1. The Cattle Boom

2.  Spaniards in 1500s  By 1850s Texas interbred English cattle with Spanish cattle->Texas Longhorn Immune to Texas fever  Cities started to grow due to the cattle demand In 1866 a steer that could bring $4 in the western market could now bring in $40 in eastern markets

3.  Spanish introduced sheep ranching American Indians raised sheep in AZ and NM  During the California Gold Rush shepherds brought sheep to feed the miners  Cowboys despise sheep which they believe ate roots of grass  “hoofed locusts”

4.  Workers who took care of ranchers’ cattle  Many cowboys were ex-Confederate soldiers  African Americans  Mexican Americans Made up 1/3 of the 35,000 cowboys at this time

5.  General store, hotel, railroad depot, stockyard  Some towns attracted businessmen, doctors, lawyers and their families Houses, schools, hired teachers, police

6.  20 years  1-ranchers crowded the open-range with too many cattle and the prices dropped so people weren’t as interested in becoming a rancher  2-increased competition for open-range caused people to fence off their property (barbed wire)  3-Bad weather Severe winter in 1885-86 and a drought in 1886 1887-blizzards (frozen and starved cattle)