cattle drive is not for greenhorns - circle c adventures

( A Circle C Adventures Short Story)

A Cattle Drive Is Not for Greenhorns

Before You Begin . . . . . . . Fold your lapbook (see p.2) and create the cover

Chapters 1-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Story Characters

Chapters 3-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Trail Drive Jobs

Chapter 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .The Chuck Wagon

Chapter 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . California’s Lost Lake

Chapters 6-8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . History of Cattle Drives

Chapter 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Trail Drive Journal

Chapter 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . History of Los Angeles

Activities for A Cattle Drive Is Not for Greenhorns

Cut around on the dotted line and glue to the large, outside cover of your lapbook.

One Learning Lapbook

with study guides

Copyright © 2020 by Susan K. Marlow

Permission is granted to copy for household members. Not for resale.

The Circle C series is published by Kregel Publications © 2017-2018

Lapbooks are available for the entire Circle C series at CircleCAdventures.com

Circle C Beginnings (ages 6-8), Circle C Adventures (ages 9-13), Circle C Milestones (ages 12+)

Lapbooks are also available for the Goldtown series (Beginnings and Adventures) at

GoldtownAdventures.com

Where do the mini-booklets go? A folder-shaped Layout key is included for each lapbook. This

key is an overview that shows you where the booklets go. here is also a key at the top of each

booklet page that shows where to place the booklet in each folder.

How do I use the book(s) with the lapbook(s)? Each lapbook activity is meant to be completed

after reading a group of two chapters. The contents page shows which lapbook topics go with the

chapters in the book. Each page in the lapbook also shows the chapter(s) to read before beginning

the lapbook study guides and mini-booklet.

The pictures below show how to fold the file folder(s) to create a lapbook. Lapbooks may be

completed and stored separately, or you can glue lapbooks together. The Stepping Stones

lapbooks are intended to be glued as two-folder lapbooks (books 1-2, 3-4, 5-6).

4. To glue the folders together,

apply a generous amount of white

glue to two flaps. Bring the flaps

together and press. Hold together

with paper clips until completely dry.

1. Open up the folder and flatten it out.

2. Fold the first side all the way over until the tab just touches the

middle crease in the folder. Do not

overlap this crease with the tab.

3. Fold the left-hand side over

just to the crease but not overlapping it. Your folder

now has two flaps. Run a ruler

down each fold to make the fold neater and flatter.

5. Repeat with the

remaining file folders. HINT:

complete the

activities first THEN

glue the folders

together when you

are finished.

Read the chapters indicated at the top of the following pages. Then complete the

activities for those chapters. This is a one-folder lapbook. Use stick glue to glue the

booklets into the folders.

Folder Layout for A Cattle Drive Is Not for Greenhorns

About

the

bookCalifor

nia’s

Lost

Lakes

Trail

Drive

Journal

The Chuck

Wagon

Story

Characters

Cattle Drive

Jobs

Cattle

Drives

Chapters 1-3: Story Characters. Chad-I’m going to ramrod the drive and little my

younger brother be the boss. It will be hard; Mitch-I’m going to ramrod the drive and little

my younger brother be the boss. It will be hard; Justin-I am the oldest Carter sibling and

a lawyer. I’m not going on the cattle drive; Melinda-I can’t believe my little sister wants to

go on a cattle drive. It’s so rough and dirty; Dusty-I am the horse Andi is given to for the

cattle drive. She doesn’t like me very much; Cook-I’m the most important person on this

cattle drive. I keep everybody fed.

Chapters 1-4: Cattle Drive Jobs. Trail Boss- in charge of everything, rides at the head

of the herd, sells cattle, pays the crew; Flank Riders- ride along the sides; keep the cattle

from spreading out; Wrangler- in charge of the horses; Cook- cooks, rides a mile ahead;

Drag Riders- ride at the back of the herd to make sure the stragglers

keep up; Scout- finds grazing, water, and good stopping points

Chapter 4: The Chuck Wagon. No questions to answer.

Chapter 5: Lost Lakes. Wildlife-elk, deer, turtles, salmon, birds, etc;

Lake Dried Up-diverting the water and damming the rivers.

Chapters 6-8: History of Cattle Drives. Cattle Drive Facts-

1866-1886, 20 million; On the Trail-10-12 miles a day, sing to calm

the cattle, five months; End of Cattle Drives- any four of these:

overgrazing, drought, bad winter, barbed wire, railroad expansion

Chapter 9: Trail Drive Journal. Answers will vary.

