Chapter 18 Ranching and Farming

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Chapter 18Ranching and Farming

• Section 1 Origins of the Cattle Kingdom

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Spanish Introduce Cattle

• The cattle first brought to America arrived on
  the ships of Spanish explores in the 1500s.
• Some of the cattle escaped from the range, and
  the herds of the wild cattle eventually grazed
  throughout parts of Texas.
• The climate, abundant water supply, and
  nutritious grass made Texas ideal cattle country.
• The Rio Grande, San Antonio, and Nueces River
  were the places that the Spanish built cattle
  ranches.
• The Spanish cattle were tall and hardy animals
  they had horns that grew six feet or more across.
  Ranchers bred these cattle with other types,
  giving rise to the famous longhorns.
• Ranchers could raise their cattle on open range
  or public land, which was free to use by anyone.
• Spanish ranchers often drove herds to market in
  Louisiana. Cowboys and vaqueros herded and drove
  cattle into pens or corrales.

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Early Ranchers Use the OpenRange

• Anglo Ranchers used the Vaquero way of herding
  cattle by using horses, roping skills, and used
  saddles with horns.
• In the late 1700s and early 1800s the ranching
  industry flourished in South Texas between the
  Nueces and Colorado Rivers.
• Richard King, a New Yorker, bought the Santa
  Gertrudis, an old Spanish land grant of 15,500
  acresLater, it became known as the King Ranch
  which, today, contains more than 1 million acres
• Theft and drought were common problems for Anglo
  ranchers they understood that a product without
  a market is of little worth.
• Most cattle were slaughtered for their hides and
  tallow (fat) which could be easily shippedThese
  products brought little profit compared to what
  beef would bring in an eastern cityThe key was
  to get the cattle to the eastern cities

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Trial Driving Opens the Cattle Market

• Cattle herds, neglected during the Civil War,
  roamed wild on the plains and multiplied.
• While the price of cattle in the Southwest was
  about 4 a head, people in the North and East
  paid 30 to 40 a head.
• When the railroads expanded westward, ranchers
  saw their opportunity.
• Texas ranchers needed to get their cattle to
  Chicago and St. Louis stockyards.
• They would drive, or move, the cattle in large
  herds to the railroad towns, which were connected
  to stockyards by rail.
• Cowhands could drive more than 2,000 heads of
  cattle at a cost lower than 1 a head
• The longhorns were driven north in the spring,
  when grass was plentiful, so the animals could
  feed off the natural vegetation.

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Drovers Follow Major Cattle Trials

• All along the trail, drovers, or people who move
  cattle, found trouble.
• Missouri farmers complained that the cattle herds
  destroyed their crops and feared that the Texas
  cattle had a disease known as Texas Fever
• The longhorns were immune to the disease, but the
  ticks carried the disease to other cattle.
• Angry farmers blocked the trails by building
  fences and barricades.
• Railroads were persuaded to build new towns with
  everything to house the drovers and their herds
• Drovers were persuaded to drive their herds
  farther west on the Chisholm Trail to avoid
  MissouriDrovers also used the Great Western
  Trail and the Goodnight-Loving Trail.

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Life Along the Trail Drives

• The days, which began at sunup, were long and
  hard. A brief noon meal interrupted the days
  travel, which ended just before sundown.
• Two skillful cowhands rode in front of the herd
  to lead the cattle. Other cowboys rode on each
  side of the herd, while two or three had the
  dusty drag position behind the herd.
• The distance traveled each day was usually 10 to
  12 miles. At night the cowboys took turns riding
  herd.
• Trail drivers had to pay tolls to cross the
  Indian Territory usually it cost them several
  old, sick head of cattle that couldnt keep up
  with the herd

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• Herds of 2,000 to 3,000 were also common. For
  herds that size, usually 8 to 12 cowhands were
  needed, a trial boss, a cook and a wrangler, to
  take care of horses.
• The cattle towns of Kansas were rowdy places
  where cowhands let of steam after being paid.
• Many cowhands wisely saved their wages to buy a
  ranch of their own
• 1885Trail drives endedThe supply of cattle
  became greater than the demandPrices fell
• Barbed wire fences were everywhereCattle were
  quarantined (enforced isolation) if they were
  suspected of carrying disease
• Late 1800, Railroads were built in Texas,
  eliminating the need for long cattle drives.

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Ranching Fact and Fiction

• The cowboy became an important figure in art,
  literature, music, and movies.
• The reality of ranching was that it was hard,
  unglamorous work. Cowhands worked long hours.
• During roundups and trail drives, they often
  spent 18 hours a day in the saddle. Many found
  themselves unemployed in the winter.
• The typical cowboy was young, single, and poorA
  few made money by performing in rodeos1/6 (17)
  of all cowhands were Mexican AmericanSome were
  African American