讀譯欣賞：美國牛仔——不朽的美國精神

An integral part of the story of America, the cowboy is a national icon, a romantic, rugged1) metaphor for America’s frontier past, Westward expansion and creation myths. Sensationalized2) by Hollywood and by real-life bad boys, the heroic, hard-working, hard-riding, free-thinking cowboy is inseparable from American history itself.

The Early 1800s: The Vaguero Age

America’s first cowboys came from Mexico. Beginning in the 1500s, vaqueros—the Spanish term for “cowboy”—were hired by ranchers3) to drive and tend to livestock4) between Mexico and what is now New Mexico and Texas. During the early 1800s, and leading up to5) Texas’s independence from Mexico in 1836, the number of English speaking settlers in the area increased. These American settlers took their cues from6) the vaquero culture, borrowing clothing styles and vocabulary and learning how to drive their cattle in the same way.

The vaquero influence persisted throughout the 1800s. Cowboys came from a variety of backgrounds, and included European immigrants, African Americans, Native Americans and Midwestern and Southern settlers. In the nineteenth century, one out of three American cowboys in the south was Mexican.

The Mid-1800s: Railroads and Cattle Trails

As America built railroads further and further west, fostering industry, transportation and white settlements in former Indian territories, the cowboy played a crucial part in the nation’s expansion. In the early 1800s, Texas cattleman had herded cows via the Shawnee Trail to cattle markets in St. Louis and Kansas City. During the 1860s and following the Civil War, they began herding via the Chisholm and Western Trails towards the new railroads in Kansas, where livestock was then loaded into freight cars and transported to markets around the country.

In less than two decades cowboys herded more than six million cows and steers7) to the railroads. Most cowboys were young—the average age was 24—and hard-working men in need of quick cash, although the pay was low. The work was exhausting and lonely. Cowboys also helped establish towns, spending their money in the “cowtown” settlements across the west during their time off8). Townspeople frowned on9) cowboys as lawless troublemakers who brought nothing but violence and immorality, and some even banned them from town.

The Late 1800s: Home on the Range

Ranching, or the raising of cattle or other livestock on range land, also expanded during the late nineteenth century. The forced removal of Native Americans and the clearing of the American frontier resulted in the near extinction of the region’s many buffalo and bison. This land, now dominated by white homesteaders, was used for ranching.

Public lands on the Great Plains10) constituted “open range,” where any white settler could buy and raise cattle for grazing. The invention and distribution of barbed11) wire in the 1870s revolutionized the concept of privately owned land in the Midwest, fencing off12) homesteads suitable for farming and ranching—but also limiting the work to be done by cowboys.

The 1900s: The Rise of Privatization

With the rise of private landholdings in the late 1800s, the cattle driving industry had lost its cachet13). Private landowners and “free grazers”—vaqueros and cowboys alike—locked horns14) over what was appropriate use for land whose ownership was also in question. By the 1890s, the wide open ranges and cattle trails were gone and privatized, and the days of the long cattle drives to the railroads were over.

Smaller-scale cattle drives continued until the mid-1900s, with livestock herded from Arizona to New Mexico and throughout the southwestern United States. Most cowboys left the open trail and took jobs at one of the myriad of private ranches that were settling across the West. But as the work of actual cowboys declined in the U.S., the cowboy lifestyle continued to be popularized—and stereotyped—by a new Hollywood film genre: the Western movie.

Cowboys Today: A disappearing Way of Life

The late 1900s were tough times for cowboys, ranchers, farmers and anyone working with the land in the U.S. Changing modes of food distribution and production, widespread urbanization and severe economic difficulties forced many to sell their land, go bankrupt, change professions, or take out large loans. As Vern Sager15) says in The Last Cowboy, “Don’t seem quite fair. A person works hard to make a little and gives it to the bank.”

