Section 1 Miners and Ranchers

Chapter 8 Settling the West

Guide to Reading

Miners and ranchers settled large areas of the West.

• placer mining

Main Idea

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Key Terms and Names

• quartz mining

• Henry Comstock

• vigilance committee

• open range

• long drive

• Chisholm Trail

• maverick

• barbed wire

Growth of the Mining Industry• The growing industries in the East

needed the West’s rich deposits of gold, silver, and copper.

• These deposits brought settlers to the West’s mountain states.

• Prospectors used simple equipment like picks, shovels, and pans to mine the shallow deposits of ore by hand.

• This process is known as placer mining.

• Corporations dug deep beneath the surface to mine the deposits of ore in a process known as quartz mining.

• In 1859 prospector Henry Comstock staked a claim for a silver mine in Six-Mile Canyon, Nevada.

• This caused Virginia City, Nevada, to go from an outpost to a boomtown almost overnight.

Growth of the Mining Industry

(cont.)

• Several years later, the mines ran out of silver and the boomtown became a ghost town.

• The cycle of boom and bust was repeated throughout the mountainous West.

• During boom times, crime was a serious problem.

• Vigilance committees formed to track down and punish wrongdoers.

Growth of the Mining Industry

(cont.)

• Mining helped the growth of Colorado, the Dakota Territory, and Montana.

• Mining in Colorado spurred the building of railroads through the Rocky Mountains.

• Denver became the supply point for the mining areas and the second largest city in the West after San Francisco.

Growth of the Mining Industry

(cont.)

How did the mining industry affect towns and cities in the West?

Mining caused a cycle of boom and bust–from boomtown to ghost town. During booms, crime was a serious problem. Vigilance committees formed to track down and punish wrongdoers. The mining industry in Colorado led to the building of railroads through the Rocky Mountains. Denver became the supply point for the mining areas and the second largest city in the West.

Growth of the Mining Industry

(cont.)

Ranching and Cattle Drives• After the Civil War, many Americans

began building large cattle ranches on the Great Plains.

• The Texas longhorn was a breed of cattle that could survive the harsh climate of the plains.

• The cattle ranching industry grew in part because of the open range–vast areas of grasslands owned by the federal government.

• Cattle raisers could graze their herds free of charge and without boundaries.

• During the Civil War, large numbers of eastern cattle were slaughtered to feed the Union and Confederate armies.

• After the war, beef prices soared.

• This made it worthwhile to round up the longhorns.

• The first long drive in 1866 across the Great Plains to the railroad in Sedalia, Missouri, proved that cattle could be driven north to the rail lines and sold for 10 times the price they could get in Texas.

Ranching and Cattle Drives

(cont.)

• The major route for moving cattle was the Chisholm Trail that went from Texas to Abilene, Kansas.

• A long drive began with the spring roundup to collect cattle from the open range.

• The cattle were divided and branded.

• Then cowboys moved the herds of cattle along the trails to the rail lines.

Ranching and Cattle Drives

(cont.)

• Most cowboys were former Confederate army soldiers, a few were Hispanic, and many were African American.

• The long cattle drives ended, in part, when the open range was largely fenced off with barbed wire.

• Investors from the East and from Britain put money into the cattle business, causing an oversupply of animals on the market.

Ranching and Cattle Drives

(cont.)

• Prices for cattle greatly dropped.

• Many ranchers went bankrupt.

• Also, the harsh winters of 1886–1887 killed many cattle.

Ranching and Cattle Drives

(cont.)

How did the invention and use of barbed wire affect the cattle industry?

The long cattle drives and open grazing ended when the open range was largely fenced off with barbed wire.

Ranching and Cattle Drives

(cont.)

Checking for Understanding

__ 1. a stray calf with no identifying symbol

__ 2. method of extracting minerals involving digging beneath the surface

__ 3. method of extracting mineral ore by hand using simple tools, like picks, shovels, and pans

__ 4. driving cattle long distances to a railroad depot for fast transport and great profit

__ 5. vast areas of grassland owned by the federal government

A. placer mining

B. quartz mining

C. open range

D. long drive

E. maverick

Define Match the terms on the right with their definitions on the left.

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B

A

E

D

C

Checking for Understanding (cont.)

List the factors that contributed to the rise of the cattle industry.

Factors include emergence of the longhorn breed, higher beef prices, and railroad transportation.

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Checking for Understanding (cont.)

Explain how cattle ranching shifted from open range to an organized business operation.

Barbed wire eliminated long drives, and the cowboy became a ranch hand.

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Reviewing Themes

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Economic Factors What two developments in the late 1800s led to the decline of the cattle business?

An oversupply of cattle drove down prices, and the winter of 1886 to 1887 killed a large number of cattle.

Critical Thinking

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Evaluating How did the mining industry contribute to the development of the West?

People moved west, towns sprung up, and railroads expanded.

Analyzing Visuals

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Examining Maps Study the map detailing the western mining country and cattle trails on page 289 of your textbook. Then create your own thematic map detailing either the cattle country or the mining country.

Maps will vary.

CloseDescribe the ways new technology changed open-range ranching.