Miners and Ranchers

1
Miners and Ranchers

• Settled large portions or the west

2
Americans seeking their fortunes..

• Gold, silver, copper were needed back east and
  worldwide
• new strike new people
• strike it rich
• Nevadas Comstock Lode (silver strike)

3
BOOMTOWNS boom to bust

• Virginia City small village to 30,000 almost
  overnight
• What happened when the mine closes?
• Aspen during the boom days

4
Ranching and Cattle Drives

• While many were mining some were building cattle
  ranches on the Great Plains
• same issues that faced the farmers (water?)
  needed on tough cow called the Longhorn (now
  considered weak because of the University
  associated with it)
• Open Range vast areas of land owned by the
  Government (cows could eat at buffet of Grass
  covering most the Great Plains

5
Cattle in Colorado
6
The Longhorn
7
Cattle Drives why do it?

• With RR, people back east need beef for cattle
  ranchers
• Abilene, Dodge City, Sedaliahuge cattle markets
• Abilene- Chisholm Trail very rowdy at end of
  trail (crazy cowboys) like boomtowns

8
Range becomes fenced off

• Range wars farmers/ranchers
• barbed wire cheap and efficient