1. Chapter 11 Section 1 Miners and Ranchers By: Dalton Paul Troehler, Patrick Michael McCowen, & Christian Shane Ward

2. What brought the first wave of settlers to the West? In 1859 silver ore was discovered in Nevada The news of mineral strikes started a stampede of prospectors to the West in hopes of striking it rich Prospectors began heading west in hopes of finding gold Boomtowns formed and mining became a way of life Cattle ranching also prospered on the Plains

3. Gold nuggetsProspectors

4. What did Comstock find on his claim in Six-Mile Canyon? In 1859 a prospector named Henry Comstock staked a claim in Six- Mile Canyon, near Virginia city, Nevada. Frustrated with not finding gold, Comstock sold his claim. The sticky, blue-grey clay that made mining in the area difficult turned out to be nearly pure silver ore.

5. H enry Comstock Six-Mile Canyon Silver ore

6. What invention led to the closing of the open range? Cattle ranching prospered on the Plains because of the open range, a vast area of grassland that the federal government owned. During the Civil War, thousands of cattle were killed for food causing people to fence in their lands. The barbed-wire fence was essentially the reason the open range closed.

7. Open range Barbed-wire fence

8. What is a vigilance committee? Vigilance Committees- self-appointed volunteers who would track down and punish wrongdoers. The mining boomtowns were rowdy places filled with prospectors fighting over claims and thieves. With no established law enforcement, members of the towns took “law and order” into their own hands by forming the vigilance committees.

10. What was the Chisholm Trail By the 1860's railroads had reached the great plains. Ranchers realized if they could get their cattle to the railroads to be shipped off they would make a huge profit. Between 1867 & 1871 cowboys drove nearly 1.5 million head of cattle up the Chisholm Trail. The Chisholm Trail reached from southern Texas to Abilene, Kansas.

11. Cattle drive

12. Essential Question: What economic opportunities did farmers and ranchers seek? Farmers set out to turn a huge profit by moving to seek the best farmlands they could find. Ranchers set out to raise good heads of cattle that would fetch top dollar when sold to railroad companies to be shipped to the East.