Cowboys in the 21st century might seem like an anachronism16), but as Sager demonstrates, their work still needs to be done. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, cowboys—included in the occupation category “support activities for animal production”—numbered 9,730 workers in 2003, making an average of $19,340 per year, woq?ky"http://kaoyan.koolearn.com/zhuanshuo/mt/" target="_blank" class="link">mtpbmcgaW4gcmFuY2hlcywgPGIgc3R5bGU9"">stockyards17) and rodeos. About one-third of these workers were listed in the subcategory of “spectator sports,” making their living primarily at rodeos, circuses and theatrical venues as livestock handlers.

As the ranchers and cowboys of Sager’s generation age, who will be left to do their jobs? Despite decades of socioeconomic change, cowboys still don’t have health insurance—and they don’t retire. Times might be changing, but as a symbol of persistence, self-sufficiency and a hard work ethic, cowboys live on.

作為美國故事中不可或缺的一部分，牛仔已經(jīng)成為民族偶像式的人物。他們是浪漫主義的化身和粗獷野性的代表，象征著美國的開疆歷史、西進擴張運動和開國神話。在好萊塢電影的渲染和現(xiàn)實生活中“壞小子們”的影響下，英勇、勤勞、善騎、思想自由的牛仔成為美國歷史中必不可少的一頁。

19世紀(jì)初期：墨西哥牛仔(Vaquero)時代

美國最早出現(xiàn)的牛仔來自于墨西哥。16世紀(jì)初期，在墨西哥與現(xiàn)今的新墨西哥州和得克薩斯州地區(qū)，農(nóng)場主們開始雇傭vaquero (西班牙語，意為“牛仔”)幫他們驅(qū)趕和照料牲畜。從19世紀(jì)初期直至1836年得克薩斯州脫離墨西哥獨立，這一地區(qū)說英語的移民人數(shù)不斷增多。這些美國移民們紛紛學(xué)習(xí)墨西哥牛仔文化，不但借鑒了牛仔們的衣著風(fēng)格和日常用語，還學(xué)著和他們一樣驅(qū)趕自己的牛群。

墨西哥牛仔的影響力貫穿了整個19世紀(jì)。那時候，牛仔們的出身復(fù)雜多樣，有的是來自歐洲的移民，有的是非裔美國人，有的是美國原住民，還有的是到中西部和南部定居的移民。在19世紀(jì)美國南部地區(qū)，三分之一的牛仔都是墨西哥人。

19世紀(jì)中期：鐵路與牛道

隨著美國修建的鐵路不斷向西推進，在原印第安人所屬的領(lǐng)地上，工業(yè)和交通業(yè)得以不斷發(fā)展，白人殖民地也越來越多。在這個向西擴進的過程中，牛仔發(fā)揮了關(guān)鍵性的作用。19世紀(jì)初期，得克薩斯的牛仔們通過肖尼牛道將牛群驅(qū)趕至位于圣路易斯和堪薩斯市的牛市。到了19世紀(jì)60年代，美國內(nèi)戰(zhàn)結(jié)束后，牛仔們開始通過奇澤姆和西部牛道趕牛，向著堪薩斯的新建鐵路方向走。在那里，牛群被裝進貨車車廂，運送到全國各地的市場上。

在不到二十年的時間里，牛仔們趕往鐵路的公牛和母牛有六百多萬頭。大多數(shù)牛仔們都很年輕，平均年齡只有24歲。雖然牛仔的薪水微博，但因為缺現(xiàn)錢，他們工作都很賣力。牛仔的工作很辛苦，也很孤獨。閑來無事的時候，他們會在在西部各地的“牛鎮(zhèn)”定居地上花錢消費，也由此推動了城鎮(zhèn)的建立和發(fā)展。不過，鎮(zhèn)上的居民卻對牛仔頗有微詞，他們覺得牛仔無法無天，恣意鬧事，除了制造暴力和敗壞風(fēng)俗，一無是處。有的居民甚至禁止牛仔進城。

