Cowboys & the Cattle Drives

Era of Economic Development 1860-1920 Cowboys & the Cattle Drives

Who originally brought cattle to Texas?

SPAIN

We’re here!

Vaquero (Cowboy) Shirts- 2 wool shirts red is the popular color Hats- broad brimmed hat Chaps-leather chaps save wear & tear on your pants Pants- wool Lariat- 40ft long rope Spurs- star shaped will not injure the horse’s sides and easy to walk in Boots- with pointed toe and “cowboy heel”

Cook- goes ahead of the group to prepare the food in a chuck wagon Drag- newest & youngest person who works behind the drive "Only thing dumber ‘ n' cow. is a cowboy” Wrangler- cares for saddle horses Trail boss- is in charge of the trail drive and money Scouts

XIT The life of a cowboy... Brand Roundup Is life on the cattle drive easy? Watch out for stampedes on the open range Remuda- “exchange”

The Longhorn • Spanish/Anglo breed • Especially suited to open-range ranching: • --could withstand cold/hot weather • --long legged and could walk long • distances • --long pointed horns for protection • (average horns about 6 ft long) • --could travel long distances without a • lot of water

Cause for Cattle Trails... • After Civil War, the demand for beef increased • Cattle in Texas was $4 per head • Cattle in the North and East was $30 to $40 per head Effect of Cattle Trails... • Cow towns were built near packinghouses and stockyards • Abilene, Kansas was the first cow town • After the war, numerous trails were added to support the • growing cattle industry in Texas • Expansion of the Railroads allowed cattle to be herded north to the trains where they would be shipped East to be sold.

Famous Cattle Trails All trails end at railroads.

Chisholm Trail Western Trail (Dodge City) • Jesse Chisholm is part Cherokee • Indian and traded with them. • Trail was established to drive • cattle farther west to Abilene,KS • with the help of business man • Joseph McCoy. • To avoid new settlers that lived • along the Chisholm Trail • Drove cattle to Dodge City, KS

Goodnight- Loving Trail John Adair • Goodnight and Loving • Drove the cattle from center of north Texas to Pecos • Rivers affected the path of the trail by providing water for the herds • Only Texas Trail that didn’t go through Indian Territory • Loving died during a Indian attack.

The Closing of the Open Range • Once the buffalo had been killed and the Native Texans were moved onto reservations, settlers began moving into West Texas and the open range became crowded. • In addition, farmers in these areas were upset by the cattle drives because trailing herds trampled crops , grazed on grass needed to feed the farmer’s livestock, and carried a disease known as “Tick Fever.” • Pioneers throughout the Great Plains were constantly looking for a cheap solution for the cattle that trampled and ate their crops as they were herded along the trails

The closing of the Open Range cont. • 1873 Joseph F. Glidden invented barbed wire • Barbed wire was inexpensive and effective • Barbed wire soon spread across the state, fencing off individual farms and ranches • The open range soon became a thing of the past!

The closing of the Open Range cont. • The introduction of windmills also encouraged ranchers to fence their land • Cattle owners had allowed their cattle to roam the open range in search of water. • As a result of the windmill, pioneers could contain their cattle in a certain area and use the windmills to provide water from underground (did not have to depend on surface water sources)

Daniel Webster “80 John” Wallace – most respected black rancher • Richard & Henrietta King – • well known ranch today. • After Richard died Henrietta • became the richest women. • XIT Ranch- In the 1880s the Farwell • brothers were given 3 million acres of land • in the Texas Panhandle for building the state • capital. Keeping the land together made it • The largest ranch in the state—it spanned • 10 counties. Ranchers Goodnight and Adair established the 1st permanent ranch in the Panhandle, the JA Ranch Goodnight and Adair

Cowboys & the Cattle Drives