Nat Love

Nat Love[lower-alpha 1] (June 14, 1854 – February 11, 1921) was an American cowboy and writer active in the period following the Civil War. His reported exploits have made him one of the more famous heroes of the Old West.

Nat Love
Love c. 1907
Born(1854-06-14)June 14, 1854
Davidson County, Tennessee
DiedFebruary 11, 1921(1921-02-11) (aged 66)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other namesRed River Dick; Deadwood Dick
Occupation(s)cowboy, rodeo performer, pullman porter, author
Years active1866–1921

Early life

Nat Love, (pronounced "Nate")[2][3][4] was born into slavery on the plantation of Robert Love in Davidson County, Tennessee on June 14, 1854.[5][6] His father was a slave foreman who worked in the plantation's fields, and his mother the manager of its kitchen.[7][8] Love had two siblings: an older sister, Sally, and an older brother, Jordan.[7][6]

Despite slavery-era statutes that outlawed black literacy, he learned to read and write as a child with the help of Sampson, his father. When slavery ended, Love's parents stayed on the Love plantation as sharecroppers, attempting to raise tobacco and corn on about 20 acres, but Sampson died shortly after the second crop was planted. Afterward, Nat took a second job working on a local farm to help make ends meet. At about this time, he was noted as having a gift for breaking horses. After some time of working extra odd jobs in the area, he won a horse in a raffle on two occasions, which he then sold back to the owner for $50 each time. He used the money to leave town, and at the age of 16, headed to the Western United States.[7][8]

Life as a cowboy

Love traveled to Dodge City, Kansas, where he found work as a cowboy with cattle drivers from the Duval Ranch (located on the Palo Duro River in the Texas Panhandle).[9] According to his autobiography, Love fought cattle rustlers and endured inclement weather. He trained himself to become an expert marksman and cowboy, for which he earned from his co-workers the moniker Red River Dick.[7] In 1872, Love moved to Arizona, where he found work at the Gallinger Ranch located along the Gila River.[7] He wrote in his autobiography that he met Pat Garrett, Bat Masterson, Billy the Kid, and others while working the cattle drives in Arizona.[7]

"Deadwood Dick"

After driving a herd of cattle to the rail head in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, he claimed to have entered a rodeo on the 4th of July in 1876, enticed by the $200 prize money. The only difficulty with this story is that Deadwood newspapers, which covered every event of the Fourth of July celebrations, make no mention of a rodeo that day. [7] He claimed to have won the rope, throw, tie, bridle, saddle, and bronco riding contests. It was at this rodeo that he claims friends and fans gave him the nickname "Deadwood Dick,"[8][10] a reference to a literary character created by Edward Lytton Wheeler, a dime novelist of the day.[7][lower-alpha 2]</ref>[3][11]

Capture and escape

Mounted on my horse my ... lariat near my hand, and my trusty guns in my belt ... I felt like I could defy the world.[7]

In October 1877, Nat Love wrote that he was captured by a band of Pima Indians while rounding up stray cattle near the Gila River in Arizona. Although he claimed to have received over 14 bullet wounds in his career (with "several" received in his fight with the Native Americans while trying to avoid capture), Love wrote that his life was spared because the Indians respected his heritage, a large portion of the band themselves being of mixed blood. He almost married the chief's daughter. The band of Native Americans nursed him back to health, wishing to adopt him into the tribe. Eventually, Love writes, he stole a pony and escaped into West Texas.[7]

Life after being a cowboy
Love during his career as pullman porter (left); Book cover of his autobiography, published in 1907 (right)

Love left the cowboy life before he married a woman named Alice in 1889 and settled down. They lived in Denver, Colorado initially. He took a job in 1890 as a Pullman porter, which involved overseeing sleeping cars on the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. While working for the railroad, he and his family resided in several western states, before finally moving to southern California.

