fountain of stubbornness just like they drank from the same stream.

     Jack is used to the open spaces where fences are hardly ever seen.  He thinks back to the days where he would go miles and miles without ever seeing a fence.  This is a time when people relied on horses for transportation and wild animals to eat.  The rivers were clean and if followed for a period of time would lead travelers to a large ocean.

     Now, Jack sees signs as he travels along on his horse saying “keep out” or “no trespassing”.  It seems the once open trails are now closed by those with land deeds.  People could buy space to own only to cut out the trees; destroying the dreams for the real cowboys.  The ranchers, essential to the cowboy way of life, eventually ran out of money, and even though wildly opposed to commercialism sold parts of their land to pay for taxes.

     Abbey also introduces a character sporadically throughout the book named Hinton.  Hinton is a semi truck driver and his load contains new bathroom fixtures.  He is headed from the East to the Southwest with the side of his semi declaring “America builds for tomorrow”. (Abbey 41)  He is sick from cancer and lives in his rig.  He stops frequently in cafes and lives a sedentary lifestyle.  His life is composed of living on a paved highway and is probably grateful for newer roads and faster rigs. 

     In one paragraph of the book Abbey brilliantly contrasts the beauty of the land covered by the rotten sound of city noises. 

“Blowing smoke, he watched the blue fumes twist in the downdraft over the water, diffuse and vanish in the cooler air. From where he waited he could see nothing of the city; the heart of it was two or three miles to the south, beyond the trees, fields, ditches and suburbs.  On the opposite bank was a solid growth of willows and beyond that a grove of cottonwoods with golden leaves; nothing more was visible.  But he had left the zone of silence; though he could not see the city he could hear it; a continuous droning roar, the commingled vibrations of ten thousand automobiles, trucks, tractors, airplanes, locomotives, the hum and whine of fifty thousand radios, telephones, television receivers, the vast murmur of a hundred thousand human voices, the great massive muttering of friction and busyness and mechanical agitation.” (Abbey 15)

     Abbey uses words like droning roar, commingled vibrations, hum, whine, murmur, muttering of friction, busyness and mechanical agitation.  The words he uses prior to the plethora of negative connotations is ones from nature like water, diffuse, cooler air, trees, fields, willows, cottonwoods, golden, nothing and silence  To me he paints a frank picture of heaven and hell.

     Jack isn’t the only one that mistrusts the development (or destruction) of the land around him.  His faithful sidekick Whiskey acts up when cars approach and the asphalt is hot and slippery.  She tries to turn back to the calmness of nature.  “The mare spun completely around, a full circle, while the man prodded her with the spurs, flicked her with the loose slack of the reins, and talked to her quietly and urgently.  She tried to turn again, eyes wild and rolling, nostrils flared, slipped and almost fell, finally leaping forward again and off the road to safety.” (Abbey 19)

     So far we have seen the attitude that Jack and his horse Whiskey have toward modern development.  Each has expressed their displeasure in a variety of ways.  Jack mistrusts the law and brakes out of jail trying to save a friend.  He decides to run toward the mountains on his horse where there is a world without boundaries.  He believes that there is a place still untouched by civilization.  Little did he know that running from paved roads, bars in jail, the law, cars and buildings they would face their last days.

       Whether we relate more toward those like Jack (nature lover, humorous, romantic, old fashion, etc) or those like the truck driver named Hinton who drives a semi (sells the newest bathroom product, and drives on a paved high way eating at diners on the way) we are faced with the realities of the two extremes.  Do you like modernization with its fast paced, instant gratification, and confusing ways or do lean toward the old fashioned times of living off the land, long talks, no schedule, and simple ways of life?

Abbey uses the extreme examples to illuminate a part of human nature which is to resist change; although men throughout history embrace change and then complain that life is too fast paced.  Is it better that we are able to surf the internet, microwave a bag of popcorn, or eat a meal from a drive through at high speeds?  Or is it better to travel around on a horse, hunt for food, and carry the bare minimum of essentials in a small pack?  If you read the book The Brave Cowboy the author gives us these extreme opposites but leans heavier on the old ways of life, like those of a real cowboy.