The American West - Development of the Plains - Cattlemen and Cowboys, the Rise and Fall of the Cattle Industry

pisogaxu's version from 2016-10-14 08:24

Cowboy's Clothes

Question Answer
What was a cowboy's hat called?A Stetson
What could a cowboy's hat protect the wearer from?Rain and Sun
What was the most important part of a cowboy's riding gear?His saddle
What did all cowboys wear on their feet?High-heeled boots and spurs
What did the cowboys wear to protect their mouth and nose from dust?A bandana
What were chaps?They were an overgarment like a pair of trousers with a cut out seat


Question Answer
When was the civil war?1861-1865
What did the soldiers find when they returned from the civil war?Huge herds of cattle that were running wild
How many cattle were there estimated to be in Texas after the civil war?5 million
How much would people in the North pay for a head of cattle?$40
What helped the cattlemen take their cattle to the North?Railroads

Goodnight and Loving

Question Answer
What did Charles Goodnight find when he returned home after the Civil War?His herd of cattle had grown to around 8,000 and they were running wild
What had Goodnight heard about a camp near Fort Sumner, New Mexico?The US troops were holding 7000 Indians captive on a reservation, and the Indians were close to starvation
Who did Goodnight team up with?Oliver Loving
How many cowboys and cattle did Goodnight and Loving take?18 cowboys and 2000 cattle
What nearly ruined the expedition for Goodnight and Loving?The lack of water
How many cattle did Goodnight and Loving have left when they reached Fort Sumner?1700
Was Goodnight and Loving's expedition successful?Yes, because the Indians on the reservation were well fed, and Goodnight's career in the cattle industry began here, as he supplied the US army and the Indian reservations as far as Fort Laramie

Problems for cattlemen

Question Answer
What attacked cattlemen on cattle trails in south-east Kansas, south Missouri and north Arkansas?Armed mobs
Why did armed mobs attack cattlemen on the trails?They believed that a deadly tick carried by the longhorns (which did not affect them) would infect the cattle around the trails
What was the issue surrounding cattle rustlers?The rustlers were prepared to fight and kill to get the longhorn cattle for themselves
Were hostile Indians a problem?Yes, they even killed Oliver Loving in 1867 in a raid
What were the benefits of the Goodnight and Loving trail?It avoided hostile white mobs in Missouri and Kansas, and also hostile Indians (mostly)
What were the drawbacks of the Goodnight and Loving trail?There was very little water, and was very far west for the eastern markets that were more profitable and bigger

McCoy and cow towns

Question Answer
What was Joseph McCoy solution to having cattlemen drive their herds to the railheads to be taken to markets on the trains?He planned to set up cow towns in the West
What were the benefits of setting up cow towns in the West?Southern cattlemen and Northern buyers would meet on equal footing to buy and sell the herds, and they would be undisturbed by rustlers, mobs and hostile Indians
What was the name of McCoy's first cow town, and where was it built?Abilene, and it was built on the Kansas Pacific Railroad
What was Abilene initially made up of?A collection of huts, with plenty of grass and water needed for the cattle that gathered there
What did McCoy build in Abilene?Offices, cattle pens and a small hotel
How many cattle were taken along the Chisholm Trail from San Antonio to Abilene in 1867?37,000
How many cattle were taken along the Chisholm Trail from San Antonio to Abilene by 1870?300,000
How many cattle passed through Abilene between 1867 and 1881?1.5 million cattle

Cow Towns

Question Answer
What happened as the railroads moved Westward?New cow towns developed
What was blazed to connect with railroads at the point where new cow towns had been built?New trails were blazed
Between 1867 and 1885 how many cattle passed through the cow towns?Nearly 4 million cattle passed through the cow towns during this time
Was it more beneficial to sell cattle in the cow towns, rather than in Texas?Yes, a cow worth $5 in Texas was worth ten times the amount in the cow towns
Who took a commission on every head of cattle sold in the cow towns?Joseph McCoy and other cattle dealers

Ilif and Ranching

Question Answer
What was the problem with more homesteaders settling on the Great Plains?Their farms blocked the cattle trails
What did the cattlemen begin to believe would benefit them, rather than driving cattle across the Plains?They believed that it would be easier to simply raise cattle on the Plains
What job did John Iliff do when he was young?He was a trader that sold food and goods to travelers on the Oregon and Californian trails
When gold was discovered, what did Iliff do?He moved further out to supply miners with the goods that they needed
What was Iliff the first to do?Iliff was the first to graze cattle on the Plains, marking the beginning of ranching
How did Iliff enlarge his herd?He bought Oliver Loving's cattle which were being driven to Colorado
What did Iliff experiment with, and what was the result?He experimented with breeding, and produced a sweeter meat than the Texan longhorns
Where Iliff's cattle more or less hardy than the longhorns? bahLess, but they did not need to survive the long cattle drives
What contract did Iliff win?He won a contract to supply meat to the Union Pacific Railroad construction gangs
What did Iliff use to transport his beef?Refrigerated rail cars
What contract did Iliff win in 1872?He won a contract to supply beef to Red Cloud and over 7000 Sioux Indians who had been moved by the Us government

Open Ranging

Question Answer
What was an open range?Land that was unfenced and claimed but not owned
What did a rancher's range rights include?The right to reserve a stream or waterhole for his cattle
How did the ranchers distinguish which cattle were theirs?They branded the cattle on the shoulder of hindquarter
What did branding tend to prevent?Rustling
What were the peak years for ranching on the Plains?1880-1885

The End of Cattle Ranching

Question Answer
Why was overstocking a problem in 1883?There was a drought and the grass withered, making it difficult to feed the cattle
What happened to the price of cattle, and what did the ranchers start to do?The price fell, and ranchers began to keep their cattle, rather than taking them to market
Why did shops have to lower the prices of beef?Beef had become so readily available, there was too much meat
What had happened to the profits of cattle by 1882?The profits began to fall
What hit ranchers hard in 1885?The winter was very cold, and the temperatures fell as low as -55 degrees
What happened to thousands of cattle in the winter of 1885?They died, at least 15% died and many cattlemen went bankrupt

Solution to Ranching Problems

Question Answer
What was the solution to the falling prices of cattle?Smaller units, with higher quality meat, and animals had to be fenced in
Why was there conflict between homesteaders and ranchers?Homesteaders claimed that the ranchers were cutting them off from the water supplies
How did ranchers and homesteaders get their water?Wind pumps
How did cattle easily get water?Portable wind pumps could be taken to the cattle
What were the benefits of smaller herds (in regard to the weather)?Smaller herds could be easily found and brought in when heavy snow hit and water could be found for a smaller number in a drought
Which was more sustainable, smaller or larger herds?Smaller herds were more sustainable


Question Answer
What were typical cowboys made up of?Young male black Americans, Indians, Spaniards and Mexicans (as well as white Americans). Former Confederate soldiers and criminals on the run also often became cowboys
When did cowboys round up cattle for the long drives?Spring
What speed did cowboys move the cattle at?Around 20 km, allowing cows to graze as much as possible
Stampedes were dangerous, and so what did cowboys do to stop a stampede?Circled the herd in on itself, so the cattle would tire itself out at great speed
What animals were problems for cowboys?Wolves, scorpions and poisonous snakes
What was the problem with water?Rivers were treacherous but had to be crossed
Why would Indians steal cattle?Because there was now a lack of buffalo