Chapter Miners and Cowboys EQ What was the United States Federal Indian Policy trying to accomplish?

Q1: Mining Boom Gold and silver “strikes” created Boomtowns in Colorado, Nevada, and South Dakota in late 19 th century Boomtown: Town that has a sudden burst of economic or population growth Chance to strike it rich brought people from East and West coast, and Europe Mining hard and dangerous work, most people making little to no profit

FOR YOUR INFORMATION: The Mining Boom In beginning individual miners would work a mine by panning Large mining companies moved in after surface no longer yielded gold/silver using heavy expensive equipment to mine underground Recovered more precious metals but striped hillsides of vegetation and left rivers polluted Work hard and dangerous – often deadly cave-ins occurred and mining created a lot of dust in air which lead to lung problems By 1890s mining boom was over, mines closing due to rising costs and quality of metals dropping Nevada, Colorado, and South Dakota grew so rapidly they gained statehood but many thriving communities in these states became “Ghost Towns” when mining boom ended

Prospecting

Mining Centers: 1900

Mining (“Boom”) Towns-- Now Ghost Towns Calico, CA

Q2: Cattle Industry Extending railroad lines in 1860s made transporting cattle raised in TX and other South- West areas to East coast possible Cattle herds would be moved by cowboys from Southwest to “cow towns” in Kansas cattle drives to cow towns along trails across the plains were called “long drives”

TheCattleTrailsTheCattleTrails

FOR YOUR INFORMATION: Cowboys/Cowhands Cattle Ranches were very profitable businesses Fed cattle on open ranges in Southwest for 1 to 2 years then took them on the long cattle drives to Kansas Cows sold in Kansas for up to 10x their original price Cowhands, also known as cowboys adapted saddles, spurs, and chaps from Mexican vaqueros to use as equipment during long cattle drives 1 in 3 Cowboys was either Mexican or African American Many former slaves were cowboys, going west to avoid Black Codes in the South restricting their freedom

African American Cowboys

African Americans Moving West

The Bronc Buster Frederick Remington

Q3: Wild West Rapidly growing cow towns had no local governments or law officers Fights, gambling, and drinking common in cow towns as cowboys looked to “relax” after a long drive Confidence Men (Con Men) became common in such towns getting rich quick by cheating others Outlaws robbed trains, stagecoaches, cowboys on long drives, and banks in towns Citizens formed vigilante groups for protection, taking law into own hands, often hanging suspects on the spot without a trial As towns became more settled, citizens elected local sheriffs, jails were built, and trials were held for suspects of crimes

Colt.45 Revolver “God made man, but Samuel Colt made them equal”

Legendary Gunslingers & Train Robbers Jesse James Billy the Kid

Dodge City Peace Commission, 1890

Q4: End of the Long Drives For about 20 years cattle industry boomed But by 1886 several developments brought cattle boom to an end, also ending the long cattle drives: – Price of beef dropped sharply as supply increased – More settlers moved into Great Plains fencing in land with barbed wire – Cattle could no longer pass freely over trails – Hard winter of caused thousands of cattle to freeze – Many ranches put out of business

Barbed Wire Joseph Glidden

Q5: Great Plain Indians Over 300,000 Indians lived in Great Plains during mid 1800s Buffalo: – Main food in Great Plain Indian diet – Hides used for tepees, clothing, shoes, and blankets – Buffalo chips used for cooking fuel – Bones and horns used as tools and bowls

Q6: Federal Indian Policy Main purpose of Federal Indian Policies was to take possession of Indian land and open it up for white settlers Govt continued to move Indians to new “Indian Territories” through treaties Govt often broke treaty promises From U.S. entered into 52 different treaties with various Native American nations

Q7: Bozeman Trail Some Indian tribes preferred conflict with settlers and soldiers to reservation life In Montana, Govt began to build road called Bozeman Trail across Sioux hunting ground To stop construction across their hunting ground Sioux attacked workers, killing 80 people Bozeman Trail incident became known as Fetterman Massacre

Capt. William J. Fetterman 80 soldiers massacred December 21, 1866

Q8: Battle of Little Bighorn Gold discovered in Black Hills, South Dakota Thousands of miners rush into Sioux land ignoring Indian treaties protecting Black Hills Sioux unite under Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, two chiefs, to push back intruders George A. Custer and 7 th Cavalry set out to return Sioux to reservations 1876 – Custer decides to attack Sioux and Cheyenne near Little Bighorn River in Montana Custer and all his men were killed Sitting Bull Alleged photo of Sioux Chief Crazy Horse

The Battle of Little Big Horn 1876 Chief Sitting Bull Gen. George Armstrong Custer

FOR YOUR INFORMATION: More on Little Bighorn Battle sometimes referred to as Custer’s Last Stand Nation shocked at Custer’s defeat, being a Civil War hero and fighting in many other campaigns against Plains tribes previously Govt responded by stepping up military action, resulting in Little Bighorn being the last major Native American Victory In 1877 Crazy Horse surrendered and was killed while in U.S. custody in an escape attempt, while Sitting Bull escaped to Canada In 1881, Sitting Bull’s starving band surrendered to U.S. troops and were returned to reservation

Crazy Horse Monument: Black Hills, SD Lakota Chief

Q9: Wounded Knee Massacre By 1880s most Plain Indian tribes forced onto Reservations Some groups, especially Sioux fled reservations and gathered in South Dakota to perform Ghost Dances White settlers afraid Indians were preparing for war and sent army to track down Ghost Dancers Indians rounded up and temporary camp made at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota December 29, 1890 – while Sioux were giving up weapons, an “accidental” shot was fired U.S. Troops responded to gunfire killing 300 men, women, and children Wounded Knee Massacre ended armed resistance in West

“Ghost Dance”, 1890

Q10: Dawes Act reformers felt assimilation was only way for Native Americans to survive Assimilation = adopting culture of people around you (Indians needed to be “Americanized”) Dawes Act passed in intended to encourage Native Americans to give up traditional ways and become farmers divided reservations into individual plots of land for each family -sent Native American children to school to learn “white culture” Dawes Act failed because not all Indians wanted to be farmers, and those who did lacked tools, training, and money to be successful many sold their land for a fraction of its real value to white land promoters or settlers

Dawes Severalty Act (1887): Assimilation Policy Carlisle Indian School, PA

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