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Ranching in Texas. Chapter 17. Spanish Origins. Before Europeans explored North America, cattle in Spain were raised for meat & hides. When the Spanish came to Texas, they brought cattle with them. Cattle During the Civil War.
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Ranching in Texas Chapter 17
Spanish Origins • Before Europeans explored North America, cattle in Spain were raised for meat & hides. • When the Spanish came to Texas, they brought cattle with them.
Cattle During the Civil War • With most men fighting in the Civil War, the ranching work was left undone. • Many herds roamed Texas & increased greatly. • After the war, there were so many cattle with few people that could afford to buy them.
Railroad Expansion • After the Civil War, railroads expanded westward. This allowed ranchers to ship their cattle to markets across Texas, and to the North & East.
A Market For Beef • After the Civil War, the demand for beef increased with stockyards & packinghouses being established near Chicago & St. Louis. • Stockyard: A pen where livestock is kept before being butchered or shipped to market • Packinghouse: A warehouse where beef is prepared for shipment
Cow Towns Developed • A longhorn that was worth $4 in Texas brought $40 in the packinghouses. • As a result, Joseph G. McCoy built the first cow town in Abilene, Kansas along the Union Pacific Railroad. • Cow Town: A town that serves as a market for cattle
Cattle Trails • The Chisholm Trail was the 1st cattle trail that connected Texas to the Abilene cow town. • 35,000 cattle reached Abilene on this trail in 1867 & 6 million longhorns by 1887. • As more railroads were built, more trails developed.
Cowboy Culture • Since most ranches were established in West Texas, this region developed a cowboy culture. • The cowboy, or cowhand, has become a popular folk hero & a symbol of the West.
Barbed Wire • The success of the ranching industry caused ranges to become crowded with too many ranchers competing for pasture space. • In 1873, Joseph F. Glidden invented Barbed Wire, which wasinexpensive and kept cattle from destroying crops on other farms. • As a result, open ranges became a thing of the past.
Ranching Becomes Commercial • Since ranching was so successful, many foreign investors bought ranches in West Texas. • The invention of barbed wire allowed these investors to build fences, which caused ranching to become commercial instead of a way of life.
Windmills • Since West Texas was drywith few rivers, cattle owners had allowed their cattle to roam the open range in search of water. • However, windmills were invented to pump underground water from wells. Ranchers used these to provide water for their cattle & to keep them in a certain area.