ranching and mining
Post on 06-Jan-2016
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NCSCOS Goal 4
Page 28
Open Range
-Great Plains area
•Texas to Kansas
-No boundaries to man or
cattle
•Open area free for cattle and men to roam
-low population
The Open Range was mysterious to most Americans, as many had never settled West and had only heard stories about outlaws and Native Americans. Many moved to the Open Range following the
Civil War to be ranchers and cowboys.
Cattle Kingdom
Greater urban populations demanded more food
•Increased demand for beef
Cattle drives to meet railroads
•Connect open range with cities back East
Chisholm Trail (major cattle drive trail)
Abilene (major cow town)
Legend of the cowboy
Mexican Influences
•Learned to be cowboys from Mexicans
Cowboys worked 10-14 hours a day on a ranch and even more on the
Trail, alert at all times for any dangers to the herd. A cowboy’s season might
begin with the spring roundup (branding),
followed by the long drive. The cowboy life was
dangerous and lonely, which is why many
celebrated in the cow towns (like Abilene) upon
arrival.
“We went back to look for him, and we found him…horse and man mashed into the ground as flat as a pancake….We tried to think
that lightning hit him, and that was what we wrote his folks…but we couldn’t believe it ourselves. I’m afraid it wasn’t the lightning.
I’m afraid.. They both went down before the stampede.” ~Teddy Abbott, cowboy
The Old Chisholm Trail
Come along boys and listen to my tale,I'll tell you of my troubles on the old Chisholm trail.
Come a ti yi yippee, come a ti yi yea,Come a ti yi yippee, come a ti yi yea.
Oh, a ten-dollar hoss and a forty-dollar saddle,And I'm goin' to punchin' Texas cattle.
I wake in the mornin' afore daylight,And afore I sleep the moon shines bright.
It's cloudy in the west, a-lookin' like rain,And my durned old slicker's in the wagon again.
No chaps, no slicker, and it's pourin' down rain,And I swear, by gosh, I'll never night-herd again.
Feet in the stirrups and seat in the saddle,I hung and rattled with them long-horn cattle.
The wind commenced to blow, and the rain began to fall,Hit looked, by grab, like we was goin' to lose 'em all.
I don't give a darn if they never do stop;I'll ride as long as an eight-day clock.
We rounded 'em up and put 'em on the cars,And that was the last of the old Two Bars.
It's bacon and beans most every day,I'd as soon be a-eatin' prairie hay.
I went to the boss to draw my roll,He had it figgered out I was nine dollars in the hole.
Goin' back to town to draw my money,Goin' back home to see my honey.
With my knees in the saddle and my seat in the sky,I'll quit punchin' cows in the sweet by and by.
Home On The Range
Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roamWhere the deer and the antelope playWhere seldom is heard a discouraging wordAnd the skies are not cloudy all day Home, home on the rangeWhere the deer and the antelope playWhere seldom is heard a discouraging wordAnd the skies are not cloudy all day
How often at night where the heavens are brightWith the light of the glittering starsHave I stood there amazed and asked as I gazedIf their glory exceeds that of ours
Then give me a land where the bright diamond sandFlows leisurely down to the streamWhere the graceful white swan goes gliding alongLike a maid in a heavenly dream
Oh I would not exchange my old home on the rangeWhere the deer and the antelope playWhere the seldom is heard a discouraging wordAnd the skies are not cloudy all day
Cattle’s Decline
Too many cattle
•Over-grazing the land
•Bad weather leaves no food for cattle
Disease
•Killed cattle
Drought
•Dry summers and harsh winters wiped out herds
Barbed wire fences blocked open range
Mining Towns
Gold Rushes
•People move West to get
rich quickly
•California, 1849
•Sutter’s Mill
Black Hills
•South Dakota
Comstock Lode
•Nevada: discovered $300 million in silver and gold in 20 years
Alaska
Ghost Towns
•“Boomtowns” built quickly to accommodate miners, and they were abandoned just as quickly
Mining Life
-large mix of people
•All races, mostly men but a few women
-many opportunities for everyone
-saloons, gambling
•Violent towns with no police
-hard luck
•Many made very little or no money and must stay in the West because they cannot
“Wild West”
Legend of adventure
Wild Bill Hickok
Calamity Jane
Wyatt Earp
Jesse James
Billy the Kid
Dime novels that told western tales
•Romanticized the West
Only lasted 30 years
•1860-1885
Wild Bill Hickok Calamity Jane
Wyatt Earp Jesse James Billy the Kid
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