Chapter
17 Section 3
Objectives
• Explain how the cattle industry began.
• Describe the life of a cowhand on the trail.
• Discuss the myth of the Wild West.
• Identify reasons for the end of the cattle boom.
The Cattle Kingdom
Chapter
17 Section 3
Terms and People
• open range – unfenced land
• cattle drive – the herding and moving of cattle
over long distances
• vaquero – Spanish word for cowhand, or
cowboy
• cow town – settlement at the end of a cattle
trail
• cattle kingdom – region dominated by the
cattle industry and its ranches, trails, and cow
towns
The Cattle Kingdom
Chapter
17 Section 3
What factors led to boom and bust in
the cattle industry?
With mining towns growing and railroad
companies racing to build track, another boom
swept across the West.
the cattle boom
The Cattle Kingdom
Chapter
17 Section 3
For years, herds of wild cattle roamed the open
range of Texas.
Beef was in demand in
eastern cities and western
boomtowns.
But ranchers had no way to
move the longhorns to
distant markets.
The Cattle Kingdom
17 Section 3
That changed, however, as railroads crossed the
Plains.
The Cattle Kingdom
cattle
cattle
Trains could take the cattle to market. All the
ranchers had to do was get the cattle to the
trains.
cattle
Chapter
Chapter
17 Section 3
Texas ranchers began to round up the cattle in the
1860s.
They hired skilled
cowhands to move
the herds north,
along trails leading
to rail lines.
Some of the rail lines were as far away as 1,000 miles,
and the long cattle drives lasted two to three months.
The Cattle Kingdom
Chapter
17 Section 3
Well-worn cattle
trails led from
Texas to rail lines
in Wyoming,
Nebraska,
Kansas, and
Missouri.
The Cattle Kingdom
Chapter
17 Section 3
Cowhands on the trail could spend up to 18 hours
a day leading herds across rivers, pulling cattle
from swamps, fighting grass fires, or chasing off
thieves.
Lightning could cause
a stampede, sending
cattle in all directions.
Yet despite the hard and dangerous work,
cowhands earned less than $1 a day.
The Cattle Kingdom
Chapter
17 Section 3
Cowhands owed much to Spanish and Mexican
vaqueros.
• how to ride,
rope, and brand
• Mexican spurs
and chaps
• broad-brimmed
hats
• lassos
The Cattle Kingdom
17 Section 3
Cattle drives ended at cow towns, where
tired and hungry cowhands could find
restaurants, hotels, dance halls, and saloons.
Abilene, Kansas,
was the first of
many cow towns to
spring up at the end
of the cattle trails.
Cow town
cattle
Chapter
The Cattle Kingdom
Chapter
17 Section 3
The rough-and-tumble life in cow towns did much
to promote the myth of the Wild West.
Wild
West
• Place of gun fights, adventure,
and opportunity
• Reflected in shows by William
“Buffalo Bill” Cody
The Cattle Kingdom
Chapter
17 Section 3
Some of the myths of the Wild West are based on
fact. Cowhands did help shape the West.
Yet the real West was much more than the
land of gunslingers portrayed in frontier
shows.
Real
West
•
•
•
•
•
Ranchers
Farmers
Miners
Pioneer families
Native Americans
The Cattle Kingdom
Chapter
17 Section 3
Ranchers in the cattle kingdom made huge
profits during the boom years.
Profits
New breeds of cattle brought in even more
money, and small ranches soon grew into huge
cattle companies.
The Cattle Kingdom
Chapter
17 Section 3
The cattle kingdom, however, would soon go
from boom to bust.
By the 1880s,
millions of cattle
roamed the range,
along with sheep—
more animals than
the land could
support.
The Cattle Kingdom
At the same time,
farmers began to
fence their lands,
preventing cattle
from freely grazing.
Ranchers now had
to buy feed for
their herds.
Chapter
17 Section 3
An economic depression made matters worse.
People struggling
to find jobs in
cities could no
longer afford
expensive beef.
Demand
for
beef
In time, the railroads expanded, moving closer to
the ranches. The days of the long cattle drives
were over.
The Cattle Kingdom
Chapter
17 Section 3
Section Review
QuickTake Quiz
The Cattle Kingdom
Know It, Show It Quiz