Lone Star: The Story of Texas
Chapter 13
Closing the Frontier: 1866 - 1888
Lone Star: The Story of Texas
Chapter 13: Closing the Frontier: 1866 – 1888
Section 1:
Section 2:
Section 3:
Section 4:
The Frontier Wars
Cattle Kingdoms
Westward Expansion
The Texas Rangers
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.
 Fighting in Texas
intensified.
The Frontier Wars
Leaders in the Frontier Wars
William T. Sherman
•Union
General Phillip Sheridan
•Union
Colonel Ranald S.
Mackenzie
•Led
General Nelson Miles
•Led
Colonel John Davidson
•Led
Quanah Parker
•Son
Lone Wolf
•Kiowa
hero in the Civil War
•Commanded the U.S. army
hero in the Civil War
•Directed five separate field armies against the
Comanches and the Kiowas in the 1870s
much of the fighting against the Indians
•Considered by many to be the best Indian
fighter in the West
several campaigns against Indians in
Texas
units in the Panhandle
of a Comanche father and a white mother
•Became a Comanche warrior and leader
•Led several successful raids
leader
•Opposed settlement on reservations
•Led raids against the Texans
The Frontier Wars in the Panhandle
U.S. Strategies
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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 War
The Texas Rangers, joined
the final campaign against
the Indians in the
Panhandle—the 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.
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.
Cattle Kingdoms : Sec. 2
Cattle

Texas Longhorns resulted from Spanish cows bred
with Anglo cows.
 Spanish vaqueros (cowboys) used a lariat to round
up cattle from horseback. A lariat is a long rope with
a noose on one end.
 Spanish soldiers and priest were the first cattle
ranchers in Texas. Early ranchers in Texas faced
drought, disease, and theft. They had difficulty
transporting cattle to market
 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.
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
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
Life on the Trail

The daily life of cowboys was less glamorous
than what is shown in the movies.
 A manager, or trail boss, plan the drive.
 Each drive had 11 to 18 men, including a cook
and a scout.
 Cowboys kept a remuda (a group of spare
horses), so they always had fresh horses
available.
 The herd moved 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.
Big Ranches

Richard King started with a 15,000 acre ranch in
Nueces County in 1852 called King Ranch.
 The King Ranch grew to more than 1 million acres
(about as large as the state of Rhode Island.)
 Charles Goodnight’s JA ranch covered more than 1
million acres and supported 100,000 cattle.
 A group of Chicago investors owned the XIT ranch,
which was almost as large as Connecticut. Sheep
and goat ranching also expanded in Texas in the
late 1800s
 Some Texans owned mustang (wild horses)
ranches.
Cowboy Legend and Reality
 Cowboys
generally did not fight with
Native Americans.
 Drovers tried to avoid Indians
 Not all cowboys carried guns
Westward Expansion
Sec. 3
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Settlers move to West Texas
The state’s population doubled
between 1870 and 1880.
Settlers used the idea of
manifest destiny to justify
forcing Indians off the land.
Ranchers and farmers saw
great financial potential in
West Texas. Cattle and sheep
ranchers led the way in settling
West Texas.
Railroad companies promoted
the settlement of West Texas
by building railroad lines
through the region.


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.
The Growth of Railroads
Fence Cutting Wars

Ranchers put up barbed wire enclosures, fenced-in
areas, to protect their cattle. Farmers put up fences
to protect their crops. Some of these fences
blocked roads and interfered with mail delivery.
 By the 1880s, the open range in Texas had been
fenced in.
 Landless cattle owners resorted to cutting these
fences to secure grass and water for their herds.
Fence cutting caused and estimated $20 million in
damages. In 1884 Texas passed a law making it a
felony to cut a fence. Felony – a serious crime that
usually results in jail time.
 The Texas Ranchers often went undercover to
catch fence cutters and by 1890 the fence cutting
wars stopped.
The Rangers’ Organization
Sec 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
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.
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.