Miners , Ranchers , and Railroads

1. Miners, Ranchers, and Railroads [c] sophia’s graphics & rightful owners of the following pictures By: Crystal Chan & Sophia Chin

2. Mining Boom Brings Growth • With the admission of the state of California Union in 1850 the western boundary of American Frontier; an undeveloped area which reached the Pacific Ocean • After the war the increase of settlements grew quickly and the U.S. population spread throughout the West • The miners, ranchers, and farmers remade landscape to adapt to the new environment • The new landscape led to a large and successful railroad industry • Gold & silver were the most valuable natural resource

3. Big Business • Located in Western Nevada • In 1859 a miner Henry Comstock discovered a huge deposit of gold & silver in Nevada which is now known as Comstock Lode • Expensive equipment is needed to remove the gold & silver so the poor people who owed mining land couldn’t afford machinery so the rich people bought the land • Miners often breathed dusty air and it was hot and stuffy which lead to lung disease • Other risks are the walls caving in and badly planned explosions

4. Settlers • People from all over the world came to the West - Eastern U.S, Europe, Central and South America, Asia, and people from Mexico

5. New Town • Mining booms = Boomtown • Towns grows when mine opens (disappear as fast) which includes general stores, saloons, and boarding houses • Almost no family or women in boomtowns

6. Women did what? • Washed, cooked, raised families, made clothes, chopped would established schools, & work newspapers • Help turn mining camp site successful so it became permanent towns

7. Importance of Cowboys • Cowboys were workers who took care of rancher’s cattle • They borrowed techniques and tools form vaqueros, Mexican hands who cared for cattle and horses - i.e. western saddle, the lariat- rope used for lassoing cattle, and the felt hat which they changed into the high-peaked cowboy hat • The most important and dangerous duty for a cowboy is the cattle drive, a long journey in which cowboys herded cattle to the market or northern plains for grazing - i.e. lasted several months and covered hundred of miles

8. Importance of Cowboys Continued…… • One of the trails the cowboy used was the Chisholm trail which was one of the earliest and most popular trail to use - The trail runs from San Antonio, Texas to Abilene, Kansas • Some cowboys made life rough and violent in cattle towns