miners and ranchers chapter 8, section 1 people were migrating westward for economic activity....
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Miners and RanchersChapter 8, Section 1
People were migrating westward for economic activity. Mining and ranching
were two of these opportunities.
Quartz mining• Mining for deep deposits of ore. • Example: Comstock mine in Six Mile Canyon,
Nevada known for it’s silver.
Boom or Bust• Many outpost towns became Boom towns when
mineral deposits were found and often times as quickly as the grew, they became Ghost towns when the mine ran dry. In many Boom town vigilance committees were formed to keep the peace.
Value of a standard gold bar• The average weight of a gold bar is around 400 troy
ounces and measures 6” long by 3” wide by 2” high and weighs about 27.5 pounds.
• The 2013 value of gold is $1,396 per troy ounce making one bar worth $558,400 a bar.
1 ounce $1,96 1 bar = ½ Million dollars
Ranching• Open Range- a vast area of
open grassland owned by the government.
• Long drive – Herding cattle over long distances to railheads to get better prices.
• The first long drive was from Texas to Sedalia, Missouri in 1866.
• The Chisholm Trail became a famous long drive route
Longhorn• The longhorn became one of the first breed of
cattle (Texas) to be driven on the long drives. It was a hardy, resilient created that withstood the harsh weather of the plains.
Open Range
• The open range was the term used to describe the wide open treeless area that ranchers kept their cattle
• Cattle had the freedom to move were grass grew best but cattle also were exposed to the rigors of the land and weather.
Long Drive• As cattle became more abundant in Texas prices
began to fall making ranchers move their cattle on long drives to better markets usually north into the states.
• It was a long grueling process which usually paid of but not without loss.
Chisholm Trail• A route from Texas to Abilene, Kansas that became
famous for the long drive.• Named after Jessie Chisholm, who built several
trading post along the route usually from San Antoine, Texas to Abilene, Kansas.
Barbed Wire• The Open Range came to an end in 1867 when Lucien Smith
who is credited as the inventor and patented the first barb wire (thorny fence).
• The wire was invented to contain cattle and prevent them from becoming lost (maverick), stolen or mixed up with neighbors cattle (which in turn led to branding) to prevent rancher from fighting over cattle.
Lucien B. Smith
Domestication of Cattle• Barbed wire became one of the first steps of
domesticating cattle even further. The open range soon became a thing of the past and pastures and feedlot soon became more prevalent.
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