Cowboy Boots

Unidentified cowboy complete with curly chaps, beaded gloves, and two six-shooters near Waterton corral, circa 1921.

Galt Museum & Archives, 20151083015

On July 3, 1924, the crowd at the McLeod Jubilee held its breath in shock. A young competitor named Charlie King had been thrown from the back of a bucking bronco and now lay unmoving in the dirt. King, a Coaldale resident, died in hospital a day later never having regained consciousness. The fancy black boots that Charlie had been wearing for his final ride had been borrowed. It was not at all unusual for a rodeo cowboy to be wearing someone else’s garb. Sometime between the horse’s final buck and King’s final breath, the boots must have been quietly returned to their owner, Barney Gwatkin.

Cowboys became a fixture on the open ranges of Alberta’s ranches and in our culture in the 1880s. At one time, it had been an insult to be called a “cowboy,” akin to being called an outlaw or horse thief. But cowboys transformed into icons as the frontier days ended and romanticized westerns filled bookshelves. The popular imagination evoked rugged ranchers of action who wore wide-brimmed hats, boots, spurs, chaps and, of course, a revolver. Imposters who copied this style to show off at the time were called “T. Eaton cowboys.” The look became so famous that immigrants dressed up as cowboys to take photos for the family back home, striking dramatic poses in their spurs. In reality, a cowboy might wear a bowler hat, travel without a revolver and could be anyone at all. Some famous Albertan cowboys include Chief Pete Standing Alone, a member of the local Kainai Nation, and John Ware, an African-American cowboy and rancher.

The first Canadian rodeo was in Fort Macleod in 1891, with Calgary and Medicine Hat soon following. The public went wild for these displays of cowboy skills. Later in life, when asked why Charlie King had been wearing his boots that day, Barney Gwatkin explained that rodeo contestants would borrow clothes to ensure they met expectations and looked their best. “Cowboy pride,” Gwatkin called it. You can see Gwatkin’s boots for yourself by visiting the Discovery Hall gallery at the Galt Museum & Archives.

Barney Gwatkin standing in a rain soaked field. May 8, 1961.

Galt Museum & Archives, 197529101443.