The Cattle Kingdom

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? Regions is too dry to support farming so ranching became more prominent Primarily influenced by water resources

Spanish Origins The Spanish brought cattle and horses to Texas Large Spanish/Mexican ranches existed in Northern Mexico & TX Spanish vaqueros, or cowboys developed skills in riding, roping, herding, and branding

Some cattle strayed from the missions or ranches. Over time, a new breed evolved known as the Texas longhorn.

The longhorn was able to adapt to almost any environment. able to survive on little water or food able to survive extreme hot or cold temperatures Able to use their horns for protection

Influence of Civil War Civil War ending marked the beginning of the cattle boom The demand for beef outpaced supply in the Northeast New markets in the East increased the growth of the industry as population grew Longhorns worth $3-$6 in Texas but $30-$80 in the Eastern United States Large supply and high demand for beef created great profits for Texas ranchers Cattle boom helped Texas recover from the war

Cattle Trails The Northern demand for beef led to the rise of the cattle trails Cattle Trails added to support the growing cattle industry in Texas Cattle trails were used to get cattle to the railroads, which took them to markets in Northern Texas Cattle drives began with a roundup Drove the herds to towns with rail stations Sent by rail to Northern states where they would be slaughtered for meat Ranchers made LARGE profits moving a herd to market

Cattle Trails

Problems with Cattle Trails Bandits stole cattle Farmers complained… Cattle trampled their crops Longhorns spread “Texas Fever” to their cows Some states passed quarantine laws to keep Texas cattle away Quarantine – isolate or separate to prevent the spread of disease

Shawnee Trail First Cattle Trail used after the Civil War Trail led from S. Texas thru Indian Territory to Sedalia, Missouri

Famous Trails Chisholm Trail The route went from Texas thru Indian Territory and to Abilene, Kansas Jesse Chisholm used this route to ship goods north from Texas to Kansas 1871 – 600,000 cattle moved north on the trail 1884 – 5 million cattle traveled on the trail

Famous Trails Great Western Trail Opened in 1874 by drover John T. Lytle Drover – person who moves livestock to market Developed to the west of the Chisholm Trail Ran from Indian Territory to Dodge City, Kansas and then north to a rail station in Nebraska

Famous Trails Goodnight Love Trail Trail blazed by Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving Chose this route to avoid the hostile Plains Indians Ran from West Texas through New Mexico, into Colorado and finally Wyoming Towns grew up along the trails and were known for violence and lawlessness

Famous Trails

Major Cattle Trails Austin Abilene Baxter Springs Dodge City Ogallala Cheyenne Pueblo Denver Kerrville Fort Concho Sedalia KEY Goodnight-Loving Trail Great Western Trail Chisholm Trail Sedalia (Shawnee) Trail Towns Forts Railroads Rivers Ellsworth

Life on the Trail Cowboys rounded up cattle into a central camp in early spring They branded the animals and divided them into herds A typical herd numbered about 3,000 head of cattle A trail boss (manager) planned the cattle drive They brought good horses – the spare horses were called the remuda

Life on the Trail Cowboys spent 2 hours on guard duty A herd moved about miles a day Cowboys often faced the possibility of stampedes

Trail Boss Wrangler Swing Flank Point Remuda Chuck wagon Drag TYPICAL CATTLE DRIVE FORMATION This diagram shows a typical cattle drive formation. The Pointers guided the cattle in the desired direction; the Swing Riders, behind the Pointers, assisted in guiding the cattle, and in keeping the herd in formation. The Flank Riders worked at keeping the formation intact. The Drag Riders, the most undesirable position because of the dust, depending upon the wind, kept the weaker, lagging cattle from slowing the formation down.

WAYS TEXANS HAVE ADAPTED TO AND MODIFIED THE ENVIRONMENT AND POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF THE MODIFICATIONS Cattle trails Adapted/Modified – cattle trails developed to transport cattle to the railroads. Consequences – led to development of railroads & towns in less-developed areas

The MYTH of the Cowboy The MYTH of the Cowboy started in books and movies. They portrayed cowhands as white men who experienced exciting adventures along the cattle trails and defended themselves against Indian tribes.

Cowboys Cowboys were in their teens to mid-20s Small build – large men were too big for the horses 2/3 were African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and women Daily life was boring, dirty work Cattle drives meant 18-hour days on a saddle, some rode up to 24 hours in saddle Storms, dust, heat, rattlesnakes and river crossings made life unpleasant

Major Cattle Ranches South TX Ranches KING RANCH Richard King, Henrietta King, Robert Kleberg Panhandle Ranches JA RANCH John Adair, Charles Goodnight XIT RANCH After the capitol building in Austin burned down in 1881 the Farwell brothers of Chicago agreed to build a $3 million capitol in exchange for 3 million acres of land in the Panhandle… they started the XIT with the land SHOE BAR RANCH Thomas Bugbee MATADOR RANCH H.H. Campbell and others Shoe Bar Ranch JA Ranch XIT Ranch Matador Ranch King Ranch

Headquarters Kingsville, TX RichardKing

JA RanchCharles Goodnigh t

XIT Ranch Charles and John Farwell

Sheep Ranching Sheep ranching took place in the southern and western regions Sheep were raised for their wool rather than meat Cattle Ranchers didn’t like Sheep Ranchers because sheep at grass all the way to the root, making the land useless for cattle Goat ranching also expanded in Texas in the late 1800s