Cowboys and cattle drives By western author Nick Brumby "1271, 1272, 127-- dang it, Blackie, them durned cattle just won't stay still. Well, trail boss wants a count, he gets a count. 1, 2, 3..." Cattle drives were a major economic activity in the 19th and early 20th century American West, From the end of the Civil War until 1890, some 27 million