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Bedroll |
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| Although primarily the cowhand’s bed,
the bedroll was also a suitcase for storing extra underwear, shirts, and
socks. The roll itself was made of different fabric patches, sometimes from
old pants, jackets, and shirts. Cowboys would stuff these patches with feathers
to make a pillow. When the cowhand rolled up his bedroll and stashed it
with the chuck wagon, he was “spooling his bed” or “rolling
the cotton.” Not stacking his bedroll by the wagon was a serious breach
of camp etiquette. If the cowboy failed to do this twice in a row, the cook
would leave the bedroll behind. Later that cowhand would have to ride back
to retrieve it after the day’s hard work was completed. It was not
likely he forgot his bedroll more than once! Click here to view more gear images |  Erwin E. Smith (1886–1947) Shoe Bar Chuck Wagon, Hoodlum Wagon and Some of the Boys, 1912 Nitrate negative Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas LC.S59.003 | |||||
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