I was pleased to do this illustration for Narratively, for their article on Nat Love, the emblematic African-American cowboy of the late nineteenth century. I had not known– prior to reading the article– that nearly a third of the Old West cowboys were black, many being former slaves who found work in the booming cattle markets. Virtually all of what is known of Nat Love is derived from his autobiography (which you can find online), but this article, by Ben Nadler, is a good introduction to the man’s life.
