Settling the West Section 1 “Miners and Ranchers” Placer Mining – Using picks, shovels, and pans. Quartz Mining – Dug deep beneath the surface. Henry Comstock – Staked a claim in Six Mile Canyon, Nevada. Vigilance Committees – self appointed volunteers punishing wrongdoers.

Open Range – A vast area of grassland owned by the government. Long Drive – From either Abilene or Dodge City in Kansas to Sedalia, Missouri. Chisholm Trail – A town that rivaled the mining towns in terms of rowdiness. Mavericks – stray calves with no identifying symbols Barbed Wire – enabled hundreds of square miles to be fenced off cheaply and easily.

Section 2 “Farming the Plains” Great Plains – Extended westward to the Rocky Mountains from around the 100 th meridian. Stephen Long – Explored the region with an army expedition in Homestead Act – For a $10 registration fee, an individual could file for a homestead. Homestead – A tract of public land available for settlement.

Dry Farming – Plant seeds deep in the ground where there was enough moisture for them to grow. Sodbusters – those who plowed the soil on the Plains. Bonanza Farms – often yielded big profits.

Section 3 “Native Americans” Nomads – roamed vast distances following their main source of food. Annuities – payments to reservation dwellers Little Crow – Asked traders to provide food to his people on credit. Fetterman’s Massacre – The Lakota Sioux defended their territory.

Sand Creek Massacre – Took place along Sand Creek in eastern Colorado. Indian Peace Commission – Proposed creating two large reservations on the Plains. One for the Sioux and one for the southern Plains Indians. George A. Custer – Commander of the Seventh Cavalry. Ghost Dance – ritual that celebrated a hoped-for day of reckoning when settlers would disappear, the buffalo would return, and native Americans would be reunited with their deceased ancestors. Assimilate – to be absorbed Allotments – were families could be self- supporting.