Section 3 – pg 464 Cattle Kingdoms Chapter 13 Section 3 – pg 464 Cattle Kingdoms

The Rise of the Cattle Industry Pg 464 The Rise of the Cattle Industry For years, wild cattle wandered the open range (unfenced lands) of Texas Called longhorns Needed almost no care Survived on prairie grass and watering holes

Pg 464 Means and Markets The herds of cattle had grown from strays brought over by Spanish ranchers When ranches were first being set up, no one bothered to round up the wandering animals b/c there was no way to get them to the market Railroad made it possible to get the protein-rich beef to city dwellers in the east and miners and soldiers in the West

Pg 464 The Long Drives Ranchers began rounding up the cattle in the 1860s Hired cowhands - skilled riders who know how to herd cattle – to move the cattle to rail lines in Kansas, Missouri, and Wyoming Some rail lines were 1,000 miles away Cattle drive: the herding and moving of cattle over long distances Often would happen in spring

Cattle drives lasted 2 – 3 months Pg 465 Cattle drives lasted 2 – 3 months Followed well-worn trails In the east: Chisholm Trail from San Antonio, Texas to Abilene, Kansas In the west: Goodnight-Loving Trail led to Wyoming In just one year 600,000 cattle might be moved north

Life on the Trail: A Risky Ride Pg 465 Life on the Trail: A Risky Ride Life on the trail was hard and dangerous Cattle will go where they want when they are thirsty Lightning can send them stampeding in all directions Swift currents could carry longhorns away Cowhands had to fight grass fires, pull cattle from swamps, and chase off thieves

Cowhands could spend 18 hours a day in the saddle Pg 466 Cowhands could spend 18 hours a day in the saddle Earn less than a $1 a day Cattle ranching relied on a workforce of low-paid laborers

Spanish Roots Cowhands owed much to Spanish and Mexican vaqueros Pg 466 Spanish Roots Cowhands owed much to Spanish and Mexican vaqueros Vaquero: the Spanish word for cowhand, or cowboy Tended cattle on ranches in Mexico, California, and the Southwest

Approx 1/3 of all western cowhands were Mexican Pg 466 When Americans started herd cattle, they learned how to ride, rope, and brand from vaqueros Cowboys wore Mexican spurs and leather chaps to keep their legs safe from thorny bushes The cowboy hat is derived from the sombrero Approx 1/3 of all western cowhands were Mexican Many others were African American and white veterans

The Wild West Cattle drives ended at towns along railroad lines Pg 466 These towns were often unruly and helped create the idea we have of the Wild West today

Pg 466 Cow Towns In 1867, Joseph McCoy had an idea of how to make money off the cowboys Thought that after months on the trail, cowboys would want a bath, hot meal, a soft bed, and some fun Founded Abilene, Kansas where the Chrisholm Trail met the Kansas Pacific Railroad Was the first cow town: settlement at the end of a cattle trail

Rival cow towns sprang up Pg 466 Rival cow towns sprang up Wichita and Dodge City Had dance halls, saloons, hotels, and restaurants Drinking and gambling often led to brawls that spilled into the streets Gunfights were rare, but often enough for Wichita to ban carrying pistols

Pg 467 The Myth of the West Rough life in cow towns helped spread the myth that the west was a violent, adventurous place of opportunity Called the Wild West by Easterners

Pg 467 William “Buffalo Bill” Cody, a former buffalo hunter, created a traveling Wild West show in 1883 Gun-slinging cowboys and NAs performed sharp shooting and horseback riding Staged performances showing frontier events, including Custer’s Last Stand Annie Oakley showed she could shoot as well as any man

Pg 467 The idea of the Wild West was based on some fact however the west was quickly changing NAs were being forced onto reservations Cow towns became permanent as settlers arrived Ministers wanted peaceful communities for their families and their faith

Boom and Bust in the Cattle Kingdom The cattle boom lasted from the 1860s to the 1880s Cattle Kingdom: the region dominated by the cattle industry and its ranches, trails, and cow towns Ranchers made large profits as herds and markets grew Then the cattle industry collapsed Pg 467

Pg 467 The Cattle Boom At the height of the cattle boom, ranchers could buy a young calf for $5 and sell a mature steer for $60 Even after expenses of the cattle drive, profits were high Profits rose with introduction of new breeds Had fewer diseases and more meat Backers from the East and Europe invested millions in cattle companies One company had ranches over 800 square miles, in 3 states

Pg 468 The Boom Ends By the mid-1880s, more than 7 million cattle roamed the open range More than the land could feed Beginning in 1886 and 1887, a cycle of scorching summers and frigid winters killed millions of cattle Sheep began competing with cattle for grass Without having grass for their herd to graze, ranchers had to buy expensive feed Giant cattle companies gave way to smaller ones that grew their own feed As the railroad expanded, it got closer to the cattle ranches causing roundups and cattle drives to vanish