Settling the
West
Great Plains -
“Great American Desert”
1000 sq miles from the 100th meridian to the
Rocky Mountains
Geography: Mountains, Plateaus, Plains,
Deserts
Non-Forested area: Tall and short
prairie grasses, desert shrubs
Characteristics: poor soil, poor drainage,
intense cold, intense winds, not enough
rainfall
Animals of the Great Plains
Characteristics: grass eaters, survive with
little or no water
Jackrabbit – true hare; ate
farmer’s crops
Prairie Dogs – “Squirrels of the Plains”
live in colonies, create hazardous
holes in ground, controlled
through poison
Wolf/Coyote – “Outlaws of the Plains”
prey on helpless, sick, or young
Buffalo – dominated human life
stupid (because…)
ran slowly & are clumsy
poor eyesight
no fear of sound (but…)
excellent sense of smell
Humans – Native American
Indians
Tribes
of the
Great
Plains
Sioux
Cheyenne
Crow
Arapaho
Kiowa
Typical Indian Village
Native (North) American Indians
Relied on two animals – Buffalo & Horse
Buffalo – Meat = food
Hide = shelter & clothing
Bones = tools & weapons
Sinew = thread & bow strings
Hair = saddle pads
Horns = spoons & flasks
Gallstones = war paint
Manure = fuel
Horse – Origins = Spanish Conquistadors
Abandoned & left to breed
= Mustangs
Importance of the Horse
•Became nomadic
•Less inclined to farm
•Used as a “beast of burden” – pack animal
•Source of Wealth – paid debts, bought wives,
could be eaten if necessary
•Become better buffalo hunters
New Weapons developed due
to the Horse
Small Bow – 2 ½ - 3 ft long
Arrows – tipped with points
of bone, flint, or
steel barbs
Most carried a shield made
from hides of buffalo necks
(which had been smoked
and then hardened with
glue made from horse’s
hoofs)
By nature, the Plains Indians
were more fierce, cruel, and
least civilized of all of the tribes
Most Feared = Comanche
Indians
• spent majority of time mounted
• used horse itself as a shield during
battle
• greatest horse thieves (smelled like
horses so other horses didn’t
spook)
Perfected the art of torturing their enemies
• Artistic dissections
• Partial flayings
• Dislocation of body parts
• Breaking and/or splitting of
fingers & toes
Language
Unique – quiet forms
• Sign Language –
helped different
tribes communicate
US Army (under Capt. Clark)
studied and included sign
language into the signal
flags – used first in the
Civil War
• Smoke Signals
Encounters with Whites
Early 1800s – Whites moved
Indians to reservations in
Oklahoma – Trail of Tears
There goes the
neighborhood!
US Gov’t paid Indians annuities
30-50 cents an acre once year
Wasn’t enough to live off of –
starved
Indians left reservations to
find food
Army sent 9th/10th
Cavalry Units
(Buffalo Soldiers)
Were called in to hunt
the Indians down
Railroads brought people West and in 1869, the Transcontinental
Railroad was completed.
Promontory, Utah
•May 10, 1869 at Promontory, Utah
“The Wedding of the Rails”
•Central Pacific and Union Pacific
May 10, 1869 at Promontory, Utah
“The Wedding of the Rails”
Central Pacific and Union Pacific
Taming of the Plains Indians
Railroad – “iron arrow” – hired people to lay
tracks; shot buffalo to feed RR
workers. “Buffalo Bill” Cody –
sharpshooter for RR
Took hides for buffalo robes &
tongues; Killed 1000+/day
Buffalo destroyed iron RR tracks
By 1885 – fewer than 1000 left out of 15M
Decline of the Buffalo
Six-Shooter (revolver) –
inventor Samuel Colt
Texas Rangers needed protection
from the Comanches.
Advantage = 6 shots
Colt .45 pistol
Winchester Repeating Rifle
Disease – like other Native Americans, Plains
Indians were not immune to White man’s
diseases such as small pox and measles
Liquor – “fire water” – cannot
tolerate alcohol became
addicted easily
3Bs (bullets, bacteria, bottle) brought by RR
Major Conflicts
Fetterman’s Massacre –
Sioux Chiefs Crazy Horse, Red Cloud,
& Sitting Bull ambush US Army led by
Capt Fetterman
Sand Creek Massacre – Army sent to punish
Sioux for Fetterman’s Massacre.
