Miners, Cowboys, and Indians
After the California gold rush in the 1850’s, miners began prospecting in other parts of the west. In 1858, miners were making a day mining gold at the base of Pikes Peak in Colorado. Prospectors made a meager living panning gold from streams. Most of the gold was found in lodes-streaks of gold ore found between layers of rocks.
Extracting the ore required expensive machinery and Britain became a big investor in American mines. Mining companies soon replaced the individual prospector backed by American investors as well. Silver mining became a huge industry at sites like the Comstock Lode in Carson City, Nevada. Henry Comstock owned a share of the mine.
The Comstock Lode made millions for the mining companies but Henry Comstock sold his share for 11,000 dollars a two mules. Virginia City, Nevada was one of the first big boomtowns-cities that sprang up overnight. Money, violence, and vigilante (those who take the law into their own hands) justice was the norm as many towns had no police force, judges or juries. Men outnumbered women 2 to 1 in these towns.
Boomtowns like Virginia City became ghost towns as fast as they came into existence. In 30 years, Virginia City’s population dwindled from 30,000 to 400. Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, and Montana became states during the mining boom out west. Gold & silver moved to copper, lead, and zinc in these states.
Mines had little value back east if their raw materials could not be shipped back. Wagons & stagecoach lines could not move people or goods fast enough. From the US went from 35,000 miles of track to over 150,000. National and state governments gave away land to railroad executives that was traded and swindled from Native Americans.
The 1850’s began a desire for a transcontinental railroad. Due to the Civil War, the Union made a northern route leaving the south without a major railroad connection. The Union Pacific Company laid track west from Omaha, Nebraska and the Central Pacific worked east from Sacramento, Ca. Chinese & Irish workers laid most of the track for low wages and harsh conditions.
The 2 tracks came together on May 10, By 1883, two more transcontinental lines connected many western towns to eastern ones but the time schedules needed to change. Railroad companies divided the country into four time zones exactly one hour apart. Congress passed a law making it official in 1918.
When the Spanish settled Mexico and Texas, they brought a breed of cattle with them called longhorns. Texas was open range-not fenced or divided where cattle ran wild until farmers burned brands in them to tell them apart. Texas had plenty of cattle and railroads took the beef north and east. Longhorns that were worth $3.00 rose to $40.00.
Cow towns were towns located near railroads to market and ship cattle. Abilene and Dodge City Kansas and Cheyenne Wyoming became important rail stations and cow towns. Long Drive-the herding of cattle one thousand miles or more to meet the railroads, became the norm in Texas. Two trails from Texas to Abilene were the chisholm and Goodnight- Loving Trail.
Cattle driving was hard work as cow hands road in the saddle up to fifteen hours in all weather conditions. Life was lonely as cow hands saw few outsiders. Most cow hands were Confederate army veterans. Some African Americans and Hispanics went west for the better life. Chaps & lariats became tools of the trade.
Violent storms, rustlers, Indians, and stampedes were many dangers on the trail. While all cowboys worked together, discrimination existed in the west too. Minorities never became trail bosses and were paid less. Towns discriminated against all minorities altogether. Towns were rowdy, lawless, and violent. Cow hands drank, gambled, fought, and used guns.
Railroads brought settlers to free land like the Homestead Act which gave one hundred and sixty acres to settlers that lived on the and for five years. Among the thousands of new settlers, immigrants and single women had the same rights as the white men. Twelve percent of all land claims were single women. Married women could not claim land.
Exo-dusters were African Americans that came from southern states in the 1870s. Sodbusters known Plains Farmers used new methods and tools for farming. Barbed wire was used by farmers to protect their land. Farmers often clashed with open range cattle. Sooners came to Oklahoma and staked claims there. After 1890 Congress claimed the west was settled.
Native Americans lived in the west for centuries until miners, railroads, cattle drives, and farmers disrupted that tradition. Omaha and Osage Indians were moved off of the Plains by farmers. Sioux, Comanche, & Blackfoot Indians followed the migration of the buffalo until hunters with rifles slaughtered the herds. Railroad companies wanted the buffalo for their workers and to keep large herds from interfering with track lines.
This policy was enacted by the federal government to move Indians from the plains to large tracks of land. These lands were managed by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. Indians were often swindled and tricked onto the lands. The Bureau often failed to keep promises of food, supplies, and good land. Pockets of resistance grew & set the stage for conflict.
Little Crow-led Sioux warriors in burning and looting Minnesota settlers, hundreds died. The Lakota-a branch of the Sioux fought in the Black Hills of South Dakota to keep their lands. Crazy Horse-led some Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho in successful attacks from Chief Black Kettle-led Cheyenne warriors to negotiate a peace treaty until they were attacked without warning and killed the peace seekers. The Cheyenne reacted by killing settlers until they finally agreed to stop fighting.
In 1868, a treaty was supposed to bring peace to the Dakotas until gold was discovered on land set aside for the Lakota and Sioux tribes. Whites decided they wanted the gold worse than they wanted peace & tried several times to swindle the land away from the Indians. Sitting Bull & Crazy Horse slaughtered the entire 7 th Calvary at Little Bighorn. Eventually starved into submission, the Indians agreed again to be moved to reservations.
Geronimo-led Apache warriors into defiant revolt in Arizona, Mexico, and other areas in the 1870’s until finally being the last Indian leader to formally surrender to American authorities in Geronimo was exiled to Florida to hard labor on the promise he would be allowed to return to Arizona but that promise was never kept by whites that kept him in prison at Fort Sill, Oklahoma until his death.
Cochise-was the most famous of the two Apache warriors that fought for Apache freedom from 1861 until his surrender in Fearing that whites would mutilate the body of Cochise when he finally died in 1874, the surviving Indians buried him in the Chiracahua Mountains never telling a white soul the location.
The prophet Wovoka claimed the Sioux would reclaim their greatness if they performed a ritual called the ghost dance. The ritual spread and the reservation police believed that Sitting Bull was the real leader behind this movement and in an attempt to arrest him, killed him. The dance proved to be another false hope for the Sioux and the Lakota fled in fear.
The Lakota gathered at Wounded Knee, South Dakota at a creek in December of The army went to collect what few weapons they had and during the confiscation a shot rang out. The army opened fire on helpless and mostly unarmed Indian men, women, and children killing over 200 Indians. This marked the end of armed conflict between whites and Native Americans that lost their struggle for their independence.