Chapter 10: History of Los Angeles. Settled in 1781, forty-four people; meaning is

“The Town of the Queen of Angels”; Los Gatos-the cats, Santa Fe-holy faith, Las

Cruces-the crosses

Answer Key for A Cattle Drive Is Not for Greenhorns

Tulare

Lake

History of

Los

Angeles

Story Characters. Cut out as one piece. Fold the two

sides to meet in the middle. Fold the cover piece down

so that it covers the two side pieces. Glue into lapbook.

Directions: Cut out the character pictures on this page

and the next. Match them with the “who am I” clues and

glue in place. Cut out and stack the small sheets. Staple

and glue to the inside of the “Story Characters” booklet.

Folder

I’m excited to

finally be allowed

to join my older

brothers on a

cattle drive to Los

Angeles.

Story Characters

GLUE THIS BACK

PIECE TO THE

LAPBOOK

Andi

COVER PIECE

Taffy

I’m Andi’s best

friend, but I’m not

allowed to go on

the cattle drive.

I’m not cut out for

this kind of work.

A Cattle Drive Is Not for Greenhorns: Chapters 1-3

Cattle Drive: Chapters 1-3

I’m the most important

person on this cattle drive.

I keep everybody fed.

I can’t believe my little sister

wants to go on a cattle drive.

It’s so rough and dirty.

I’m going to ramrod the drive

and little my younger brother

be the boss. It will be hard.

I win the coin toss and

become the trail boss. I

hope I do a good job.

I am the oldest Carter sibling

and a lawyer. I’m not going

on the cattle drive.

I am the horse Andi is given

to for the cattle drive. She

doesn’t like me very much.

Justin

Cook

Melinda

Mitch

Chad

Dusty

Trail Drive Jobs

A cattle drive was a major event during the 1800s. The purpose was to gather the cattle

ranchers raised all year in the wide-open range

and move them to the railhead (trains) in order

to ship the beef to the city people, who loved to

eat meat. It was a big money-maker for

everyone. In chapter 4, Andi thinks about how

much money their family will earn if they can get forty dollars a head. One thousand cattle

times forty dollars is 40,000 dollars!

Ranchers hired extra cowhands for long drives.

Some cattle drives lasted two months! At least a dozen hands were needed for a 1,000 head

drive.

Everyone on a cattle job has a special job to do. Certain men ride in special spots alongside the herd, which sometimes spreads out in a long line for two miles or more.

Here is a description of some of the jobs on a typical cattle drive.

Trail Boss- He is in charge of the men and equipment and rides at the head of the herd.

When the drive ends, he sells the cattle and pays the crew. Most ranchers hire the trail

boss and pay him about $125 a month. The Carter brothers like to boss their own drives.

Cook- He is the second most important person on a trail drive. He and his chuck wagon

travel a mile ahead of the cattle and crew. He prepares each meal, repairs clothing and

equipment, and even tends the injured. Cook earns between $45 and $60 a month.

Wrangler- He is usually the youngest rider in the outfit. His job is to care for the remuda,

the string of horses. Each cowboy has 3 or 4 horses that he changes out during the day

so as not to wear out his mount. The wrangler feeds, saddles, and cares for the remuda

and keeps the horses together so the cowboys can change out when they need to.

Scout- This man rides half a day ahead of the main crew and finds grazing and water for the cattle and good stopping points.

Ramrod- He makes sure the trail boss’s orders are carried out and keeps the herd

moving.

Drag Riders- These cowhands ride at the very back of the herd and make sure the slow cattle and the stragglers keep moving. This is the dirtiest job of the drive because of the

dust that is kicked up by the cattle.

Point Riders- These men ride at the very front of the herd and lead the way.

Flank Riders- These cowboys ride along the sides of the herd (the flank) and keep the cattle from spreading out all over the place. They keep them in line.


Folder

GLUE THIS

SIDE TO

LAPBOOK

Read “Trail Drive Jobs.”

Cut out as one piece. Fold in half the long way. Cut along

the dotted lines and glue into lapbook. Directions: Under

each flap (on the part of the booklet that is glued to the

lapbook, write what a cowboy did for each trail drive job

listed. Color the pictures.


In 1866, Charles Goodnight converted an old army supply wagon into a kitchen on

wheels. He made a rear-hinged door that lay flat to form a worktable. He added

shelves and drawers so the cook would have everything he needed at arm ’s length.

The chuck wagon carried food and cooking gear, but it also carried other supplies:

blacksmithing tools for horseshoeing, axes and saws for wagon repair, sewing needles

to repair clothes, first-aid supplies, bedrolls, and rain slickers. A cowboy on the trail

needed a good night’s sleep as well as good food, and the chuck wagon became the

trail hands’ supply station. With so many things to cart around, Mr. Goodnight added

heavier running gear (axles and wheels) to keep the chuck wagon moving over

hundreds of miles of rough ground. Many outfits also supplied a large tent canopy that

extended from the chuck wagon clear over the cooking area. This tent was handy

during rainy days.

