The hero's accuracy with any weapon is prodigious.
He is unequaled in bravery and courage.
He is courteous to all women -- regardless of rank, station age or physical charm.
He is gentle, modest, and unassuming.
He is handsome -- sometimes even pretty, so that he seems even feminine in appearance; but withal he is of course very masculine, and exceedingly attractive to women.
He is blue-eyed. His piercing blue eyes turn gray as steel when he is aroused; his associates would have been well advised to keep a color chart handy, so that they might have dived for a storm cellar when the blue turned to tattletale gray.
He was driven to a life of outlawry and crime – by having quite properly defended a loved one from an intolerable affront - with lethal consequences.
Thereafter, however,
He shields the widow and orphan -- robbing only the banker or railroad monopolist.
His death comes about by means of betrayal or treachery, but
It is rarely a conclusive death, since he keeps bobbing up later on, in other places, for many years.
Gene Autry called the "Ten Commandments of the Cowboy":
A cowboy never takes unfair advantage - even of an enemy.
A cowboy never betrays a trust.
A cowboy always tells the truth.
A cowboy is kind to small children, old folks, and to animals.
A cowboy is free from racial and religious prejudice.
A cowboy is helpful and when anyone's in trouble he lends a hand.
A cowboy is a good worker.
A cowboy is clean about his person and in thought, word, and deed.
A cowboy respects womanhood, his parents, and the laws of his country.
A cowboy is a patriot.