1. Mining, Ranching and Farming

2. Key Terms Placer mining Long drive Homesteader Soddie Dry farming
Bonanza farm
Turner thesis
Stereotype

3. The Spread of Western Mining
Places such as Pikes peak, CO and Nevada’s Comstock Lode struck huge amounts of gold
NV found almost $400 million in gold and silver
The Homestake mine, located in the Black Hills, was possibly the richest single mine ever uncovered in the world, producing a billion dollars’ worth of ore

4. The Cattle Boom
Mexicans taught Americans cattle ranching in the early 1800’s.
Shipping live cows to the East by rail was expensive
Invention of the refrigerated railcar led to the slaughtering of animals before hand
Widespread cattle ranching became possible with the removal of Native Americans and extinction of buffalo
J.G. McCoy established the town of Abilene, Kansas
Cow towns were a truly wild part of the West

5. Cowboy’s Life: Cattle Drive on the Chisholm Trail
The Chisholm Trail was one of several trails that linked the good grazing lands of Texas to the cattle town.
Men of the Chisholm Trail were a tough lot
Cowboys
Survived on their physical endurance, little need for sleep
Cowboys became a unifying national hero

6. Cowboy’s Life: Cattle Drive on the Chisholm Trail
Cowboy’s greatest fear was a stampede
As the cattle business grew, a new breed of wealthy ranchers created huge cattle operations
Cattle Barons
These entrepreneurs were cowboys who had struck out on their own
The cattle bonanza ended in the mid-1880’s
Over expansion, price declines, cold winters and dry summers

7. Farming the Plains Homesteader life was relentlessly rugged
Building a home was expensive
Soddies were popular
Bugs were an issue on the crops
Grasshoppers and locusts ravaged fields of wheat
Falling crop prices created rising farm debt
Men did the sod busting, planted and harvested crops
Women raised and schooled children, cooked, cleaned, made and washed clothes

8. Farming the Plains
Children labor was very important to support families
New farm machines and techniques increased farm output enormously.
The result was bonanza farms
When the supply of a crow rose faster than the demand, prices fell
Great Plains remained a region of small family farms well into the 1900’s

9. Frontier Myths
In 1870, most of the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains had a population of less than two people per square mile.
Writers created characters such as Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, and Deadwood Dick.
In 1883, William F. Cody created his fantastically popular Wild West shows.

10. Questions to Consider
What were some challenges of farming on the plains?
What led to the emergence of the Cowboy?
What was being developed because of the cattle drive?