“Cook” managed the chuck wagon. He was experienced and second in command to

the trail boss (along with the ramrod). Cook was expected to serve as wagon fixer,

doctor, referee in case of fights, barber, banker, and letter writer. While the cook was

not expected to watch or guard cattle, he had a long day that started about 3 AM. He

made sure coffee was available around the clock. He cooked a variety of meals in

cast-iron skillets or Dutch ovens. He served plenty of beans, bacon, potatoes, biscuits,

gravy, and the occasional son-of-a-gun beef stew (one of the steers).

Cook found plenty of opportunities to liven up the menu with fresh eggs, milk, or

vegetables, if the trail boss authorized the trading of one of the steers along the way.

The Chuck Wagon

Before the chuck wagon was introduced,

most cowboys ate “in the saddle” and

relied on what they could pack in their

saddlebags: corn fritters, dried beef,

stale biscuits, or beef jerky. Cattleman

Charles Goodnight knew how important it

was to provide his trail hands with

plentiful, filling food. A cowboy could

work longer and harder on a full

stomach, and a trail drive could easily

last two months. If a cowboy knew there

was good “chuck” (food) on the trail, he

would be more likely to hire on.

A Cattle Drive Is Not for Greenhorns: Chapter 4

Folder

Read “The Chuck Wagon.” Cut out booklet as one piece. Fold the

back bottom section up in back, and then fold the flaps back and

glue to make a pocket. Cut out the recipe cards on the next page.

Directions: Try some of Cook’s trail-drive recipes. Store the recipe

cards in the pocket.

Flap Flap

Pocket

Cook’s RecipesGLUE THIS BACK

PIECE TO THE

LAPBOOK


Cut out these recipe cards and store them in

the booklet pocket. Have fun trying them out!

Cook’s Slapjacks

Note: Oftentimes in the 1800s, no

specific measurements were given. I

have provided suggested

measurements.

Some flour: (try 3 cups)

Some sugar: (try ¼ cup)

A little yeast: (2 tsp.) or . . .

Sourdough: 1 cup (see recipe to make

sourdough)

Water: enough to make a nice paste.

Not too runny, not to stiff.

Salt: be generous

Form into patties and fry in hot grease

until brown.

Cook’s Sourdough Starter2 cups lukewarm potato water: Make

potato water by boiling 2 medium

potatoes (cubed) until tender. Keep the

water. You can eat the potatoes. J

2 cups white flour

1 Tablespoon sugar

Mix the flour, potato water, and sugar

into a smooth paste in a glass bowl.

Cover and let rise until the mixture

doubles (a few days). You can remove

some of it and feed it with ½ flour and

1/3 cup of water to keep it fresh.

When you take starter out for a recipe,

feed with ½ flour and 1/3 cup water.

Store in a cool, dark place and use

often. Or store in the refrigerator. Warm

to room temperature before using.

Cook’s Sourdough Biscuits Cooks Trail Beans2 cups sourdough starter

1 (or more) cups flour

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

Combine everything. If your starter is

runny, add more flour. Knead the

dough and cut into biscuits. Bake in a

Dutch oven over a campfire (or at 375

degrees for 30 minutes in the oven.)

4 apples (peeled or not) chopped

½ pound bacon

Fry bacon, drain, and keep the

drippings. Fry apples in the hot bacon

grease until soft. Combine with bacon

(if desired) and enjoy!

Fried Apples in Bacon Grease

Cook kept dry beans and cooked them as needed. Here is an easy canned bean recipe for modern cowpokes.

Mix together one 16-oz. can of each:Pinto beansPork & beansRed kidney beansBlack beansWhite northern beans

Cut up and fry 1 pound bacon, 1 onion, and ½ garlic. Mix with the beans.

Mix ½ tsp mustard, ½ cup vinegar, and 1 cup brown sugar. Simmer and pour over beans. Cook over the fire in a Dutch oven (or cook in a Crock Pot.)


California’s Lost Lake

Mitch orders Andi into the waters of Tulare Lake. This lake no

longer exists today in the modern, dry San Joaquin Valley of

California. However, during the setting of this story, Tulare Lake

was full and teeming with life. Many parts of the valley were lush

and swampy. This is also why they worried when Andi felt sick.

