1. Cattle, Cotton, Oil, & Railroads Era

2. Myth of Cowboys

3. Cattle & Cowboys Reality

4. Reality of Cowboy Life Chisolm Trail Cattle Drive: Play 1:45-9:30

5. Life on a Cattle Drive Worked 18 hour days.
Would travel miles per day on the trail.
Encountered issues: strong rains, flooding, high winds, and angry farmers
Required: patience, bravery, & endurance from cowboys

6. Cattle Drive Trails
Early cattle were raised on public land known as the open range.
Cows were branded with branding irons to show ownership.
Vaqueros (Spanish cowboys) branded, herded, and drove cattle to markets

7. Big Ranches More money could be made with larger ranches.
Example: King Ranch
In South Texas
Still one of the largest ranching empires in the world

8. Barbed Wire Ended “open range”
Could control breeding  better quality beef
Kept animals out of crops

9. End of the Cattle Drive Era
Overproduction: of cattle led prices to drop.
Barbed wire fences: closed off open range.
Railroads: cattle to be transported quickly

10. Cotton