Wednesday, June 3, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Rustlin’ up cowboy grub
By Jodi Schneider
Correspondent
Cowboys on chuckwagon
in the late 1800s and at the
beginning of the 20th century
mostly ate beef, beans, bis-
cuits, dried fruit and coffee.
Occasionally, a type of bread
known as pan de campo (or
<camp bread=), which was
cooked on a cast-iron skillet
was also available. It was sort
of like a biscuit version of
cornbread. These, along with
a little bit of sugar, were the
staples of the chuckwagon
pantry.
After spring roundups in
the 19th century, cowboys
herded their cattle out on the
trail on a cattle drive heading
to a cowtown with a railroad
station where the cattle could
be corralled and loaded. To
herd cattle on a long drive
(such as Texas to Kansas) a
crew of 10 or more cowboys
was needed. And most ranch
owners wanted their cowboys
fed well so that they would
stay healthy along the trail.
The crew also included
a cook. But as cattle drives
increased in the 1860s cooks
found it harder and harder to
feed the 10 to 20 men who
tended the cattle. That9s when
Texas-Ranger-turned-cattle-
rancher Charles Goodnight
created the chuckwagon.
Herding cattle on the trail
would often last two or more
months moving cattle miles
each day, with some drives
lasting up to five months.
Goodnight, knowing the
importance of daily meals for
his crew, had an idea. He took
a surplus army wagon made
by Studebaker and added a
large pantry box to the wagon
rear with a hinged door that
laid flat to create a work
table. The cook would then
have everything he needed at
arms-length.
The larger pots (which
included a cast-iron Dutch
oven), cast-iron skillets, and
utensils would be carried in a
box mounted below the pan-
try called the boot. The Army
wagon merely was a light
supply wagon of that period
with Goodnight9s added
design creating the invention
of the chuckwagon.
The cook, often known
as <Cookie,= managed the
wagon and performed all
the needs for the campsites
along the cattle drives. He
was one of the most well-
respected members of the
crew. Chuckwagon cookies
were the lifeblood of cattle
ranches that dotted the Old
West frontier like a cowboy
tapestry.
You might be surprised
how well cowboys were fed
after the chuckwagon arrived
on the scene.
Chuckwagon staples had
to travel well and not spoil.
15
Cow boy Coo kies
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups uncooked oatmeal
1 (12-ounce) package chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream margarine, shortening, sugar and brown sugar in
mixer bowl until light and û uffy. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Mix û our, baking powder,
baking soda, and salt in separate bowl. Stir û our mixture into dough until combined. Add
oatmeal; mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until done. (Bake for 10 minutes for soft cookies.) Let cool on
wire rack.
The list included flour, sour-
dough, salt, brown sugar,
beans, rice, cornmeal, dried
apples and peaches, baking
powder, baking soda, coffee
and syrup.
Fresh and dried meat were
essential to the cowboy diet,
providing protein and energy
for their exhausting work.
Their dried meat was like
modern jerky but drier, not as
heavily seasoned, lightweight
and nonperishable. The meat
was cooked into stew, soup or
added to chili beans.
Fresh beef was readily
available, but cowboys also
hunted wild game and fished
in streams along the trail and
during roundups. The cook
used bacon grease to fry
everything, but bacon also
served as the main meat when
supplies ran low.
Beans made up the bulk
of a cowboy9s protein intake.
Since beans were readily
available, there were loads
of simple recipes that were
shared along the cattle trails
of the American West, includ-
ing chili, mashed beans and
bean soups. Cooked over-
night in a Dutch oven, beans
would last for many meals.
Coffee was one of the few
luxuries given to cowboys on
long trail rides. The enamel-
ware coffee pot was large,
holding at least 20 or more
cups. Cowboys relied on cof-
fee to keep them alert and
warm in the wilderness.
The cowboys rose from
their bedrolls, put on their
hats and boots, and straggled
over to the chuck wagon for
their morning coffee.
On July 4, 1936, the
Willamette Valley town of
St. Paul, Oregon held its first
rodeo. Lasting four days, the
rodeo included a parade, a
western art show, and a bar-
becue cook-off. The rodeo
cowboy9s fare consisted of
mainly beef, with beans and
sourdough bread and canned
vegetables and plenty of cof-
fee, and maybe a cowboy
cookie for dessert.
They say that cowboy
cookies originated back in
the 1800s and were a popu-
lar treat for cowboys to enjoy
while out on the trail, kind of
like an old-fashioned power
bar. Now, there9s little to no
evidence that this is true in
any way. After all, the choco-
late chip cookie itself wasn9t
even invented until 1938. But
cowboy cookies are still a
delicious treat.