Swamp fever (the auge, which is another name for malaria) was

a problem with all the wetlands. What must it have been like to

live near Tulare Lake in the 1800s? Amazing as this may sound,

during Andi’s time (1880), Tulare Lake was the largest freshwater

lake west of the Great Lakes. It was shallow but spread out.

For centuries, the Yokut Indians built reed boats and fished in this lake. They hunted the

elk, deer, and antelope that roamed along the lake ’s shore. The Pacific Chinook salmon

made their run up the San Joaquin River and into Tulare Lake. This river system must

have looked different in those days, because the San Joaquin no longer appears to flow

directly into what was once Tulare Lake. But the lake was a rich habitat. In 1888, 73,000

pounds of fish were taken from these waters! Western pond turtles were harvested for

turtle soup in San Francisco. Hundreds of thousands of birds used Tulare Lake during

their migration routes.

After the War Between the States (1861-1865), the government began to dam the

Kings, Kaweah, and Tule rivers (listed from north to south) upstream in the Sierra

Nevada to use as reservoirs. A series of canals was built to deliver that water for

agriculture and to the cities. Because of these dams, water stopped flowing into Tulare

Lake. Sadly, by the early 20th century, Tulare Lake was nearly dry.

This is a what remains of the lush San Joaquin Valley. It is

kept as it was in the Kaweah Oak Preserve.

A Yokut Indian dwelling


The destruction of this huge wetland

habitat resulted in the loss of land

animals, plants, aquatic animals,

water plants, and the migrating

birds. Although Tulare Lake is now

dry, it occasionally reappears during

floods following a lot of rain or snow

melt, like in 1997. To see what the

San Joaquin Valley used to look

like, Californians have kept the

Kaweah Oak Preserve near Visalia

just like it used to be.

Read “California’s Lost Lake.” Cut out the booklets and

stack with cover piece on top. Staple together at the top

and glue into lapbook. Directions: Answer the questions

about Tulare Lake.

California’s

Lost Lake

Name some of the wildlife

that made their homes on

the shores of Tulare Lake

and in its waters.

Color and label Tulare

Lake. Label the rivers that

once flowed into the lake.

Wh

at

ca

used

Tu

lare

La

ke

to d

ry u

p?

Folder

San Joaquin

Valley of

California


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History of Cattle Drives

From the very first chapter, Andi Carter dreams of

going on a cattle drive. She thinks it will be an

exciting adventure! The reality, as she soon

discovers, is quite different from what she thought.

What is a cattle drive, and how did it grow to such

importance in the lives of ranchers and cowboys?

As you learned earlier, a cattle drive is the event of

moving beef from ranches to the packing houses in

cities, where demand for meat was high.

The cattle drive era reached its height between 1866 and 1886. During that twenty-year

period, 20 million head of cattle were driven up trails from Texas to Kansas, and then put

on railroad cars to meat-packing plants in Chicago. Cattle drives were already well-

established in Mexico, California, and Texas well before 1866, however. As early as

1836, cattle were driven from Texas to the Louisiana markets.

During the California gold rush in the 1850s, many long trail drives were established, as

there was a cry for “more beef” with all the men swarming into the new state. (Some

drives could last up to five months!) During the War Between the States, the beef from

Texas couldn’t get through to the east-coast markets, so thousands of cattle multiplied for

four years. After the war, these steers were worth about $2 a head in Texas. Up north,

however, a rancher could get $40 a head. Many ranchers got together and rounded up

these free-roaming Texas longhorn cattle. They drove them to the new railroads that

were crisscrossing the country. The best-known railhead was in Abilene, Kansas. The

best-known trail was called the Chisholm Trail. It was 1,000 miles long.

On a long drive, the cattle could not be pushed. Ten to twelve miles a day, with stops for

grazing and rest, kept the cattle from losing too much weight (and thus being worth less

per head). Up to 3,000 cattle would be driven for weeks along the trails. The cowboys

had specific jobs (see earlier lapbook activity) and worked in shifts around the clock to

herd the cattle in the proper direction during the day and to guard them at night. The

“nightguard” often sang as they circled the cattle, which kept the jumpy animals calm and

less likely to startle and break into a stampede.

Overgrazing of open range, combined with drought and the terrible winter of 1886 wiped

out much of the open-range cattle business in the northern part of the country. In

addition, many ranchers began to use barbed wire to enclose their ranches and protect

their own grazing lands from intrusions by other cattle. Railroads also expanded to cover

most of the nation, and meat-packing plants were built closer to major ranching areas. By

the 1890s, long cattle drives to the railheads were no longer necessary. The age of open

range was gone, and the era of the large cattle drives ended. Short drives, however,

continue even up to today.

