Cibolero
A Cibolero was a Spanish colonial buffalo hunter from New Mexico. The Spanish word for buffalo as used in New Mexico is cibolo; hence, the name Cibolero for buffalo hunter.
Activities
Ciboleros hunted the American bison, or buffalo, on the Great Plains of what is now eastern New Mexico and Texas, mostly in the areas of the Llano Estacado and Comancheria. Their domain ranged as far east and north as Nebraska. The Ciboleros typically hunted buffalo in late fall once the summer crops had been harvested. Many Ciboleros from New Mexico lived along or near the Pecos River from the villages of San [Jose, San Miguel County, New Mexico|San José], San Miguel del Vado, and Tecolote and south toward La Cuesta. The Ciboleros were primarily hunters, and the contemporaneous comanchero were mostly traders with the Comanche and other Plains Indians, but the two activities overlapped.History
gave this description of a Cibolero whom he encountered:John Miller Morris explained the historical significance of the Ciboleros:
The Cibolero way of life ended by the late 1870s, with the destruction of the American bison. Ciboleros are still remembered in New Mexican folk songs, cultural events, and family oral traditions.