Ranching in the West: (449) –The earliest ranchers in the American West were Spaniards who imported cattle from Spain in the 1500s. –By the 1850s, Texans had interbred English Cattle with Spanish cattle to produce a new breed – the Texas Longhorn –Texas Longhorn: although their meat was typically tough and stringy, longhorns were hardy, able to survive long distances on little water, and could live year- round on grass. –Equally important, Longhorns were immune to Texas fever, a cattle disease carried my ticks –The growth of eastern cities ensured an increasing demand for beef

Ranching in the West: (449) –The Spanish also introduced sheep ranching. –The Cowboys despised sheep believing that they ate the roots of the grass and ruined it for the cattle –Despite such conflicts, sheep ranching remained a profitable enterprise

The Cattle Industry: (450) –The workers who took care of a rancher’s cattle were known as cowboys. –Cowboys worked hard: worked through all kinds of weather and made very little money.

The Cattle Industry: (450) –The Cowboys: (450) Many cowboys were : –Confederate veterans from the Civil War –African Americans –Mexican – Mexican American

The Cattle Industry: (450) –The Cowboys: (450) African American Cowboys –African American Cowboys escaped most of the discrimination of the postwar era –A few African American Cowboys became trail bosses –African American cowboys were, however, more likely to be assigned unpleasant tasks

The Cattle Industry: (450) –Life on the Trail: Moving the cattle from Texas to the rail lines in Missouri and Kansas posed a major problem for cattle ranchers. To reach the railroads, cowboys herded as many as 3,000 cattle on long drives Long drives were overland treks that covered hundreds of miles and lasted several months The Trail usually ended in Kansas because cattle in Missouri were not immune to Texas fever.

The Cattle Industry: (450) –Life on the Trail: On a typical long drive, a trail boss managed a crew of about 10 cowboys. Managing a herd was a tough job: –River crossings, where swift currents might drown hundreds of animals, proved very hazardous –The worst danger was a stampede: almost any unexpected sound could panic the cattle

Cattle Towns: ( ) –Every long drive ended at a railhead, a town located along a railroad, where brokers bought cattle to ship east on railroad cars –Early cattle towns consisted of little more than a general store, a hotel or boardinghouse, a railroad depot, and a stockyard. –Prosperous cattle towns attracted businesspeople, doctors, lawyers, and their families

Ranching: (452) –The US government converted more American Indian territory into public land, cattle ranching then spread west. –The government allowed cattle ranchers to use public land as open ranges: or free grazing land. –The access to open ranges helped make cattle ranching profitable

Ranching: (452) –Ranch Profits: (452) Although some families established ranches, it was large investment companies for the most part that took advantage of the government’s offer of land – Open Ranges. Financed by eastern and European investors, these companies created huge ranches. Chicago investors owned the 3.5 million-acre XIT Ranch in the Texas panhandle Most ranchers did not own this much land. Instead, they concentrated on buying range rights, or water rights to ponds and rivers These rights gave ranchers access to scarce water as well as ownership of the land around it With range rights, ranchers could stop farmers and ranchers from coming onto their private property and using the water

Ranching: (452) –Ranch Life: (452) Both cattle and sheep ranches demanded hard labor from ranch families. Women did the housework, cooked for all hired cowboys, and helped out with fence-mending, herding, and other chores. Because ranches were so far apart, ranchers became very lonely

The End of the Cattle Boom: ( ) –The cattle boom lasted about 20 years. –Several factors led to the Cattle Boom’s end: 1.Ranchers eager for large profits crowded the open range with too many cattle; prices crashed in 1885 as supply far exceeded demand 2.Ranchers faced increasing competition for the use of the open range; used barbed wire 3.Bad weather dealt the final blow to the open range Blizzards – cattle died and were found frozen; some ranchers lost 90% of their herd

The End of the Cattle Boom: ( ) –In 1874 Illinois farmer Joseph Glidden patented barbed wire, a cheap fencing material. –Ranchers initially refused to use barbed wire, fearing it would injure the cattle –By the 1880s, cattle ranchers and farmers had erected miles of barbed wire across the open range to control access to land and water.