TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. The Cattle Kingdom

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Objectives Explain how the cattle industry began. Describe the life of a cowhand on the trail. Discuss the myth of the Wild West. Identify reasons for the end of the cattle boom.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Terms and People open range – unfenced land cattle drive – the herding and moving of cattle over long distances vaquero – Spanish word for cowhand, or cowboy cow town – settlement at the end of a cattle trail cattle kingdom – region dominated by the cattle industry and its ranches, trails, and cow towns

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. What factors led to boom and bust in the cattle industry? With mining towns growing and railroad companies racing to build track, another boom swept across the West. the cattle boom

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. For years, herds of wild cattle roamed the open range of Texas. But ranchers had no way to move the longhorns to distant markets. Beef was in demand in eastern cities and western boomtowns.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. That changed, however, as railroads crossed the Plains. Trains could take the cattle to market. All the ranchers had to do was get the cattle to the trains. cattle

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Some of the rail lines were as far away as 1,000 miles, and the long cattle drives lasted two to three months. Texas ranchers began to round up the cattle in the 1860s. They hired skilled cowhands to move the herds north, along trails leading to rail lines.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Well-worn cattle trails led from Texas to rail lines in Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Cowhands on the trail could spend up to 18 hours a day leading herds across rivers, pulling cattle from swamps, fighting grass fires, or chasing off thieves. Yet despite the hard and dangerous work, cowhands earned less than $1 a day. Lightning could cause a stampede, sending cattle in all directions.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Cowhands owed much to Spanish and Mexican vaqueros. how to ride, rope, and brand Mexican spurs and chaps broad-brimmed hats lassos

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Abilene, Kansas, was the first of many cow towns to spring up at the end of the cattle trails. Cattle drives ended at cow towns, where tired and hungry cowhands could find restaurants, hotels, dance halls, and saloons. cattle Cow town

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. The rough-and-tumble life in cow towns did much to promote the myth of the Wild West. Place of gunfights, adventure, and opportunity Place where anything can happen Wild West

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Supporting the myths were the shows of William “Buffalo Bill” Cody. During these shows, he and his troupe would perform incredible athletic feats, including riding, racing, and shooting routines.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Some of the myths of the Wild West are based on fact. Cowhands did help shape the West. Yet the real West was much more than the land of gunslingers portrayed in frontier shows. Ranchers Farmers Miners Pioneer families Native Americans Real West

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Ranchers in the cattle kingdom made huge profits during the boom years. Profits New breeds of cattle brought in even more money, and small ranches soon grew into huge cattle companies.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. The cattle kingdom, however, would soon go from boom to bust. At the same time, farmers began to fence their lands, preventing cattle from freely grazing. Ranchers now had to buy feed for their herds. By the 1880s, millions of cattle roamed the range, along with sheep — more animals than the land could support.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. In time, the railroads expanded, moving closer to the ranches. The days of the long cattle drives were over. Demand for beef An economic depression made matters worse. People struggling to find jobs in cities could no longer afford expensive beef.