Deadwood Dick’ And The Fascinating Tale of This Black Cowboy

nat love standing up
Tremain Prioleau II
January 15, 2025

Born enslaved in Davidson County, Tennessee, in 1854Nat (pronounced “Nate”) Love’s origins were ordinary, but his life was anything but. Love learned to read and write as a child, which was rare for Black folks. At 15, he moved from Tennessee to Texas, and from there traveled around the west, where he became a legend.

Nate spent the next 20 years working as a drover, transporting cattle and horses around the Texas Panhandle, the Arizona and Kansas territories, and the Deadwood, Dakota territory. But unlike the characters in Bonanza and Gunsmoke, though, Love was a real-life cowboy.

A year after starting a family in 1889, Love became a porter. He worked for the next 15 years, regaling passengers and his co-workers with tales of his cowboy days. Many of them encouraged him to write his life story, advice he took to heart.

Love was in a rare position. Formerly enslaved but with the ability to read and write, he could tell his own story in his own way. His 1907 autobiography told tales of his cowboy exploits, his prowess as a rodeo performer, meeting Buffalo Bill Cody, and especially how he earned the nickname “Deadwood Dick.”

Nat Love controlled his story without the interference of whiteness. We have the power to tell our own Black stories. Are you inspired to tell yours?

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