Origins of the Cattle Kingdom

Cattle Introduction First cattle brought to America were brought by Spain in the 1500s Herds of cattle escaped ranches and began grazing across Texas Climate, abundant water, and nutritious grass made Texas ideal for raising cattle

Ranchers use the Open Range Even though there was an abundance of cattle, they had little value Were mostly sold for hides and fat Ranchers began driving cattle to eastern cities for better markets

Trail Driving After the Civil War beef prices in the East made cattle drives profitable Texas=$4/head East =$30-40/head Railroad towns allowed Texas cattle to sell in the east St. Louis, Chicago Most drives took place in spring so cattle could feed

Cowboys find Trouble First trails went through Missouri, but farmers began complain about crops being eaten From 1860-1870 cattle drives began moving further west into Kansas As the railroad expanded cattle drives moved into Colorado

The End of Cattle Drives Farmers in the mid-west began using barbwire to keep cattle from eating crops The supply of cattle was more than the demand so drives were no longer profitable By 1885 the railroad had expanded into Texas

Cowboy Myths Hard, unglamorous work Worked long hours 18 hours a day in the saddle Spent winter unemployed Most cowboys were AA and MA

Assignment Trace the map on page RA20 Include Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, New Mexico, and Colorado Copy the map on page 415 Add the four cattle trails and railroads Label the following cities: Texas: Dallas, Fort Worth, Fort Concho, San Antonio, Austin, Fort Belknap, Kerrville Missouri: Sedalia, Baxter Springs Kansas: Kansas City, Topeka, Abilene, Ellsworth, Dodge City Colorado: Denver, Pueblo On the back create a 3 sentence paragraph explaining why cattle drives were important for the Texas economy