Passage 7 That colorful figure, the cowhand or cowboy, was the master of the long drive and the roundup. Mexican Americans were the first cowhands. These va eros inventedalmost the tools of the cowhand's trade, from the broad brimmed felt hat and the rope lariat to the special western saddle. A cowhand's life was a hard one. Cowhands worked sunup to sundown and received lower wages than mosl lactcry workers. Their legs became bowed from long days in the saddle. They developed permanen squints from peering into the glaring sunlight of the treeless plains. Every item of the cowhands' clothes and equipment served a necessary function. The wide brim of the "ten-gallon hat" could be turned down to shade the eyes or drain off rainfall. The bandana could be tied over the nose and mouth to keep out the dust raised by the pounding hooves of countless cattle. The bandana also served as a towel, a napkin, a bandage, and a handkerchief Cowhands sometimes wore leather trousers, called chaps, over regular overalls. They protected the rider's legs from injury if they fell from their horses or when they have to ride through cactus, sagebrush, or other thorny plants.