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In the imagination of our media, the era is defined by the romantic image of the cowboy. Cowboys doubtless did many of the things that culture ascribes to them, like shootouts over poker games, but their main function was to drive cattle from ranches to slaughterhouses. Prior to the advent of the cowboy, the cows had to be carried one at a time, by hand. After the invention of the automobile, the cattle could drive themselves. And so ended the era of the Wild West.