cattle kingdoms & westward expansion. spanish origins *the spanish first brought cattle &...
TRANSCRIPT
Cattle Kingdoms & Westward Expansion
Spanish Origins*The Spanish first brought cattle &
horses to Texas -By early 1800’s: nearly 1 million
wild longhorns in TX-Spaniards allowed their cattle to
roam the plains freely & marked their cows with a brand to show ownership
Cattle Brands
The First Cattle Ranchers in TX:
-First ranchers: Spanish priests and soldiers!
-1820’s: Anglos entered the business & soon adopted ways of Spanish-Mexican vaqueros – riding, roping, herding, and branding.
Talk like a Vaquero-Early ranchers
faced many problems: drought, disease, theft, and finding markets for their stock
Influence of the Civil War-Civil War changed
the TX cattle industry
-Union blockade increased need for food & demand for TX beef
-Blockade made it difficult to ship beef out of state >>>> industry declined >>>> longhorns
roamed the plains unattended
Union ironclad the Monitor (1862)
Influence of the Civil War*End of War marked cattle BOOM! -New markets opened-As population grew, demand
soared! -During war, cattle decreased in
North & increased greatly in Texas
-By 1865 millions of longhorns roamed TX & worth only $3 to $4 in TX
-In East, sold for $30 to $40 each!! WOW!
*Large supply and high demand created great profits!
*Cattle boom helped TX recover from the war!
Cattle Trails*Northern demand for beef led to rise of
cattle trails1. Roundup – took place in spring2. Cowboys drove herds north to towns
with rail stations3. Cattle sent by rail to Northern states
where they would be slaughtered for meat
Cattle Trails*Problems:
-Unpredictable weather, river crossings, rattlesnakes, stampedes, extreme heat, Indian attacks, cattle thieves-Farmers complained the cattle trampled their crops -Claimed longhorns spread disease called TX fever to their cows
Famous Trails-Chisholm Trail-Great Western Trail-Goodnight-Loving TrailLead a Cattle Drive
Life on the Trail-Cowboys rounded up the cattle in the
spring-Branded and divided cattle into herds-Average trail herd: 3,000!-Cowboys ranged from 11-18, including
cook and scout, and remuda of fresh horses
-Trail boss (manager) picked route & was responsible for success of drive – made $100 or more
-Cook received about $75 a month Stock a Chuck Wagon
-Trail hands earned only $25-$40 a month
Life on the Trail-Herd moved 10-15 miles a day-guard duty at night-Most cowboys – teens to early 20’s
(small build) -2 out of 3 was Anglo – rest African
Americans, Tejanos, Mexicans, Indians, and few women!
-Spent up to 36 hrs. straight in a saddle…ouch!
Big Ranches*Late 1870’s – land & cattle companies
owned over HALF the land in West Texas!
-Ranchers soon enclosed their land – ending large cattle drives
-King Ranch -Charles Goodnight’s JA Ranch-XIT Ranch*Sheep, goat, and mustang ranches
expanded in Texas
Closing of the Western Frontier
-With Indians now on reservations, conflict arose among settlers about open land.
Barbed Wire-1874: Illinois farmer, Joseph Glidden is
creditedwith an effective design of barbed wire-Metal was light, strong, cheap-Barbed wire changed Texas forever…Ranchers strung thousands of miles of it
across TX-The open range no longer existed by the 1880’s. It was fenced in.
Fence Cutting Wars-Landless cattle owners
wanted the open range again where cattle had access to water and grass - cut fences!
-Threatened ranchers, burned pastures
-Caused damages around $20 million
-1884, Texas made it a felony to cat a fence!
-End of the decade, Rangers brought an end to fence cutting wars
