Chapter 18
“The Cattle Kingdom”
*The cattle first brought to
America arrived on the
ships of Spanish explorers
in the 1500’s.
*These Spanish cattle were bred
with other types, giving rise to
the famous Texas Longhorn.
Longhorn Calf
Raising cattle began on the
open range, public land that could
be used by anyone. Vaqueros, or
cowhands, herded and drove
cattle into pens they called
corrales.
Cattle were branded with a
hot iron to show ownership.
Cattle branding is nothing new.
Ancient Egyptians did it –
We do too!
Collage of Brands
In the late 1800’s, huge ranches
sprawled throughout Texas.
Let’s take a look at a few of these.
The King Ranch
By 1925, the King Ranch was
larger than some states. It had
expanded to more than one
million acres and 100,000 head of
livestock. It was established in
1885 by Richard King.
The King Ranch
did, and still
does, take up
much of South
Texas.
The King Ranch
It was on the King Ranch that
a famous breed of cattle, the
Santa Gertrudis, was developed.
It was the first breed ever
developed in the United States.
• After the buffalo were wiped out and
the Native Americans were
removed from the Great Plains,
West Texas and the Panhandle then
became open to ranchers because
there was no longer any danger
from Native American raids.
The JA Ranch
In 1876, Charles Goodnight and
John Adair established the JA
Ranch in Palo Duro Canyon.
Like the King Ranch, it also
expanded to 1 million acres and
more than 100,000 cattle.
Before becoming a rancher,
Charles Goodnight had been
a Texas Ranger,
a scout, and a
military guide.
Charles Goodnight’s wife, Molly,
rescued and raised baby buffalo
left to die by commercial
hunters.
The remaining buffalo had to be
sold in 1998 - as they kept walking
through the fences.
The Shoe Bar Ranch
This ranch was also located in
the Panhandle, and was
450,000 acres in size. By 1913,
this ranch had been broken up
and sold. The owner was
Thomas Bugbee.
1912 – The Shoe Bar Ranch
The Matador Ranch
The Matador Ranch was
established in 1878 by Henry
Campbell. It was, and still is,
located near Lubbock in the
Panhandle.
The Matador - 1908
The XIT
The XIT Ranch was the largest
Texas ranch of the period,
consisting of 3 million acres.
The ranch took up 10 counties,
hence the X in the name. So
XIT means “Ten In Texas.”
The XIT was land given to a
Chicago-based company by the
state of Texas. 3 million acres
of land was exchanged for the
agreement to build the $3
million dollar capitol
building in Austin.
It was also
located in the
Panhandle.
The last of the
ranch was sold
in 1963.
Ten
counties
in Texas
The XIT
Bob Lemmons caught
mustangs (wild
horses) by trailing
them without
changing clothes or
horse until they got
used to his scent.
Then he would just
lead them into the
corral.
Many large ranches, like the
King Ranch, still exist in Texas
today. But ranching is different
from when Richard King
founded the ranch back in 1853.
Now, two
thousand miles
of fences keep
the 60,000
cattle inside the
ranch.
In addition to
horses, the
ranchers use
helicopters to
travel around.
The cattle are
branded and
electronic devices
are attached to the
ears of calves.
This helps keep
track of their
feeding schedules
and health records.
After the Civil War a growing
demand for wool in northeastern
factories brought many sheep
ranchers to Texas.
Ranchers complained because the
sheep ate the grass too close to the
ground, leaving no grass for the cattle
to eat.
Farmers complained because the
sheep trampled their crops.
So, farmers and ranchers began
to close in their ranches and
farms with barbed wire fences.
• Barbed wire was cheap and could be
easily installed.
• It pricked but did not harm the cattle.
• It could not easily be blown down by
the wind.
The most successful inventor of
barbed wire was J.F. Glidden.
Because farmers and ranchers
began fencing off each other’s
property and then cutting down
their neighbors’ fences, the
Texas Legislature
declared
fence cutting
to be a felony.
Four breeds of cattle that replaced
the longhorns were:
Hereford
Brahman
Shorthorn
Angus
Texas Cattle Trails
In the Spring, cowhands would drive
the cattle in large herds to the railroad
towns to the north, which were
connected to stockyards by rail. In the
north and east, cattle
would sell for $30 to $40
a head.
Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving
Days on a trail drive were long
and hard. They often spent 18
hours in the saddle. The
distance traveled each day was
usually 10 to 12 miles. At night
each cowhand took his turn at
standing guard against
stampedes or Indian raids.
• Food for the cattle drive was
kept
on the chuck wagon (invented by
Charles Goodnight).
* The chuck wagon cook was called
a “coosie,” from the Spanish
word for male cook,“cocinero.”
* He was at times referred to as
“cookie.”
The Chuck Wagon
The typical cowboy was young and
single – and poor.
The cattle towns of
Kansas were rowdy
places where
cowhands “let off
steam” after being paid.
“Here at last!”