Texas ranchers were not the only ones looking for ways to earn money after the Civil War. Hundreds of youths— some of them still boys—came to Texas after the war as word of the new cattle business spread. These young men owned neither cattle nor land, but they were willing to work for the ranchers as hired hands.

"Faceless Youths on Horseback"

The "faceless youths on horseback," as one cowboy later described them, came from a variety of backgrounds. Many were Texans, or natives of other southern states, returning from defeat in the Confederate army. Because of the floundering postwar economy in the South, jobs were scarce. Rounding up cattle and driving them to market often seemed like a good prospect for these young men, many of whom, say historians, were anxious to work off a little...