The Civil War is Over! We are close to the turn of the century!

The Civil War is Over! We are close to the turn of the century! What does “turn of the century” mean? Life was changing in the United States! Most change was good. Let’s learn all about it!

Texas is known for many things! One thing that it is known for is its cattle production. Texas

After the Civil War, many Texas cattle farmers returned home to find that their cattle herds had grown tremendously! Why?

This is great that our cattle population has grown so much when we were fighting in the war! We can sell all this beef. Demand is high for beef in the Eastern United States! So much beef was consumed by the Confederate and Union armies during the war.

Not so fast, buddy! How will we get all this cattle to the East? How will we transport it? The beef markets are far away from Texas! Did he say, “Beef Markets?” RUUUN!!

I have an idea! My name is Joseph McCoy. I am a cattle farmer from Illinois! Let me show you how we can move this cattle from Texas to the Eastern states!

We can herd the cattle through Texas and Indian Territory. Then we can go to Abilene, Kansas. There, we will load the cattle onto railroad cars and take it to the East!! Indian Territory herding cattle

We can herd the cattle through Texas and Indian Territory Then we can go to Abilene, Kansas. There we will load the cattle onto railroad cars and take it to the East!!

In 1867, the first cattle trail was blazed! It was called the Chisholm Trail. Where would the cattle go once they got to Abilene? Jesse Chisholm The trail was initially a wagon trail. It is estimated that 6 million cattle made their way up the Chisholm Trail from 1867 to the mid 1880’s! That is a lot of beef!

There were also other cattle routes that would take cattle to Nebraska and Northern territories. One was called the Great Western Cattle Trail.

Many bones of cows and calves were found along the path. These animals could not keep up with the herds and died. Even cowboys died along the way from disease, accidents, oreven Indian attacks.

Let’s Review Why was there a shortage of beef in the East? The Civil War armies ate a great deal of beef during the war. What was the solution to getting cattle to the East? The solution was to herd the cattle from Texas up to Kansas. In Kansas, the cattle was then put on railroad cars to be taken to Eastern states.

This cattle owner was one of the first people to figure out a way how to get cattle from Texas to the East. Joseph McCoy This was the cattle trail that led cattle herds to the northern territories in the United States. Great Western Cattle Trail This was the cattle trail that went from Texas to Abilene, Kansas. It was the first cattle trail. Chisholm Trail Who was the Chisholm Trail named after? Jesse Chisholm Discussion Question: How is cattle transported today?

The Civil War is Over! We are close to the turn of the century!