1. Section 3 – pg 464 Cattle Kingdoms
Chapter 13
Section 3 – pg 464
Cattle Kingdoms

2. The Rise of the Cattle Industry
Pg 464
The Rise of the Cattle Industry
For years, wild cattle wandered the open range (unfenced lands) of Texas
Called longhorns
Needed almost no care
Survived on prairie grass and watering holes

3. Pg 464
Means and Markets
The herds of cattle had grown from strays brought over by Spanish ranchers
When ranches were first being set up, no one bothered to round up the wandering animals b/c there was no way to get them to the market
Railroad made it possible to get the protein-rich beef to city dwellers in the east and miners and soldiers in the West

4. Pg 464
The Long Drives
Ranchers began rounding up the cattle in the 1860s
Hired cowhands - skilled riders who know how to herd cattle – to move the cattle to rail lines in Kansas, Missouri, and Wyoming
Some rail lines were 1,000 miles away
Cattle drive: the herding and moving of cattle over long distances
Often would happen in spring

5. Cattle drives lasted 2 – 3 months
Pg 465
Cattle drives lasted 2 – 3 months
Followed well-worn trails
In the east: Chisholm Trail from San Antonio, Texas to Abilene, Kansas
In the west: Goodnight-Loving Trail led to Wyoming
In just one year 600,000 cattle might be moved north

6. Life on the Trail: A Risky Ride
Pg 465
Life on the Trail: A Risky Ride
Life on the trail was hard and dangerous
Cattle will go where they want when they are thirsty
Lightning can send them stampeding in all directions
Swift currents could carry longhorns away
Cowhands had to fight grass fires, pull cattle from swamps, and chase off thieves

7. Cowhands could spend 18 hours a day in the saddle
Pg 466
Cowhands could spend 18 hours a day in the saddle
Earn less than a $1 a day
Cattle ranching relied on a workforce of low-paid laborers

8. Spanish Roots Cowhands owed much to Spanish and Mexican vaqueros
Pg 466
Spanish Roots
Cowhands owed much to Spanish and Mexican vaqueros
Vaquero: the Spanish word for cowhand, or cowboy
Tended cattle on ranches in Mexico, California, and the Southwest

9. Approx 1/3 of all western cowhands were Mexican
Pg 466
When Americans started herd cattle, they learned how to ride, rope, and brand from vaqueros
Cowboys wore Mexican spurs and leather chaps to keep their legs safe from thorny bushes
The cowboy hat is derived from the sombrero
Approx 1/3 of all western cowhands were Mexican
Many others were African American and white veterans

10. The Wild West Cattle drives ended at towns along railroad lines Pg 466
These towns were often unruly and helped create the idea we have of the Wild West today

11. Pg 466
Cow Towns
In 1867, Joseph McCoy had an idea of how to make money off the cowboys
Thought that after months on the trail, cowboys would want a bath, hot meal, a soft bed, and some fun
Founded Abilene, Kansas where the Chrisholm Trail met the Kansas Pacific Railroad
Was the first cow town:
settlement at the end of a
cattle trail

12. Rival cow towns sprang up
Pg 466
Rival cow towns sprang up
Wichita and Dodge City
Had dance halls, saloons,
hotels, and restaurants
Drinking and gambling often led to brawls that spilled into the streets
Gunfights were rare, but often enough for Wichita to ban carrying pistols

13. Pg 467
The Myth of the West
Rough life in cow towns helped spread the myth that the west was a violent, adventurous place of opportunity
Called the Wild West by Easterners

14. Pg 467
William “Buffalo Bill” Cody, a former buffalo hunter, created a traveling Wild West show in 1883
Gun-slinging cowboys and NAs performed sharp shooting and horseback riding
Staged performances showing frontier events, including Custer’s Last Stand
Annie Oakley showed she could shoot as well as any man

15. Pg 467
The idea of the Wild West was based on some fact however the west was quickly changing
NAs were being forced onto reservations
Cow towns became permanent as settlers arrived
Ministers wanted peaceful communities for their families and their faith

16. Boom and Bust in the Cattle Kingdom
The cattle boom lasted from the 1860s to the 1880s
Cattle Kingdom: the region dominated by the cattle industry and its ranches, trails, and cow towns
Ranchers made large profits as herds and markets grew
Then the cattle industry collapsed
Pg 467

17. Pg 467
The Cattle Boom
At the height of the cattle boom, ranchers could buy a young calf for $5 and sell a mature steer for $60
Even after expenses of the cattle drive, profits were high
Profits rose with introduction of new breeds
Had fewer diseases and more meat
Backers from the East and Europe invested millions in cattle companies
One company had ranches
over 800 square miles,
in 3 states

18. Pg 468
The Boom Ends
By the mid-1880s, more than 7 million cattle roamed the open range
More than the land could feed
Beginning in 1886 and 1887, a cycle of scorching summers and frigid winters killed millions of cattle
Sheep began competing with cattle for grass
Without having grass for their herd to graze, ranchers had to buy expensive feed
Giant cattle companies gave way to smaller ones that grew their own feed
As the railroad expanded, it got closer to the cattle ranches causing roundups and cattle drives to vanish