Poster Cowboy you may see me struggle but you will never see me quit. In the Tombstone, Arizona area during the 1880s, the term “cowboy” or “cow-boy” was used pejoratively to describe men who had been implicated in various crimes. One loosely organized band was dubbed “The Cowboys,” and profited from smuggling cattle, alcohol, and tobacco across the U.S. – Mexico border.
The San Francisco Examiner wrote in an editorial, “Cowboys [are] the most reckless class of outlaws in that wild country … infinitely worse than the ordinary robber.” It became an insult in the area to call someone a “cowboy”, as it suggested he was a horse thief, robber, or outlaw. Cattlemen were generally called herders or ranchers. The Cowboys’ activities were ultimately curtailed by the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and the resulting Earp Vendetta Ride.
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