The American cowboy was a great national hero through facts and stories. In history the real cowboy was a simple farm worker on horseback. He spent twelve to fourteen hours a day outdoors working with cows. The work was dirty tiresome and not very well paid. In winter most cowboys had to find other jobs. They were seldom alone. Most of them worked in teams of eight to ten. People could raise beef cattle at low cost in the western states and send them by train to the eastern markets. Hut someone had to look after the cattle on the open land and get them to the nearest railroad . This was the job of a cowboy. Sometimes the railroad was more than a thousand kilometers away and it could take as long as six months to move the cattle. The cowboy moved the cattle slowly so that the cattle would not lose weight. Most cowboys were young unmarried men. A cowboy's horse was his most important tool. A good horse made the job of moving cattle much easier. A good cowboy understood cows and knew how to control them. At night he sang to the cows to keep them calm . The cowboy quickly received popular praise. Historians say that was because the cowboy appeared during a time of change in American life. In the late 1800's America was changing from a nation of farms to one of factories and cities. The cowboy seemed free and more independent than other Americans. Today the life of real cowboys has changed greatly. One change has been the use of trucks. There is no need for the modem cowboy to sleep on the ground. Modem cowboys are better paid. They are likely to be married. Today cowboys are found in almost every state of the United States . Some of them are farmers or teaches or truck drivers . Some work for big companies. But at night and on weekends they became cowboys. Most have less than a thousand cows and some have only two or three those part-time cowboys increase the total production of meat keeping beef price low. Most modem cowboys do not make much money from raising cattle. Many do it because they love the cowboy life.