THE MAGAZINE OF THE FLORIDA HUMANITIES COUNCIL

cowmen
America’s first
rode the Florida frontier
By Joe a. akerman, Jr.
Long before western cowmen drove their endless herds over the
Chisholm, the Goodnight, the Sedalia, or the Bozeman, Florida cowmen were trailing
their cattle across the Suwannee, the St. Marys, the Apalachicola, and the Black
rivers. Before western cattlemen clashed with the Comanche, the Cheyenne, and the
Sioux over grazing rights, Florida’s rancheros and Cracker cowmen had challenged
Florida Indians over the use of rangelands. But while the cowboy of the sage and mesquite
has received his well-deserved plaudits from American admirers and historians, the
Florida cowman has been all but overlooked.
F L O R iI D a A hH uU mM aA nN iI tT iI eE s S C O uU nN C iI L F O R U M / W I N T E R 2 0 0 6 17