Welcome back to the blog. This is the first post of the new school year. This Action Project is for the new Humanities class called Stories. In this class we learned about etiologies and the origin of the world coming from different beliefs. Over the summer we were asked to read Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. During this first unit we had a few book clubs where we read a few chapters and created a question and response to a passage we chose. Over the course of the unit we practiced creating and identifying metaphors and similes. With those we also practiced using adjectives and adverbs in our writing. For this Action Project we had to create our own etiology. For my origin I decided to write about the first cowboy hat. This Action Project is designed so we can show our understanding of etiology and storytelling. I hope you enjoy.
The sun beats down on the riders as they move swiftly across the plains. Dust picks up behind the horses from the stamping of their hooves. The air is dry and so is the ground. It hasn’t rained in weeks. With the sun high they make haste to the nearest river, far from their temporary settlement. They ride East to the river, heads down so there isn’t too much sun in their eyes. The short upward curved brim of their wool derby hats does nothing to block the bright glare. Sweat gathers underneath the hot and uncomfortable wool. As they get closer to the river the sound of the flowing water clashes with the silence around them. They walk up to the banks and watch the water. The river is a snake, weaving in between the rocks and sliding over each dip.
The sun beats down on the riders as they move swiftly across the plains. Dust picks up behind the horses from the stamping of their hooves. The air is dry and so is the ground. It hasn’t rained in weeks. With the sun high they make haste to the nearest river, far from their temporary settlement. They ride East to the river, heads down so there isn’t too much sun in their eyes. The short upward curved brim of their wool derby hats does nothing to block the bright glare. Sweat gathers underneath the hot and uncomfortable wool. As they get closer to the river the sound of the flowing water clashes with the silence around them. They walk up to the banks and watch the water. The river is a snake, weaving in between the rocks and sliding over each dip.
As the horses take a drink one of the three riders break the silence, “Fill up your canteens and let the horses graze.” The other two agree and continue. The next of the riders speak, observing the first, “You need any food Dutch? Got some in the satchel.” Dutch looks up from the rock he is sitting on, “I’m okay Marston, Morgan go hitch up the horses.” Morgan stands up and walks toward his horse still having a drink and leads it to a post they set up a while back. He goes back and hitches up the other two horses. Marston took off his derby and scooped some water into it by hand. “You're going to ruin the frame and the wool,” says Dutch. “That headwear don’t hold up very well when there's water in it.” Marston smiles and replies, “I’m just making the sides cool, this thing is cooking the top of my head and that water is cold.” Marston takes a seat on the ground by the hitching post and Morgan walks back over to the river. “That sun goes right into your eyes when riding at this time and that hat just covers your head.”
Dutch looked toward the clear sky and watched the sparse clouds drift over him. Morgan was right and it wouldn’t be that pleasant heading back to their camp with the sun setting in their eyes. Almost everyone wore hats and the best ones at the time were what they were wearing. The sun was always a problem when riding unless you weren’t facing it and the group’s camp was in the West. Hunting and getting water were East but they couldn’t set camp along the river. Many other bands of cowboys used this river for water and crossing wasn’t difficult. Anyone could cross this and a horse could faster. Many of the other gangs had more men and it wasn’t worth the risk to fight them often. “We should start heading back before the sun gets too low,” Dutch says as he gets up. Marston stands as well and Morgan leaves the river’s edge. They unhitch their horse and start riding back to camp, heads illuminated by the sun and shadows stretched behind them. Morgan who rides at the back moves closer to Dutch at the front and says, “Better make some ground if we want to bring a deer back tonight. It’ll feed us and the others for a week at most.” Dutch nods and signals to move faster and their riding continues.
When they get back to camp they are approached by Escuella. Marston gets off his horse first and grabs the freshly killed deer off the back of his horse. Dutch and Morgan dismount their horses as well. “Any news from the nearest town?,” Dutch asks. Escuella nods and says, “Yes actually, word is a man created a new hat that's supposed to be better than the ones we got right now. From what I’ve heard it’ll help block the sun and its better quality.” A new hat better than the rest, this could really help the gang when moving about. Morgan thought the gang could use a new hat and if it really is good maybe it has some other uses. “I think we should go check that out, how about it Dutch?” Dutch thought for a little while and agreed. He was getting tired of this old bucket for a hat.
The gang of four began riding towards town after sunrise. This hat was made by John Stetson and it was supposed to be a hat better than the rest. Morgan wondered how this new hat could be the best one for the time but the drawing and the description made it look very nice. The town was busy when they arrived. So many different people, outlaws, merchants, townspeople. It looked like everyone wanted to see this brand new hat. The creator was here as well, showing off his invention. The hat was made out of waterproof felt and it was very durable making it a great hat for a cowboy. The hat also had a wide brim to protect the wearer from the heat. This new hat wasn’t just made to wear. The hat was a tool to the wearer. It was like an umbrella, protecting you from the glaring sun and the pouring rain. This hat would be perfect for living in the Great Plains and that is great for the gang. After observing the display for a while each of the gang got one of the hats. The crown fit well on their heads and the brim shielded their eyes. Stetson called this the first cowboy hat and the name fit well. With all of them satisfied, the gang set out to go back to camp. Even with the sun high the hat served its purpose and helped them ride without being blinded. While riding, Morgan admired the hat’s performance and shape. The sizing was comfortable and did not cramp his head and the material was very strong. This sure was the first cowboy hat.