In 1907, Love published his autobiography titled Life and Adventures of Nat Love, Better Known in the Cattle Country as 'Deadwood Dick,' by Himself, which greatly enhanced his legacy.[3] Love spent the latter part of his life as a courier and guard for a securities company in Los Angeles.[7] He died there in 1921 at the age of 66.[10]

Written

Joe R. Lansdale used Love as a character in the story, Nine Hide and Horns, published in the anthology book Subterranean Online (2009); Soldierin, published in the anthology book Warriors (2010); the novella, Black Hat Jack (2014); and the novel, Paradise Sky (2015).

In 2012, his story was featured in the graphic novel Best Shot in the West by Patricia and Fredrick McKissack (script) and Randy DuBurke (drawings).[12]

In 2022, the Denver Art Museum displayed Nat Love, A Cowboy's Life, a comic adaptation of his autobiography, written and drawn by R. Alan Brooks and colored by Lonnie MF Allen.[13]

Film

In the television movie The Cherokee Kid (1996), Nat Love is portrayed by Ernie Hudson.

In They Die by Dawn (2013), Love is portrayed by Michael K. Williams.[14]

Jonathan Majors portrayed Nat Love in the film The Harder They Fall (2021).[15]

See also

Notes
  1. Sometimes found written—and pronounced—as Nate Love.[1]
  2. Scholars Philip Durham and Everett L. Jones believe that after the rodeo, Love laid claim to the Wheeler character's nickname to help sensationalize the events of his own life, although they don't believe the autobiographical book is wholly discredited by this. See: Durham, Philip, and Everett L. Jones; "The Negro Cowboys;" New York: Dodd, Mead & Company; (1965)

References
  1. Great American Plains – Nate Love; article; May 21, 2017; World History - U.S. online; Accessed September 2019
  2. Nat Love: The Life and Legacy of the Former Slave Who Became the Wild West's Most Famous Black Cowboy. Charles River Editors. 2 December 2019. ISBN 978-1670812278.
  3. Texas Ranchouse – Black Cowboys; PBS.org; Text: "...One of the most famous western black cowboys – because he wrote his memoirs ..."; accessed October 2015
  4. Nat Love: The Life and Legacy of the Former Slave Who Became the Wild West's Most Famous Black Cowboy. Charles River Editors. 2 December 2019. ISBN 978-1670812278.
  5. Great American Plains – Nate Love; article; May 21, 2017; World History - U.S. online; Accessed September 2019
  6. The Real 'Deadwood Dick' ; Black Hills Visitor online; accessed September 2019
  7. Life and Adventures of Nat Love, Better Known in the Cattle Country as "Deadwood Dick," by Himself; a True History of Slavery Days, Life on the Great Cattle Ranges and on the Plains of the "Wild and Woolly" West, Based on Facts, and Personal Experiences of the Author; reference: Love, Nat; Los Angeles, California; (1907); [Summary & Review by Harry Thomas]; Documents South collection; Nat Love; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill website; retrieved October 2015
  8. Nat Love, A Cowboy of Excellence Archived 2018-01-06 at the Wayback Machine; African American Registry; accessed October 2015
  9. "Nat Love: A True Original". Denver Public Library History. 2013-05-22. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  10. Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience; p. 175; retrieved .
  11. Black Hills Weekly Pioneer, July 5, 1876
  12. Terri Schlichenmeyer (April 2012). "Best Shot in the West: The Adventures of Nat Love". Tennessee Tribune. GP Subscription Publications. 23 (15): 6A. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  13. Thompson, Lauren. "Comic Book about Black Cowboy Nat Love". Denver Art Museum. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  14. O'Keefe, Meghan (March 20, 2013). "Real Black Cowboys Live On Screen In They Die By Dawn". VH1.com. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  15. Holmes, J.M. (September 21, 2020). "The Timely Arrival and Urgent Ambition of Jonathan Majors". GQ.com. Retrieved September 7, 2021.

Further reading
  • The Black West; Katz, William Loren; Touchstone Books; Simon & Schuster, Inc.; (1987; 1996 – Ethrac Publications, Inc.); ISBN 0-684-81478-1
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