Army killed Indians under white
flag of truce
Nez Perce – under Chief Joseph tried to
flee to Canada. Army finally caught &
returned the Nez Perce to the
reservations
“I Will Fight No More Forever”
Battle of Little Bighorn – Army sent to bring
back Sioux to reservations. 7th Cavalry
took on 2500 Indians w/ 210 soldiers
“Custer’s Last Stand”
Little Big Horn Memorial Site
With the massacre of the 7th Cavalry at the
Battle of the Little Bighorn public attention
is turned towards what the Gov’t was doing.
Helen Hunt Jackson –
A Century of Dishonor
detailed:
--US Gov’t’s repeated violation of
treaties
--Mistreatment of Indians on reservations
Sarah Winnemucca – Life Among the Paiutes:
Their Wrongs and Claims (same as Jackson)
Gov’t Assimilation Policy
Dawes Act:
Broke up reservations
Head of household = 160 acres
Single Men = 80 acres
Children = 40 acres
Began to education Indians
read/write
farming techniques
Life on the Reservations
Turned to spiritual activities or traditional
dances:
a. Bison Dance bring back buffalo
b. Spirit or Mescalero Dance –
drive away evil and sickness
and bring good fortune to
the tribe.
c. Snake or Rain Dance –
used to bring in a good
harvest.
d. Sun Dance – manhood ritual; visible
symbol of bravery and in
some cases necessary in
order to marry young girls.
The Ghost Dance Movement
1890
Paiute medicine man Wovoka
promised the return of the buffalo
and Indian way of life.
The religion prophesied the end of
the westward expansion of whites
and a return of Indian land.
The ritual lasted five successive
days, being danced each night and
on the last night continued until
morning.
Hypnotic trances and shaking
accompanied this ceremony,
which was supposed to be
repeated every six weeks.
Battle of Wounded Knee –
last Indian battle
Indians were performing the
Ghost Dance – designed to bring
back animals, dead relatives, and
return to a life before the white
man’s arrival (wore ceremonial
clothing that for protection against
Ghost Shirt
Whites)
If performed – would be immune to
white man’s bullets.
Accounts differ but shots were fired and both
Indians and soldiers were killed.
Impact – religious ceremony that proved that
Indians were not immune to white man’s
bullets – Indians lost all hope and
resigned themselves to life on the
reservations
300 Indians & 25 Whites died
Break for Activity
Cattle Kingdom
Spanish brought cattle to the New World &
abandoned
New breed developed – longhorn
Tougher
Can survive on poor grasslands
By 1865 - 5 million roaming free
Had long horns (4-6 ft span)
•No real market in Texas
•In Texas, sold for $3-$5 a head until RR
came west
•In the railheads, sold for 30-$50 a head
•Pioneers -- Cattle Barons --with ranches
of 1,000+ acres
•Average ranch = 3,000 head of cattle
Demand for Cattle Increased because:
Civil War – N & S needed
fresh meat & the only
source was from out
West
Railroads – came out west to
railheads in Missouri &
Kansas
Yearly Routine on Ranches
Winter:
Repaired gear
Gathered firewood
Cut ice from waterholes
Tended to sick cows/calves
Found strays
Drove cattle to snow-free grass
Spring: Check water conditions
Rescue cows from mud
holes
Round up:
horses – broke them for riding
cows – branding of mavericks
(no brands)
castrated young bulls
Handout - Brands
Summer: Inspect water holes
Check for worms
Scatter bulls for mating
Fall: Finish branding
Sort cattle (keep or sell)
Start Long Drive to Railheads
Long Drives

Took 3,000 head of cattle

1 chuck wagon/cook

1 Trail boss

1 Wrangler – Remuda
(7-10 extra horses per cowboy)
•12-15 cowboys –
average age = 18;
paid $1/day
•2-3 months to complete
•Traveled 25-30 miles/day
( =1,000+ miles)
•Worked 18 hour days
Drag: least desirable – dust &
smell
found stragglers that had
wandered
off from the main herd
Long Drive Positions
Point: most dangerous -stampedes
most desirable -clean air
Swing/Flank: kept
herd together
Most Famous
Trails:
Chisholm Trail
(most famous)
Shawnee Trail
Western Trail
Goodnight-
Loving Trail
(sold to miners)
Handout – Trails & Positions
Cowboy Uniform
Hat - Most wore sombreros for protection from
rain, snow, hail, and sun
Used as a fan and bucket to carry water
Part of uniform most particular about
Bandana - Used as a mask – keep out dust
Form of insulation in hat
Wash clothe
Tourniquet (snake bite/gored
by longhorns)
Duster - Protective overcoat w/
split in back
Chaps – Leg protection
shotgun (pant like)
batwing (tied/buckled on the side)
woolies (front covered with wool)
Spurs – Used to move the horse quickly
Most common type = work spur
Boots – Designed to keep foot in stirrup
Most common type today =
ropers
Cowboy Equipment
Rope/Lariat – Used to capture cows/horses
Avg length = 60 ft.
