1. Cattle, Cowboys, and Settling the Great Plains
5.1 & 5.2

2. Settlers Push Westward
Great Plains area and beyond
Grassland extending through west-central portion of U.S.
Lure of gold and silver
1849 – Gold Rush in CA
1858 – discovered in Colorado
Culture clash w/ Native Americans
N.A. believed land could not be owned
Settlers believed rights to land were forfeited b/c they hadn’t settled and “improved” the land

4. Dawes Act Aimed to “Americanize” Native Americans
Broke up reservations
Gave some land to individual N.A.
Head of household – 160 acres
Unmarried adult – 80 acres
Remainder sold to settlers
$ intended to go to N.A. for farming supplies – didn’t happen
2/3 of N.A. land went to whites
Dawes Act

5. Destruction of Buffalo
Buffalo = main source of food, clothing, shelter, fuel for N.A.
Buffalo shot for sport by tourists, fur traders
1800 – 65 million buffalo
1890 – less than 1,000

6. INDIAN USES OF THE BUFFALO
Hide - Buckskin moccasin tops cradles winter robes bedding breechclouts shirts leggings lance covers belts dresses pipe bags pouches paint bags pouches dolls coup flag covers quivers tipi covers gun cases
Hair headdresses saddle pad filler pillows rope ornaments halters medicine balls Tail medicine switch fly brush lodge exterior decorations whips Hoof & Feet glue rattles
Horns cups fire carriers powder horn spoons ladles headdresses signals toys Meat (every part eaten) pemmican (converted) hump ribs-immediately jerky (converted) Skin Of Hind Leg moccasins or boots
Rawhide containers clothing headdress food medicine bags shields buckets moccasin soles rattles drums drumsticks splints cinches ropes belts bullets pouches saddles horse masks lance cases armbands quirts bull boats knife cases stirrups thongs horse ornament

7. Wounded Knee
Paiute prophet advised Sioux to perform ritual “Ghost Dance” to restore N.A. way of life
Spread among 25,000 Sioux – alarmed U.S. military leaders
Ordered arrest of Sitting Bull
Bodyguard, Catch-the-Bear, shot one arresting officers
Sitting Bull killed in return
Chief Big Foot led Sioux away
7th Cavalry slaughtered 300 unarmed N.A.
Corpses left to freeze on the ground
Ended the era of “Indian Wars”

9. Cattle Great Plains opened up to cattle ranchers Herded longhorns
Sturdy, short-tempered breed from Spain
Learned from Mexicans
Demand for beef grew
Growing cities, railroads
transported beef to
markets

10. Chisholm Trail
San Antonio, TX to
Abilene, KS
“Cow Town”

11. Cowboy Vocabulary
Mexican vaquero – Spanish rancher who first wore spurs to control horse
Chaparreras – leather overalls / “chaps”
Charqui – dried strips of meat / “jerky”
Bronco caballo – wild “rough horse” / bronc or bronco
Mestenos – mustangs
Rancho – ranch
Corral and rodeo
Mexican vaquero was the true influence of the American cowboy

12. Cowboy Life Mostly white / 25% A.A. / 12% Mexican Romantic picture
riding the open range, herding cattle, fighting villains
Reality – nonstop work
10-14 hrs on the ranch, then 14 hrs on the trails
Constant awareness of herds
Roundup and branding
Long drive
3 months,
$100/month
moving cattle

13. End of the Open Range Overgrazing Extended bad weather
Invention of barbed wire
Smaller herds of higher quality meet = more profitable
Barbed wire turned open range into fenced in ranches

14. Land Grants for Railroads
170 million acres worth $500 million to lay track
Union Pacific and Central Pacific
10 miles of land for every mile of track
20 miles in territory land
Immigrants did most of grueling labor
Two companies met in Utah – 1869
First transcontinental railroad completed
Railroads sold some land for $10-20

17. Homestead Act 160 Acres of free land to… Exodusters
Any citizen or intended citizen
Head of household
600,000 families from
Not all land of equal value – some less farmable
Exodusters
African Americans who moved from the post-Reconstruction South to Kansas
Oklahoma becomes the “Sooner” state

18. Closing of the Frontier
1872 – Yellowstone National Park
Wanted to preserve…
“objects new in experience…possessing unlimited grandeur and beauty.”
All land in the west bought
Uniqueness of America’s “frontier” no longer existed

19. Morrill Act – 1862/1890
Gave federal land to states to help finance agricultural colleges
Hatch Act – 1887
Established agricultural
experiment stations
Informed farmers of new
developments
Developed grains for arid
soil
Dry farming techniques
help land retain moisture
Enabled dry plains to
flourish

20. Challenge of the Plains
Droughts, floods, fires,
blizzards, locust plagues,
occasional raids by outlaws
and Native Americans
Homes dugout of small hills
Soddy – made of soil
Women worked with husbands, but often left alone for extended periods of time
Sponsored schools, made clothes, canned vegetables/fruit, skilled in doctoring