History and Utility of the Cowboy Bedroll
The cowboy bedroll was a simple piece of equipment used by many frontiersmen.
If you are reading History of the West with Sam Payne: Trail to Cheyenne, you may have come to the part in the story where Sam packs for his trip to Texas. One item he includes is his canvas bedroll. Today, this item is most commonly called a cowboy bedroll. These basic shelters were commonly used across the frontier and can still be part of your camping gear today. They are simple, functional, and only required a few materials to create. Also, they were materials that most frontiersmen had relatively easy access to. Many people who favor traditional ways of living still opt to break out their bedroll from time to time.
The cowboy bedroll can be made with as little as two pieces of material. On the outside, there is a piece of canvas that is normally waterproofed. Think of it as a tiny tent to shield you from the elements. On the inside is a blanket. Traditionally made of wool, today the cowboy bedroll can be made of whatever blanket material you desire. Historically speaking, wool was used for a few reasons. Prior to the development of modern synthetic materials and blends, it was almost universally used as an insulating material. Wool also has the advantage of retaining insulating powers even when it is wet.
The heydey of what we know as the cowboy bedroll really started with the cattle drives of the late 1860s. Prior to this point, many frontiersmen used wool blankets and canvas sheets for sleeping. However, those materials were not combined, and they doubled as horse gear during the day. On the cattle drives, however, men were able to keep their bedroll together as a unit and use it specifically for sleeping. They were able to do that for two reasons. One, they needed to have a horse constantly saddled for nighthawking and in case of a stampede. Secondly, after Charles Goodnight developed the chuckwagon, there was more room to store their bedrolls. If you examine this picture, you’ll see the wagons are filled with the cowboys’ sleeping gear.
You can notice the cowboy bedrolls stack in the wagons. Also, you might enjoy that the person on the far right is riding a donkey. My guess is he is not the foreman of this outfit.
While cowboy bedrolls have the advantage of simplicity, their effectiveness and comfort may not be the greatest. Still, cowboys weren’t (and aren’t) the type to complain. Life on the trail was a rough life and sleeping was no different. That’s probably why most men were young, adventurous, and well-suited for the difficulties they faced.
Today, there are still people who employ the simple cowboy bedroll for outdoor sleeping. Some use canvas and blankets like the ol’ boys did. Others swap more modern materials for traditional ones. If you are good at thinking conceptually, you can see the same idea employed by hunters with modern bivy sacks. The linked website is to the outdoors store REI. On their page, they say bivy sacks are for “the committed minimalist.” I guess that is and always has been the case.
If you are interested in learning more about the life of cowboys, or want to experience the events in Trail to Cheyenne, try sleeping out with a cowboy bedroll. Remember that trail drives typically occurred during the warmer months of spring and summer. Throwing your bedroll out beneath the starry-summer sky might provide you with a good opportunity to experience the outdoors and contemplate the lives of frontiersmen.
