<P> The Florida "cowhunter" or "cracker cowboy" of the 19th and early 20th centuries was distinct from the Texas and California traditions . Florida cowboys did not use lassos to herd or capture cattle . Their primary tools were bullwhips and dogs . Since the Florida cowhunter did not need a saddle horn for anchoring a lariat, many did not use Western saddles, instead using a McClellan saddle . While some individuals wore boots that reached above the knees for protection from snakes, others wore brogans . They usually wore inexpensive wool or straw hats, and used ponchos for protection from rain . </P> <P> Cattle and horses were introduced into Florida in the 16th century . The cattle introduced by the Spanish persist today in two rare breeds: Florida Cracker cattle and Pineywoods cattle . The Florida Cracker Horse, which is still used by some Florida cowboys, is descended from horses introduced by the Spanish . From shortly after 1565 until the end of the 17th century, cattle ranches owned by Spanish officials and missions operated in northern Florida to supply the Spanish garrison in St. Augustine and markets in Cuba . Raids into Spanish Florida by the Province of Carolina and its Native American allies, which wiped out the native population of Florida, led to the collapse of the Spanish mission and ranching systems . </P> <P> In the 18th century, Creek, Seminole, and other Indian people moved into the depopulated areas of Florida and started herding the cattle left from the Spanish ranches . In the 19th century, most tribes in the area were dispossessed of their land and cattle and pushed south or west by white settlers and the United States government . By the middle of the 19th century white ranchers were running large herds of cattle on the extensive open range of central and southern Florida . The hides and meat from Florida cattle became such a critical supply item for the Confederacy during the American Civil War that a "Cow Cavalry" was organized to round up and protect the herds from Union raiders . After the Civil War, and into the 20th Century, Florida cattle were periodically driven to ports on the Gulf of Mexico, such as Punta Rassa near Fort Myers, Florida, and shipped to market in Cuba . </P> <P> The Florida cowhunter or cracker cowboy tradition gradually assimilated to western cowboy tradition during the 20th century (although the vaquero tradition has had little influence in Florida). Texas tick fever and the screw - worm were introduced to Florida in the early 20th century by cattle entering from other states . These pests forced Florida cattlemen to separate individual animals from their herds at frequent intervals for treatment, which eventually led to the widespread use of lassos . Florida cowboys continue to use dogs and bullwhips for controlling cattle . </P>

Where does the term dude ranch come from