1. The Cattle Kingdom in Texas
The Cattle industry flourished in the late 1800’s. West Texas had large open prairies for cattle to GRAZE and an endless supply of grass.
Once the buffalo had been killed and the Native Americans had been moved onto RESERVATIONS, settlers began moving into West TEXAS.

2. West Texas Ranching was the main source of income in West Texas.
How do you explain this?
Why do you think it wasn’t farming?

3. Spanish beginnings
Many of these settlers took part in the CATTLE industry—an industry that has Spanish beginnings.
Spanish ranchers raised cattle on the open range and used ropes to drive them into corrals. Then, the cattle were marked with the owner’s BRAND.

4. GET RICH QUICK!
What group of people would have the most experience, closest to immigrate, and most likely be successful ranchers in West Texas?

5. The Longhorn
The longhorns’ most distinctive characteristics were their huge HORNS and their ability to ADAPT to almost any environment.
They were able to survive on little food and water, and could live in extreme hot or cold weather.

6. The Mighty Longhorn

7. No one to tend to the herds…
The cattle industry DECREASED during the Civil War because most people left home to go FIGHT.
With nobody to drive the cattle, herds simply wandered the state and MULTIPLIED.

8. After the War…
When the men returned from war, there were cattle everywhere, but few Texans had the money to buy them.
Until the RAILROAD lines were built, Texans could not afford to drive cattle all the way to Eastern CITIES.

9. Demand for Beef 17.2 Railroads soon EXPANDED!
The high demand for Beef in the East brought rapid growth of the Railroad!
Texans had fast, inexpensive, and reliable transportation.
-horses, railroads, and steamboats

10. 10 Times the $$$
Cattle owners could only get about $4 in Texas for a longhorn, but in the eastern packinghouses, they could get $40 for each one.
Cattle owners searched for a way to transport their cattle safely to the stockyards so they could make 10 times as much money.

11. Cow Town
Joseph McCoy came up with a solution that made everyone MONEY. He built the first COW TOWN in Abilene, Kansas, right by the Union Pacific Railroad.
Abilene had wide STREETS so the cattle could be driven through town, and entertainment for the cowhands.

12. The Chisholm Trail
McCoy sent word about his cow town to Texans. Soon, cattle-drivers drove their cattle all the way from Southern Texas, through INDIAN TERRITORY, to Abilene Kansas. This route was called the Chisholm TRAIL.

13. Only trail before the Civil war is the one in the middle “Western Trail”

14. After the Civil War

15. Round ‘em Up!
The Chisholm Trail was the 1st of the great cattle trails. From , more than 6 million longhorns were driven from Texas to Abilene and other Kansas cow towns.
As more railroads were built, more cattle trails were developed. A trail drive began with a ROUNDUP: gathering and branding unmarked cattle. This process took several weeks!