开辟与衍展:美国历史上的西部赶牛小道

Pioneering and Deriving:The Western Cattle Trails in American History

美国西部赶牛小道是美国西部'牧牛王国'发展史上牛仔们为长途驱赶牛群到达铁路车站、牛镇或新牧区而开辟的赶牛通道,比较著名的赶牛小道有'加利福尼亚小道''锡达里亚小道''奇泽姆小道'和'古德奈特-洛文小道'等。美国内战后的20余年间,牛仔们艰苦卓绝的长途驱赶使不断延伸的牛道把牧区、牛镇和铁路连接起来,整个大平原迅速扩展成疆域辽阔的'牧牛王国'。虽然西部牛道的黄金时代只不过持续了短暂的二十余年,但牛道沿途的凶险恶劣环境、野性未脱难以控制的牛群与牛仔们在牛道上鞍马劳顿的艰辛驱赶交织衍生了影响深远的牛仔文化。

The cattle trails in the western United States are pathways which cowboys opened up during their driving cattle in a long-distance way to railway stations,cattle towns or new pastorals in the development of the'Cattle Kingdom'.The famous cattle trails are California Trail,Sedalia Trail,Chisholm Trail,Goodnight-Loving Trail,etc.During the two decades or more following the American Civil War,the stretching cattle trails linked pastoral areas,cattle towns and railways together.The Great Plain rapidly expanded into a vast'Cattle Kingdom'.Although the golden age of the western cattle trails only lasted for a short period of more than 20 years,the harsh environment along the cattle trail,the wild uncontrollable herds and the hard driving of cowboys on the cattle trails have intertwined to produce a far-reaching cowboy culture.