Cattle Kingdoms

Spanish Origins *The Spanish first brought cattle & horses to Texas -By early 1800’s: nearly 1 million wild longhorns in TX -Spaniards allowed their cattle to roam the plains freely & marked their cows with a brand to show ownership.

Cattle Branding Freeze Branding

The First Cattle Ranchers in TX: -First ranchers: Spanish priests and soldiers! -1820’s: Anglos entered the business & soon adopted ways of Spanish-Mexican vaqueros – riding, roping, herding, and branding. Talk like a Vaquero -Early ranchers faced many problems: drought, disease, theft, and finding markets for their stock

Influence of the Civil War -Civil War changed the TX cattle industry -Union blockade increased need for food & demand for TX beef -Blockade made it difficult to ship beef out of state >>>> industry declined >>>> longhorns roamed the plains unattended Union ironclad the Monitor (1862)

Influence of the Civil War *End of War marked cattle BOOM! -New markets opened -As population grew, demand soared! -During war, cattle decreased in North & increased greatly in Texas

-By 1865 millions of longhorns roamed TX & worth only $3 to $4 in TX -In East, sold for $30 to $40 each!! WOW! *Large supply and high demand created great profits! *Cattle boom helped TX recover from the war!

Cattle Trails Cattle Drive *Northern demand for beef led to rise of cattle trails Roundup – took place in spring Cowboys drove herds north to towns with rail stations Cattle sent by rail to Northern states where they would be slaughtered for meat Cattle Drive

Cattle Trails *Problems: -Unpredictable weather, river crossings, rattlesnakes, stampedes, extreme heat, Indian attacks, cattle thieves -Farmers complained the cattle trampled their crops -Claimed longhorns spread disease called TX fever to their cows

Famous Trails Lead a Cattle Drive -Chisholm Trail -Great Western Trail -Goodnight-Loving Trail Lead a Cattle Drive

Life on the Trail -Cowboys rounded up the cattle in the spring -Branded and divided cattle into herds -Average trail herd: 3,000! -Cowboys ranged from 11-18, including cook and scout, and remuda of fresh horses -Trail boss (manager) picked route & was responsible for success of drive – made $100 or more -Cook received about $75 a month Stock a Chuck Wagon -Trail hands earned only $25-$40 a month

Chuck Wagon – Texas early 1900’s

Life on the Trail -Herd moved 10-15 miles a day -guard duty at night -Most cowboys – teens to early 20’s (small build) -2 out of 3 were Anglos – rest African Americans, Tejanos, Mexicans, Indians, and few women! -Spent up to 36 hrs. straight in a saddle…ouch!

Big Ranches *Late 1870’s – land & cattle companies owned over HALF the land in West Texas! -Ranchers soon enclosed their land – ending large cattle drives -King Ranch -Charles Goodnight’s JA Ranch -XIT Ranch *Sheep, goat, and mustang ranches expanded in Texas http://King Ranch

Closing of the Western Frontier -With Indians now on reservations, conflict arose among settlers about open land. Barbed Wire -1874: Illinois farmer, Joseph Glidden is credited with an effective design of barbed wire -Metal was light, strong, cheap -Barbed wire changed Texas forever… Ranchers strung thousands of miles of it across TX -The open range no longer existed by the 1880’s. It was fenced in.

Fence Cutting Wars -Landless cattle owners wanted the open range again where cattle had access to water and grass - cut fences! -Threatened ranchers, burned pastures -Caused damages around $20 million -1884, Texas made it a felony to cut a fence! -End of the decade, Rangers brought an end to fence cutting wars

The Frontier Wars Main Idea: After the Civil War, the U.S. fought a series of wars against the Indians living in TX. The defeat of the Indians opened West TX to white settlement

A History of Conflict Soldiers Defending Texas After the Civil War, the U.S. government sent troops to help end the Indian raids. In 1867, tribal leaders met with government officials to sign the Medicine Lodge Treaty. The treaty did not bring peace. Satanta

A History of Conflict Reservation Policy Kiowas raided a wagon train at Salt Creek in the Salt Creek Massacre. Army switched its policy. The army would now force all Indians onto reservations. Fighting in Texas intensified.

The Frontier Wars in the TX Panhandle U.S. Strategies Soldiers attacked Indian villages. Troops captured food, blankets, and other supplies. Soldiers burned the villages and killed the horses. The army brought in buffalo hunters to destroy the Indians’ major food source. The buffalo hunters nearly drove the animal to extinction (complete destruction).

Frontier Wars in the TX Panhandle Red River War The Texas Rangers, joined in with Red River War. By destroying the Native Americans’ horses and food supply, U.S. troops were able to defeat them.

The Frontier Wars in Southern TX The end of the Red River War did not stop the violence in Texas: Rio Grande Campaigns - Apache leader Victorio led Indian raids across the Southwest and Mexico. Buffalo Soldiers - Buffalo Soldiers were African American soldiers who fought in the Frontier Wars

Frontier Wars in Southern TX Cattle thieves were common Cattle ranchers fought against sheep ranchers Bandits raided South Texas towns The Texas Rangers helped control some of these problems.