Running Iron – straight iron rod used to
free-hand brands on mavericks
Knife – 6 inch blade stored in boot/waist
Saddle – Personally owned
Cost - $30.00 lasted 25-30 years
Horse – Used on the range but usually
was not personally owned
Gun/Rifle – Most repeating rifles
Only carried on open range
NOT on long drives for fear of
stampedes
Mexican Influence:
Original Cowboys came
from Mexico
Language:
vaquero – cowboy
lasso – roping
lariat -- rope
RODEO
America’s oldest
original sport
Most lasting form of
amusement
Friendly competition
between ranches
Nat Love – most
famous all-around
Cowboy
Rough Stock Events
Staying on the animal for 8 second
Saddle Bronc
Bareback
Bull Riding
Timed Events
Competition based
on an individual’s
best time
Steer Wrestling
Calf Roping
Barrel Racing
End of the Cattle Kingdom
• Arrival of the sheepherders – sheep
clipped grass too short for cows to
eat
• Beef prices fell by 40% - overstocking ranges
• Mother Nature – drought, floods, blizzards
in the 1890s
• Lack of good, clean water
• Invention of barbed wire - Joseph Glidden
•Arrival of farmers – used barbed wire to close
off the open range
•Range wars started – competition for
land/water increased b/w ranchers
and farmers
•Forced to reduce herd size and start
breeding programs
•Ranches became hay farms as well as
grazing ranches (need hay for winter)
•Stories exaggerated by dime novels
Branding Cattle
&
Cowboy Slang
Activities
Handout
Arrival of the Farmers
1862 – Homestead Act
1.
Gov’t gave 160 acres for a
$10.00 deposit.
2.
After 5 years of improving
the land, farmers got clear
title.
3.
Used barbed wire to stake
out their claims
Life on the Prairie
Homes – Made out of sod – dirt & grass
little bit of wood - expensive
Wells had to be dug 300+ ft.
to find water
Climate – extremes
(100°F+ vs. below 0°)
Examples of Sod Houses
Farming Styles
Normal Farming – using iron/steel
plow planted 6 inch rows
Dry Farming – planting seeds deep into the
ground to find moisture in areas that only
get 15-20 inches of rain a year
Bonanza Farming – LARGE farms of up to
50,000 acres using crews of workers
Primary Crop = WHEAT
Problems Farmers Encountered
•Drought
•Prairie Fires burned crops
•Grasshopper plagues ate crops
•Planted too shallow and
prevailing winds blew away
top soil (with nutrients)
•Overproduction of crops caused prices
to drop
•Bought expensive machinery on credit
•Bought farms on credit
•Banks foreclosed – couldn’t pay off debts
•Forced to become
tenant farmers
working for
someone else
Growth of the Mining Industry
Types of Mining:
Placer Mining
–
uses picks,
pans, & shovels
Quartz Mining
– digging deep
in the ground to
find the mineral
that one was
looking for
Hydraulic Mining – used a
stream of water to blast out
sides of mountains – used
with placer mining technique
Biggest American Strike:
Comstock Lode, 1859
Henry Comstock found huge SILVER
deposit
The extensive and
expensive surface and
underground workings of
the various Comstock
silver mines required
large outlays of
investment capital. Most
of the investors were in
San Francisco.
Virginia City into a boom town due to
SILVER
1. caused crime to increase
2. led to vigilance committees
civilians who took law
into their own hands since regular
lawmen were in short supply
3. Attracted women –
• did laundry for
miners
• danced in saloons
and took tips
from miners
• performed personal
services (prostitution)
(Women used silver (& gold)
and bought property)
Other Metal Deposits
Gold – Pikes Peak, Colorado
Black Hills, Dakota Territory
Lead – Leadville, Colorado
Copper – Montana Territory
(Precious metals needed for factories back
East & plays into the Industrial Revolution of
the late 1800s)
Wrap Up:
Manifest Destiny:
Am believed they had a
God-given right to
occupy the land from the
Atlantic to the Pacific.
Those that came west, encountered the Native
Americans, started huge cattle ranches,
established farms, and mined for precious
metals.