Lone Star: The Story of Texas

1
Lone Star The Story of Texas

• Chapter 13
• Closing the Frontier 1866 - 1888

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Lone Star The Story of Texas

• Chapter 13 Closing the Frontier 1866 1888
• Section 1 The Frontier Wars
• Section 2 Cattle Kingdoms
• Section 3 Westward Expansion
• Section 4 The Texas Rangers

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A History of Conflict

• Soldiers Defending Texas
• After the Civil War, the U.S. government sent
  troops to help end the Indian raids.
• In 1867, tribal leaders met with government
  officials to sign the Medicine Lodge Treaty.
• A treaty is a formal agreement between two
  nations.
• The treaty did not bring peace.

• Reservation Policy
• Kiowas raided a wagon train at Salt Creek in the
  Salt Creek Massacre.
• This caused the army to switch its policy.
  Instead of defending the frontier, the army would
  now force all Indians onto reservations.
• Because of the Salt Creek Massacre fighting in
  Texas intensified.

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The Frontier Wars
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Leaders in the Frontier Wars
William T. Sherman Union hero in the Civil War Commanded the U.S. army
General Phillip Sheridan Union hero in the Civil War Directed five separate field armies against the Comanches and the Kiowas in the 1870s
Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie Led much of the fighting against the Indians Considered by many to be the best Indian fighter in the West
General Nelson Miles Led several campaigns against Indians in Texas
Colonel John Davidson Led units in the Panhandle
Quanah Parker Son of a Comanche father and a white mother Became a Comanche warrior and leader Led several successful raids
Lone Wolf Kiowa leader Opposed settlement on reservations Led raids against the Texans
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The Frontier Wars in the Panhandle

• U.S. Strategies
• Soldiers attacked Indian villages.
• Troops captured food, blankets, and other
  supplies.
• Soldiers burned the villages and killed the
  horses.
• The army brought in buffalo hunters to destroy
  the Indians major food source.
• The buffalo hunters nearly drove the animal to
  extinction (complete destruction).

• Red River WarThe Texas Rangers, joined the final
  campaign against the Indians in the Panhandlethe
  Red River War. By destroying the Native
  Americans horses and food supply, U.S. troops
  were able to defeat them. By the end of 1875,
  most Texas Plains Indians lived on reservations.

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The Frontier Wars in Southern Texas

• The end of the Red River War did not stop the
  violence in Texas
• Rio Grande Campaigns - Apache leader Victorio led
  Indian raids across the Southwest and Mexico.
• Buffalo Soldiers - Buffalo Soldiers were African
  American soldiers who fought in the Frontier
  Wars.
• Outlaws - Texas was a violent place in the 1870s
  and 1880s. Cattle thieves were common. Cattle
  ranchers fought against sheep ranchers. Bandits
  raided South Texas towns. The Texas Rangers
  helped control some of these problems.

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Cattle Kingdoms Sec. 2
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Cattle

• Spanish explorers bought the first cattle into
  Texas.
• Texas Longhorns resulted from Spanish cows bred
  with Anglo cows.
• Spanish soldiers and priest were the first cattle
  ranchers in Texas.
• The Civil War increased the demand for Texas
  beef.
• The Northern demand for beef led to the rise of
  cattle trails.
• Cowboys drove herds north in the spring to towns
  with rail stations.

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Cattle Trails

• Problems on the Trails
• Bandits stole cattle.
• Farmers complained that longhorns trampled their
  crops and spread disease to their cattle.
• Some states passed quarantine laws to keep Texas
  cattle away from settled areas.
• Quarantine - to isolate or separate to prevent
  the spread of disease

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Cattle Trails

• Famous Trails
• The Chisholm Trail ran from Texas to Abilene,
  Kansas.
• The Great Western Trail traveled through Indian
  Territory to Dodge City, Kansas.
• The Goodnight-Loving Trail ran from West Texas
  through New Mexico and Colorado to Wyoming.
• Drover - a person who moves livestock to market

• A manager, or trail boss would plan the drive.
• A herd would move from about 10 to 15 miles per
  day.
• Cowboys spent up to 16 hours per day in the
  saddle.
• Hazards on the drive included rainstorms,
  stampedes, extreme heat, rattlesnakes, river
  crossings, and attacks by Indians and bandits.

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Big Ranches

• Richard King started with a 15,000 acre ranch in
  Nueces County in 1852 called King Ranch.
• After King died, his son-in-law and widow
  expanded King Ranch to over 1 million acres (the
  size of the state of Rhode Island.)
• Charles Goodnights JA ranch covered more than 1
  million acres and supported 100,000 cattle.
• The XIT ranch was about 3 million acres, about
  the size of Connecticut.

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Westward Expansion Sec. 3

• Texas doubled its population between 1860 and
  1880.
• After the Frontier Wars Texans moved west in
  large numbers.
• Settlers used the idea of manifest destiny to
  justify forcing Indians off the land.
• Railroad companies promoted the settlement of
  West Texas by building railroad lines through the
  region.
• Cattle and sheep ranchers led the way in settling
  West Texas.

• The removal of Indians in West Texas ended the
  violence on the Plains.
• Joseph Glidden invented barbed wire in 1874 and
  ranchers used it to protect cattle.
• The widespread use of barbed wire helped to end
  the cattle drives.

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The Growth of Railroads
15
Fence Cutting Wars

• Since they were cut off from the grasslands,
  landless cattle owners could not compete with
  ranchers and their fences.
• Fence cutters wanted cattle to have access to
  grass and water like they did on the open range.
• Fence cutting caused 20 million dollars in
  damage.
• In 1884 Texas passed a law that made fence
  cutting a felony.
• The Texas Ranchers often went undercover to catch
  fence cutters and by 1890 the fence cutting wars
  stopped.

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The Rangers OrganizationSec 4

• Characteristics of Texas Rangers
• Young, single men
• Few family ties
• Often retired by age 30
• Provided their own horses, weapons, equipment,
  and rations

• Skills of Texas Rangers
• Skilled horsemen
• Expert marksmanship
• Excellent tracking skills

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The Rangers in Action

• In the Texas Revolution, the Rangers served as
  scouts and messengers.
• In the 1830s and 1840s, Rangers played a major
  role in removing Native Americans from East
  Texas.
• During the Mexican War, Rangers scouted Mexican
  troop movements. They helped the United States
  win the Battle of Buena Vista.
• The Rangers fought against guerrilla fighters in
  Mexico. Guerrillas are soldiers who are not part
  of the regular army.

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The True Value of the Rangers

• Rangers fought to protect Texans from attacks by
  outlaws, rustlers, Mexican bandits, and Native
  Americans. The Frontier Battalion dealt with more
  than 3,000 desperados (reckless, bold outlaws).
• Rangers also performed routine police tasks, like
  transporting prisoners and collecting taxes.
• Their methods were often violent and sometimes
  illegal. However, the Rangers provided better law
  and order to Texas in the early days.