cowboys and ranchers
how they lived
what is ranching?
- Ranching is the practice of raising herds of animals on large tracts of land.
- cattle trails pointed north, the Shawnee, the Chisholm, and the western lead to railheads where the cattle were loaded into freght cars bound for eastern market.
- in less than two decades 6 million steers and cows were moved along these railheads.
rope-rid'n facts
- Cowboy's were the largest fast growing agricultural industry
- Usually heard in dry temperate areas
- They heard many different animals over 10,000 square k
- They maintain the animals health while traveling these vast distances
- One of the most known cattle ranching routes was from texas the the railroads of kansas
cowboys during the westward expantion
- There are many cheap longhorn steers over running the state of texas
- when there is a high demand for beef, and the
cattle
- Herds traveled an average of 15 miles per day
- beef up north had a higher price than the union armys
- a steer worth $4 in texas, was worth $40 up north.
life as a cowboy
- cowboys had to figure out a way to get the steer to the markets because there were no railroads
- drove the cattle 1500 miles.
Old West Cowboys
Portraying Life in the Old West - Shadows of the Old West
American History of the Wild West - excerpt
essential questions
- what was one of the most common routes for the cowboys that herded cattle?
- which state had a higher buy rate for steer?