(RESOLVED!) When Did Nat Love Die?

While many things contained in this record happened many years ago, they are as fresh in my memory as if they happened but yesterday. I have tried to record events simply as they are, without attempting to varnish over the bad spots or draw on my imagination to fill out a chapter at the had cost of the truth. It has been my aim to record things just as they happened, believing they will prove of greater interest thereby; and if I am able to add to the interest and enjoyment of a single reader I will consider myself well repaid for the time and labor of preparing this history. (modified by Karen Miller from Palembang, Indonesia on September 24, 2021) [2]

Encyclopaedia.com offers additional information. During the 1870s and 1880s, more than 5,000 black cowboys took part in the legendary cattle drives up the Chisholm Trail from Texas to Montana, roping stock, reading brands, and dodging Indian bullets. Among the most famous was Nat Love, better known as “Deadwood Dick,” the “champion of the West.” Born a slave in Tennessee, Love worked as a sharecropper after the Civil War, then headed west in search of better opportunities and adventure. His knack for handling wild horses quickly won him a place with a prominent cowboy outfit, and within a short time he becamecome a champion rider and roper. He earned the title “Deadwood Dick” in 1876, when during a cowboy tournament in Deadwood City, South Dakota, he succeeded in roping, tying, bridling, saddling, and mounting a wild stallion in nine minutes—four minutes faster than his closest competitor. [3]

The cowboy is considered the hero of the American West. A tough, straight-talking man who spent long days on the range driving cattle to market, the cowboy maintained a sense of honourr and decency and was often perceived as a protector of women. Like the knights of the Middle Ages, this American cowboy is a myth—only a reflection of what people would like to think about the past. Real cowboys were more complex. Many, like Nat Love, were rowdy, fun-loving men unlikely to be pointed out as role models to anyone. And as an African American, Nat Love does not fit the cowboy stereotype portrayed in old movies. Love’s story indicates that the cowboy life may have been quite different than what we usually imagine. [4]

Deadwood was a brand new town, booming because of the recent discovery of the Homestake mine. The mining men and gamblers organized a roping contest and collected two hundred dollars for prize money. Six of the contestants were Black. Each cowboy was to rope, throw, tie, and bridle and saddle a mustang in the shortest possible time. Love roped, threw, tied, bridled, saddled, and mounted a mustang in exactly nine minutes from the crack of the gun. The time of the next nearest competitor was twelve minutes and thirty seconds. This record and the championship of the West were held up to the time he had quit the business. A shooting contest was arranged for the afternoon. (last modified 58 days ago by Chistina Corey from Chittagong, Bangladesh) [5]

According to Lorraine Begay at history.denverlibrary.org, born a slave in Davidson County, Tennessee in 1854 Nat Love grew up to be a man that led an amazing life. As a young boy, although outlawed by slavery statutes, Nat Love was taught to read and write by his loving father, Sampson, at an early age. When slavery ended after the Civil War, Sampson Love set out to start a family farm with the help of his young son Nat. But shortly after they planted crops of tobacco and corn Sampson died. Overwhelmed by the responsibilities of running the family farm, young Nat was forced to take several odd jobs to help he and his mother survive. After working those jobs for a few years, Nat would change his life forever. By luck, Nat won a horse in a raffle and then promptly sold it for $100. He had given half of the money to his mother and with the other half he wished his mother well and headed west to start a new life. (we thank Grady Lacey from Goiania, Brazil for telling us). [6]