Through many months the group came and went through the snowy mountains, across the dry plains, and into the rain. The men kept their cowboy hats the entire time and would continue to wear them. The sun could not burn them, the rain could not drench their heads, and the snow stopped by its brim. The cowboy hat held its shape even after being trampled by Marston’s horse. The hat’s waterproof material came in handy many times in their travels. After a firefight Escuella’s canteen had been hit and began to leak. He used his hat to hold the water from the canteen and it worked. Even on the inside of the hat’s crown, its strong waterproofing didn’t drench the hat in freezing water. Dutch occasionally used his hat as a fan to stay cool or have it be a felt bucket and cup to give his horse and himself water. Multiple cowboy hats could be used as a bellows to light fires rapidly. The hat became well known as the Stetson and all of the cowboys wore it. The first cowboy hat was a rapid success and became a symbol of the highest quality. Many icons wore Stetsons especially cowboys but most people seen wearing a Stetson were respected. Not only did this marvelous creation become the first cowboy hat, it was a comfortable piece of clothing, and worked as a tool for the wearer.
Dutch looked toward the clear sky and watched the sparse clouds drift over him. Morgan was right and it wouldn’t be that pleasant heading back to their camp with the sun setting in their eyes. Almost everyone wore hats and the best ones at the time were what they were wearing. The sun was always a problem when riding unless you weren’t facing it and the group’s camp was in the West. Hunting and getting water were East but they couldn’t set camp along the river. Many other bands of cowboys used this river for water and crossing wasn’t difficult. Anyone could cross this and a horse could faster. Many of the other gangs had more men and it wasn’t worth the risk to fight them often. “We should start heading back before the sun gets too low,” Dutch says as he gets up. Marston stands as well and Morgan leaves the river’s edge. They unhitch their horse and start riding back to camp, heads illuminated by the sun and shadows stretched behind them. Morgan who rides at the back moves closer to Dutch at the front and says, “Better make some ground if we want to bring a deer back tonight. It’ll feed us and the others for a week at most.” Dutch nods and signals to move faster and their riding continues.
When they get back to camp they are approached by Escuella. Marston gets off his horse first and grabs the freshly killed deer off the back of his horse. Dutch and Morgan dismount their horses as well. “Any news from the nearest town?,” Dutch asks. Escuella nods and says, “Yes actually, word is a man created a new hat that's supposed to be better than the ones we got right now. From what I’ve heard it’ll help block the sun and its better quality.” A new hat better than the rest, this could really help the gang when moving about. Morgan thought the gang could use a new hat and if it really is good maybe it has some other uses. “I think we should go check that out, how about it Dutch?” Dutch thought for a little while and agreed. He was getting tired of this old bucket for a hat.
The gang of four began riding towards town after sunrise. This hat was made by John Stetson and it was supposed to be a hat better than the rest. Morgan wondered how this new hat could be the best one for the time but the drawing and the description made it look very nice. The town was busy when they arrived. So many different people, outlaws, merchants, townspeople. It looked like everyone wanted to see this brand new hat. The creator was here as well, showing off his invention. The hat was made out of waterproof felt and it was very durable making it a great hat for a cowboy. The hat also had a wide brim to protect the wearer from the heat. This new hat wasn’t just made to wear. The hat was a tool to the wearer. It was like an umbrella, protecting you from the glaring sun and the pouring rain. This hat would be perfect for living in the Great Plains and that is great for the gang. After observing the display for a while each of the gang got one of the hats. The crown fit well on their heads and the brim shielded their eyes. Stetson called this the first cowboy hat and the name fit well. With all of them satisfied, the gang set out to go back to camp. Even with the sun high the hat served its purpose and helped them ride without being blinded. While riding, Morgan admired the hat’s performance and shape. The sizing was comfortable and did not cramp his head and the material was very strong. This sure was the first cowboy hat.
Through many months the group came and went through the snowy mountains, across the dry plains, and into the rain. The men kept their cowboy hats the entire time and would continue to wear them. The sun could not burn them, the rain could not drench their heads, and the snow stopped by its brim. The cowboy hat held its shape even after being trampled by Marston’s horse. The hat’s waterproof material came in handy many times in their travels. After a firefight Escuella’s canteen had been hit and began to leak. He used his hat to hold the water from the canteen and it worked. Even on the inside of the hat’s crown, its strong waterproofing didn’t drench the hat in freezing water. Dutch occasionally used his hat as a fan to stay cool or have it be a felt bucket and cup to give his horse and himself water. Multiple cowboy hats could be used as a bellows to light fires rapidly. The hat became well known as the Stetson and all of the cowboys wore it. The first cowboy hat was a rapid success and became a symbol of the highest quality. Many icons wore Stetsons especially cowboys but most people seen wearing a Stetson were respected. Not only did this marvelous creation become the first cowboy hat, it was a comfortable piece of clothing, and worked as a tool for the wearer.
Boss of the Plains Stetson Hat, GS
I thought this Action Project went well and I enjoyed working on it a lot. I do like to write and it is good to see my progress on being descriptive and having more meaningful writing. Although it did take me a bit of time to fashion this idea and figure out how I wanted this story to go I am proud of the work I have done. I am happy with the timeline and setting of this story because I find cowboys and the Wild West a very interesting time period. I also really like different kinds of hats so being able to create the origin story of the first cowboy hat was fun. After writing this I now want to get a Stetson hat myself. Just like the final blog posts of last school year this Action Project and class was all done at home through virtual learning which was difficult at times but I am more used to it now. I like the drawing that I have created as well for the Stetson hat which is another thing this Action Project required. I hope that this story was interesting and maybe a learning experience if you did not know about the first cowboy hat. I had a great time on this and I hope to see you in the next post.
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