|
Local politics, the county, and the world, as viewed by Tammy Maygra Tammy’s views are her own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bill Eagle, his wife, his pastor, Tammy’s neighbors, Brady Preheim, Marty Rowe, President Elon Musk, President Trump, Stephan Miller, Mike Johnson, J.D. Vance, Vlad Putin, Ted Cruz, Kamala Harris, Trump’s MAGA followers, or my neighbor’s dogs. This Tammy’s Take (with the exception of this disclaimer) is not paid for or written by, or even reviewed by anyone but Tammy and she refuses to be bullied by anyone. See Bill’s Standard Disclaimer
|
|
Black and Chinese Cowboys
The American Cowboy was not portrayed correctly, skipping the Black and Chinese Cowboys. While Wild Bill Hickok, Wyatt Earp and other white cowboys may be real historical figures, historians have estimated that, in truth, one in four cowboys were Black. And lest not forget the Chinese Americans who were also cowboys. His article focus on a Chinese Cowboy who lived and worked in Oregon. The original cowboys came into the American West from Mexico as early as the 18th century. These vaqueros a name that stems from vaca, the Spanish word for cow, wore pointed boots, wide-brimmed hats, bandanas and chaps that form the fundamental dress of cowboys and the culture that defines the cowboy to this day. The term buckaroo is an American version of vaquero and is often used instead of cowboy. However, the buckaroo tradition is more specific to California and the Great Basin, which extends up into Eastern Oregon. As America fell in love with the idea of cowboys especially in the East. They depicted a fictious version of the American Cowboy. The true cowboys were erased from history. In 2021, the Oregon Historical Quarterly published Dale Hom’s comic, They Called Him…Buckaroo Sam, in a special issue devoted to Oregon’s Chinese cowboy. Buckaroo Sam has been linked to the now publicly-owned Stewart Ranch. According to his obituary printed in the May 8, 1935 East Oregonian, Sam was considered one of the best horseman and qualified as a real hand with his riding, roping or any of the work of a western cow hand. Sam was never without his red handkerchief and skilled at hand rolling cigarettes without losing tobacco. He had a unique scar and possibly some paralysis on his face from getting bucked off a horse. With decades of anti-Chinese sentiment, bridging in state, federal, and local laws effectively discouraged or forbidden, in some cases brutally, many Chinese Americans from building generational roots. Census records for Grant County listed more than 40% of its total population as being of Chinese descent in the 1870s. In 2020, that dropped to less than 1% reporting Asian ancestry. Many moved to the cities where they found more modern work and fond citified Chinatowns. While the dozens of Chinatowns in Eastern Oregon were abandoned by the early 20th century, the Chinese Americans who stayed, built careers and lived out their lives in these communities including some of the former ranch hands. Some were labors or Gandydancers who laid rail for the railroad and decided to settle down and own a piece of land, as the railroad was being built through Oregon from starting in California. Buckaroo Sam retired to the John Day Chinatown when he got too old for cowboy work. Fate was not kind, He lost his home and savings to a disastrous fire in 1927. But then his luck changes when the family that ran the city’s Benson Hotel took him in, where he performed odd jobs in exchange for room and board. He also watched over the family’s young daughter. She spoke about Sam fondly as did the entire family. As more research is done and archeologists dig deeper, we are finding out more about the long forgotten Chinese cowboys who helped settle Oregon.
Tammy
|
