Chapter 19 Notes-The Cattle Ranching Industry in Texas

Chapter 19 Section 1 The Cattle Industry   Once the buffalo herds had been killed and Native Americans had been moved onto reservations, settlers began moving into West Texas. There, they established towns, farms and ranches.

Spanish Origins   When the first Spanish explorers and priests came from Spain and Mexico, they brought with them cattle. These animals were the early ancestors of the Texas longhorn cattle we have today. In the 1700s, Spanish colonizer Jose de Escando established several large land grants along the Rio Grande river. These Spanish ranchers raised the cattle on the open range. After the cattle were driven into corrals or pens, they were marked with their owners brand.

Longhorns The longhorns most distinctive characteristics were their ability to adapt to almost any environment. They were able to survive on little water and food in extreme hot and cold temperatures. They used their long horns as a means of protection from other animals.

Early Ranchers Cattle raising increased after Mexico gained control of Texas in 1821. James Taylor White, who owned a ranch in Liberty County, was considered to be the first of Texas’s cattle barons. He would raise his cattle, and then transport them to Louisiana to be sold and shipped up the Mississippi River for the eastern meat markets. For most other cattle ranchers, it was too costly to drive their cattle to the eastern meat markets so they would sell their cattle along the coast to producers of leather goods or for the production of soap and candles. ** Texas fever – a disease carried by some cattle in Texas that was transmitted by ticks.

Dipping the cattle to get rid of the ticks.

Texas Herds During the Civil War The Civil War had a negative impact on the cattle industry. Much of the work on ranches did not get done because many people had left to fight in the war. By the end of the war, there were so many cattle and so few Texans to buy them that their value was next to nothing.

Chapter 19 Section 1 Notes A Market for Beef Stockyard After the Civil War the demand for beef slowly began to increase.   Joseph G. McCoy built the first cow town – Abilene, Kansas. This new town featured holding pens near the railroad track, wider streets to make driving the cattle through town easier and an entertainment center for the cowboys. Packing house

The Development of the Cattle Trails Chisholm Trail – Opened by Cherokee trader Jesse Chisholm in 1867 Was the first of the great cattle trails Extended from Texas to Kansas Was used to herd move than 6 million longhorns from Texas to Abilene, Kansas   Western Trail – also known as the Dodge City Trail Became popular in the 1870s Extended North from San Antonio Crossed the Red River at Doan’s Crossing and then headed to Dodge City in Western Kansas Goodnight-Loving Trail – also known as the Pecos Trail Went up the Pecos River into New Mexico and Colorado Later, the trail would extend into Wyoming

Steps involved in a Cattle Drive   1. A trail drive would begin with a round up 2. Unbranded cattle were marked to prove ownership 3. The cowboys separated the cattle into smaller more manageable herds 4. Scouts would ride ahead of the herd

Life on the Trail – Important Jobs of the Cattle Drive   Scouts rode ahead to select the best routes and to alert the trail boss to dangers Trail bosses were in charge of everyone on the trail. Pointers directed the herd from the side of lead cattle. Flankers rode next to the herd and kept them from going off course. Other cowhands followed the herd to kept the cattle from straying off course. Wranglers took care of the extra horses. The camp cook prepared the meals from the “chuckwagon”.

Cattle Brands Branding is very important in proving ownership of lost or stolen animals.  An unbranded animal is called a "slick," and is almost impossible to legally identify.  No other way is as easily visible as branding, not only for identification, but as a deterrent to theft.  Today we can use tags or implanted computer chips to identify the owner of a particular cow.

How to Read a Cattle Brand Brands have a language all their own.  That  language,  like any other, follows certain rules. The ability to read these symbols is referred to as "callin' the brand.“ Brands are composed of capital letters of the alphabet, numerals, pictures, and characters such as slash  /, circle  O, half-circle , cross +, _bar, etc.,  with  many combinations and adaptations.  Letters can be used singly, joined, or in combinations.  They can be upright, lying down or "lazy,“ connected or combined, reversed, or hanging  (Figures or numbers are used  in the  same  way as the letters. Picture brands  are  usually used alone, for example (ladder)  or (rising sun). There  are  three accepted rules  for  reading  brands.       1.  Read from the left to the right as ML (M L).      2.  Read from  the top to the bottom as (bar m).      3.  When the brand is enclosed, it is read from the outside to the inside as (circle S).

C A T L E B R N D S

Open your book to page 373 – Look at the chart in your book.

Chapter 19 Notes Great Spreads King Ranch JA Ranch Matador Ranch XIT

King Ranch 1852 Richard King and Mifflin Kenedy South Texas   1852 | Richard King and Mifflin Kenedy South Texas 1 million acres

JA Ranch 1876 Charles Goodnight & John Adair Palo Duro Canyon | Charles Goodnight & John Adair Palo Duro Canyon area of Texas More than million acres and 100,000 cattle

Matador Ranch 1878 A.M. Britton & H.H. Campbell Motley County | A.M. Britton & H.H. Campbell Motley County Acquired land in other states & Canada

XIT Ranch 1885 Chicago & British investors Panhandle 3 million acres | Chicago & British investors Panhandle 3 million acres XIT

Sheep and Goat Ranching

The Whitehead family came to Texas with Stephen F The Whitehead family came to Texas with Stephen F. Austin's Colony in 1831 with Ephriam Whitehead, who migrated to Texas from New Orleans, La. For a short time they settled in La Vaca County. After Texas won her independence, the family moved on to Gonzales County, and finally, in 1882, traveled to and settled in Val Verde County.

Sheep and Goat Ranching in Texas   In the 1850s, George Wilkins Kendall established a sheep ranch near Boerne, Texas. He began raising the sheep not for their mutton (meat), but for their wool. Around the same time period, Charles Schreiner of Kerr County began raising goats in the Edwards Plateau region of Texas. He promoted the Mohair product produced from the hair of the Angora goats. Mohair was used to make clothing and blankets.

WINDMILL BARBED WIRE What do you see?

Barbed Wire and Windmills   In 1873, Joseph F. Glidden invented barbed wire. This invention allowed ranchers to keep their cattle confined to a specific area of their land and off the land of neighboring farmers. The invention of barbed wire created the end of the open-range style of ranching. Some people disliked it the change in the ranching industry. Fencing cutting became a huge problem for many ranches. Old fashioned ranchers who refused to change their lifestyles and cattle rustlers were often cutting barbed wire fences to either pass through the land or for the cattle rustlers to steal the cattle. Laws had to be passed by the state legislature to make fence cutting illegal and a punishable crime. Windmills made it possible for cattle owners to keep their cattle in pens on their land. Cattle no longer had to travel to find water. Windmills made it possible to pump water from underground sources to where their cattle was located.

The Myth and Reality of the Cowhands   After the civil war, many books were written to glorify the life of a cowboy. Plays, Wild West shows, and later movies and television often exaggerated the life of cowboys in the West. The reality of being a cowboy was often very different from the myth created by books and movies.

The Range of Cultures People of many cultures contributed to the cattle ranching industry in Texas. Often overlooked are the African American cowboys, Tejano vaqueros and even the women who worked alongside their husband to make sure everything operated smoothly on the ranches.