author
Nat Love
1854–1921
Born into slavery in Tennessee and later celebrated as a cowboy, he became one of the best-known Black figures of the American West. His lively 1907 autobiography helped turn his life story into frontier legend.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Nat Love was an American cowboy and writer who was born on June 14, 1854, in Tennessee and died on February 11, 1921. After emancipation, he headed west as a teenager and found work on cattle drives, building the reputation that later made him famous.
He is best known for his autobiography, The Life and Adventures of Nat Love, Better Known in the Cattle Country as "Deadwood Dick" (1907). In it, he told colorful stories about ranch work, trail life, and the dangers and excitement of the post–Civil War West. Because so much of his legend comes from his own telling, some episodes are often read as part memoir and part frontier storytelling.
Love remains an important figure in the history of the West because his life offers a rare firsthand Black perspective on cowboy life. His story helps broaden the familiar image of the American cowboy and shows how deeply Black workers were part of that world.