Ranching and Farming Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18 TimeLine 1800 - Spanish missions in Texas contain over 25,000 head of cattle - Ranching flourished in South Texas thru the early 1800s 1853 - Richard King buys the Santa Gertrudis land grant.   1866 - Cattle drives start on the Sedalia Trail. Other trails soon develop. 1870 - 1/3 of all farmers in TX are tenant farmers - More sheep ranches are established because of growing demand for wool 1876 - Charles Goodnight and John Adair establish JA Ranch. 1880 - Many TX ranchers use barbed wire to fence their property. Fence-cutting (range) wars follow until the state legislature makes fence-cutting a felony. 1881 - Texas and Pacific Railroad lays tracks through west central Texas. 1885 - Cattle driving drops sharply. - A period of severe blizzards and droughts begin in the Great Plains and Texas. 1900 - Cotton continues to be the most important crop in Texas.

Origins of the Cattle Kingdom 1) Spanish brought long horn cattle. 2) Cattle were raised on Open Range, land used by anyone 3) Vaqueros herded and drove cattle 4) Rancheros, were Spanish ranchers 5) Anglo ranchers adopted the ways of the Spanish, such as using horses, roping, wearing chaps, and using horned saddles 6) Cattle were stolen and slaughtered for their hide and tallow, or fat 7) With expansion of the railroad, Texas cattle ranchers found new markets and began shipping cattle to stockyards. 8) Most cowboys during this time were Mexican, Mexican-American (tejanos), and African-American.

Texas Cattle Trails 1870 Trail driving opened markets for cattle. Cattle in Southwest was $4 per head but $30-$40 in the North and East.

Texas Cattle Trails 1870 Ranchers drove cattle to Chicago, St. Louis and railroad towns Missouri farmers complained of Texas fever being spread to the cattle by Texas cattle and driving the cattle destroyed the crops. So, they began to block the trails.

Texas Livestock Cattle King Ranch – included 614,000 acres of land and tens of thousands of cattle. JA Ranch – 1 million acres, more than 100,000 cattle, crossbreed cattle, and produced some of the best beef cattle in the U.S. Matador – most famous ranch, 3 million acres Cattle

Texas Livestock Mustangs Mustangs were wild descendants of Spanish horses. Mustangers captured and trained mustangs. Trained mustangs were sold to the U.S. army and ranchers. They were an important part of the livestock industry until the 1870s, due to the expansion of the cattle industry. Mustangs

Sheep Texas Livestock Sheep raising became important in the 1870s. George Wilkins Kendall set up a sheep ranch, which encouraged sheep ranchers from Northern states and Europe to come to Texas. Sheep ate grass and made it too short for cattle to eat. They also trampled the crops. This caused farmers to fence in their land. Sheep

Barb Wire is Born! J.F. Glidden was the most successful barb wire inventor. Wire pricked but did not hurt the animals Wire began to threaten the law because ranchers fenced other people’s land and cut off water supplies People began fence cutting wars.

Barb Wire is Born! Mabel Day led the fight against fence cutters and legislature made it a felony to cut fence Barb wire closed the “Open Range” Development of windmills allowed irrigation on farms, so they didn’t need to be near a water source.

Cattle Ranching Decline Due to over production and weather, the huge cattle ranching industry in Texas rapidly declined in the late 1800s. Causes Large profits caused ranchers to over expand and over produce cattle Over grazing ruined rangelands Severe drought and blizzards occurred in the mid 1800s Effects Cattle prices fell Ranchers were forced to sell herds at low prices and went bankrupt Few cattle ranches survived

Significant People Charles Goodnight- popular drover that moved and bred cattle Daniel Webster “80 John” Wallace- a former slave that became a trail boss and owned his own ranch near Colorado City

Significant People Bose Ikard- skilled African American that worked for Charles Goodnight Maria Del Carmen Cavillo- one of the earliest Hispanic vaqueros that opened the west

Significant People Proceso Martinez- leader in business and agriculture that brought cotton, plows, and corn planters to the Rio Grande Valley Elizabeth “Lizzie” Johnson Williams- A rancher that raised her own herd, had a brand and was a very respected rancher.

FARMING IN TEXAS LANDOWNER PROVIDES RECEIVES PROVIDES RECEIVES SHARECROPPER TENANT FARMER PROVIDES Land, tools, seed, work animals, credit for food and supplies RECEIVES ½ of proceeds of crops from sharecropper ¼ cotton, 1/3 grain from tenant farmer PROVIDES Labor, tools, seed and work animals RECEIVES ¾ of cotton 2/3 of grain PROVIDES Labor RECEIVES ½ proceeds of sale of crop