19世紀(jì)晚期：牧場是我家

19世紀(jì)晚期，牧場養(yǎng)殖——也就是在牧場上進行牛或其他牲畜養(yǎng)殖——的區(qū)域也得以不斷擴展。美國原住民的被迫遷離和美國邊疆地區(qū)的森林砍伐導(dǎo)致當(dāng)?shù)卦S多水牛和野牛瀕臨滅絕。這片如今被白人農(nóng)場主占據(jù)的土地當(dāng)年就是放牧養(yǎng)殖的牧區(qū)。

北美大平原地區(qū)的許多公共土地構(gòu)成了所謂的“開放性牧場”，在那里，任何白人移民都可以買牛、養(yǎng)牛，并隨意放牧。19世紀(jì)70年代，帶倒刺的鐵絲網(wǎng)的發(fā)明與廣泛應(yīng)用使中西部的人們對私有土地的概念發(fā)生了根本性的變化，鐵絲網(wǎng)將適宜種植和放牧的農(nóng)場圈了起來，而這同時也限制了牛仔的生計。

20世紀(jì)：私有化的出現(xiàn)

隨著19世紀(jì)晚期土地私有化的出現(xiàn)，驅(qū)牛業(yè)已經(jīng)風(fēng)光不再。私有地主和“自有放牧人”(包括墨西哥牛仔和美國牛仔)圍繞著土地的合適用途爭執(zhí)不休，而土地本身的歸屬還是個疑問。到了19世紀(jì)90年代，廣袤的開放牧場和牛道銷聲匿跡，一切都開始劃歸私有，那些長途跋涉將牛群趕往鐵路的日子一去不返。

較小規(guī)模的趕牛活動一直持續(xù)到20世紀(jì)中期，期間人們將牛群從亞利桑那州趕往新墨西哥州，以及美國西南各州。大多數(shù)牛仔紛紛離開開放性的牛道，前往西部各地的眾多私人牧場中謀職。不過，就在真正的牛仔工作在美國日漸衰微的時候，牛仔的生活方式卻延續(xù)了下來，被大力推廣——也被固定化和模式化。這得益于好萊塢的一種新型電影題材：西部電影。

現(xiàn)代牛仔：漸行漸遠的生活方式

對于牛仔、牧場主、農(nóng)場主以及所有在美國那片土地上工作的人而言，20世紀(jì)晚期的那段時光充滿艱辛。食品分配與生產(chǎn)方式的不斷變化，城鎮(zhèn)化的不斷推進，還有嚴(yán)重的經(jīng)濟困境迫使許多人要么變賣土地，要么宣布破產(chǎn)，要么另謀生路，要么負(fù)債累累。正如弗恩·賽吉爾在《最后的牛仔》中所言，“似乎不那么公平，一個人辛辛苦苦才掙那么一點點，卻都交給了銀行。”

在21世紀(jì)，牛仔似乎是與時代格格不入的一代人，然而正如賽吉爾身體力行所證明的那樣，他們?nèi)匀挥杏梦渲?。?jù)美國勞工統(tǒng)計局稱，2003年，從事牛仔工作——屬于工種分類中的“為畜牧生產(chǎn)提供輔助性勞動”——的總計有9730人，平均年收入19, 340美元，主要就職于牧場、飼養(yǎng)場以及牛仔競技表演會場。在這些人中，約有三分之一的人的從事的工作被列在“觀賞性體育運動”這一范疇內(nèi)，主要靠在牛仔競技、馬戲以及雜耍表演中馴養(yǎng)牲畜為生。

隨著與賽吉爾同一年代的牧場主和牛仔漸漸老去，他們的工作將來會由誰來做呢？數(shù)十年來，盡管社會經(jīng)濟不斷變化，可是牛仔仍然沒有醫(yī)療保險——而且他們沒有退休一說。時代或許會不斷地發(fā)生變化，但作為堅忍不拔、自給自足和勤勞美德的象征，牛仔的形象會一直長存。