A Cattle Drive Is Not for Greenhorns: Chapter 6-8

Read “History of Cattle Drives.” Cut out the booklets and

stack together from smallest to largest, with the cover piece

on top. Staple at the top and glue into lapbook.

Directions: Answer the questions about cattle drives.

Folder

Name four things that brought

the long trail drives to an end

by the 1890s.

________________________

________________________

________________________

________________________

________________________

________________________

________________________

How many miles a day could you drive the cattle

and still keep them healthy?

________________________

What did the nightguard do to keep the cattle calm?

________________________

Up to how many months might a cowboy be on the trail?

_______________________

Cattle DrivesD

uri

ng

wh

ich y

ea

rs w

as w

ere

catt

le d

rive

s a

t th

eir h

eig

ht?

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___

__

___

___

___

___

__

__

How

ma

ny c

att

le w

ere

dri

ve

n

on t

rails

du

rin

g th

is t

ime

?

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A Cattle Drive Is Not for Greenhorns: Chapter 6-8

Trail Drive Journal. Cut out the booklets on this page and the

next. Stack with cover on top and tabs in order (Day 1, Day 2,

etc.). Glue into lapbook.

Directions: Andi packed a journal on the trail drive. Using what

you have learned from reading the story (as well as your

imagination) create four days of journal entries. You can go

beyond what is in the story a write about other dangers Andi,

her brothers, and the cowhands might have faced, from lousy

food to a broken axle on the chuck wagon, a storm, thieves, or

wolves. If you need more room, write on the backside of the

pages, or you can use those pages to draw pictures.

Folder

Tra

il D

rive

J

ourn

al

Day 1


Day 3

Day 4

Day 2

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History of Los Angeles

With a population of nearly four million, the City of Los

Angeles (official name), California, is the second-largest city

in the United States (after New York City). But what was this

huge metropolis like when the Carters brought their 1,000

head of cattle to the city’s stockyards?

The “City of Angels” began with forty-four persons (twenty-

two adults and twenty-two children) as a Spanish settlement

in 1781 along the banks of a river a Catholic priest had

earlier named Nuestra Señora de los Angeles de la

Porciúncula (Our Lady of the Angels of the Little Portion) in

honor of a celebration and a chapel back home in Europe. The settlement was named

after the river. It had a longer name at first: El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los

Angeles de Porciúncula (The Town of Our Lady the Queen of Angels of the Little

Portion). Cook’s new helper, Carlitos, told Andi the official “shortened” name, El Pueblo

de la Reina de Los Angeles. (The Town of the Queen of Angels.)

Mexico won its independence

from Spain in 1821 and

controlled the little town until the

United States won all of the

southwest from Mexico in 1847.

At that time, the population of

the little village of Los Angeles was only 2,500 and nearly one-hundred percent Californios

(Hispanics). Over the years, white Americans added to the population. By the time “Cattle

Drives Are Not for Greenhorns” takes place (1880), Los Angeles had grown to a city of

over 11,000 people.

“The Angels” is the English translation of Los Angeles. All over California and the

Southwest, the names of cities reflect the highly religious Spanish explorers of the 18th

and 19th centuries. Look below at the Spanish-named cities in California and the

Southwest. Many speak of Christ and His salvation. God was clearly on these Spanish

explorers’ minds as they established colonies and missions in the New World.

1. Mariposa – Butterfly2. La Brea – The Tar3. Los Gatos – The Cats4. Sacramento – Sacrament5. Santa Cruz – Holy Cross6. San Juan Bautista – Saint John the Baptist

7. Rio Vista – Riverview8. Santa Fe – Holy Faith9. Las Cruces – The Crosses10. Monterey – Mountain of the King11. San Mateo – Saint Matthew12. Sangre de Cristo – Blood of Christ

.

Read “History of Los Angeles.” Cut out the large shape as

one booklet. Fold the blue flap over the center flap. Then fold

the green flap over the center. Glue carefully into lapbook so it

is right side up. Now cut out the cover label and glue to front

(on the blank side of green flap). Answer the questions.

Folder

COVER PIECE

GLUE THE BACK OF

THIS YELLOW FLAP

TO THE LAPBOOK.

MAKE SURE IT GOES

ON RIGHT SIDE UP.

Write the English

meanings of these

Spanish-named places.

Los Gatos: ________________

Santa Fe: _________________

Las Cruces: _____________

When was Los

Angeles first settled?

__________________

How many people lived in

Los Angeles when it was

first settled?

_______________

What does this long

name for Los Angeles mean?

El Pueblo de la Reina

de Los Angeles.

_______________________

_______________________

__________________


cattle drive is not for greenhorns - circle c adventures

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