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Cattle Kingdoms & Westward Expansion

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.

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Cattle Kingdoms & Westward Expansion

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  1. Cattle Kingdoms & Westward Expansion

  2. 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

  3. Cattle Brands

  4. 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

  5. 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)

  6. 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

  7. -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!

  8. Cattle Trails *Northern demand for beef led to rise of cattle trails • Roundup – took place in spring • Cowboys drove herds north to towns with rail stations • Cattle sent by rail to Northern states where they would be slaughtered for meat

  9. 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

  10. Famous Trails -Chisholm Trail -Great Western Trail -Goodnight-Loving Trail Lead a Cattle Drive

  11. 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

  12. 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!

  13. 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

  14. 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 credited with 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.

  15. 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

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