Rise of the Cattle

Drive

Background: 1866-1886• When the Spanish settled Mexico and Texas,

they brought a tough breed of cattle with them called the Long horns

• By 1865, these cattle had gradually spread across Texas and eventually numbered 5 million

Rise of the Cattle Drive• Cattle ranchers could not make much money

selling their cattle in Texas because there were so few people– Supply > Demand

…..Lower Prices

• Markets were much better in the North and East, where people wanted to buy cattle products– Supply < Demand

…..Higher Prices

Significance of Railroads• (260,000) cattle could be loaded on trains and

shipped to the north and east– Cattle increased in value from $3.00 $40.00

• Cow Towns- R.R. towns for marketing and shipping cattle– Abilene and Dodge City, Kansas & Cheyenne,

Wyoming

Branding

Spring Round Up

Long Drive• Ranchers hired Cowboys to herd cattle

1,000 miles from Texas to the Cow Towns– CHALLENGE: Speed vs. Fat cattle• “Rustlers” cattle thieves • Long days (15hrs), weather Conditions, stampedes

• Chisholm Trail• Goodnight-Loving Trail

ChisholmGoodnight-

Loving

Long Drive Crew:

• 3,000 Cattle• Boss• 10 Cowboys + 30

horses• 1 Chuck Wagon + 1

cook• Horse wranglers who

took care of the Remuda, or spare horses

Who were the Cowboys?

Who were the Cowboys really? Hollywood/Country Song Real Cowboys• Age: Young • How did they look?

– Stud, sparkling white teeth, clean shaven – Like Woody – ‘Sharp Shooter’

• What was their daily lives like?– “Glamorous Lives” Out fighting Indians, lassoing cattle, saving the Damsel in Distress, singing cowboy songs at night and fighting brawls with outlaws

• Age: Under 30• How did they look?

• Practical clothing (never carried two guns)

• Scruffy/no shaving, stinky • Did not own a horse

• Daily Activities• Hard work, long hour days• Paid to take care of cattle—

branding, rounding them up, and shipping them off to market

• Rarely made it to town (2X a year)

• Characteristics: • physical stamina, patience and

courage• riding and roping skills

End of the Cattle Kingdom1. Boom/bust of cattle industry rise of

farmers2. Winter of 1885 & 18863. Invention of barbed wire4. More R.R. built out west

• http://chnm.gmu.edu/7tah/unitdocs/unit13/lesson2/handout5.pdf

http://www.okhistory.org/historycenter/forms/tdcattledrives.pdf