7) The Cattle Industry Flashcards
Who were cattle introduced by?
European Invaders
Where was the major centre for cattle trading in 1850
Southern Texas
What was the traditional breed for cattle
The Texas Longhorn
When did beef become a popular food
1850
Factors- Beefs popularity
In the 1850s beef became a popular demand for it increased in the eastern USA
FACTOR- the civil war
Texan cattle ranchers returned from fighting to find that their heard had grown dramatically
FACTORS- new markets
The US army in the west, the Indian reservations and miners and railroad workers all needed food so there were new demands
FACTORS- railroads
Beef could quickly get dorm place to place, new cow towns popped up along the railways, cattle could be hoarded onto trains
FACTORS -Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving
They were the first to drive cattle out of Texas to the north, their route became known as the Goodnight- loving trail
FACTORS- Joseph McCoy
Created the cow town of Abilene in Kansas 1867, he bought land, built stock pens and advertised the town as a shipping point
Problems for cattle ranchers?
They had to drive their cattle to markets in the east, this was long and tough for Cowboys
Cattle drives led to conflict with homesteaders, who blocked routes of cattle drives, Texas Longhorns carried Texas fever which killed other cattle
What was the open range?
This was setting up cattle ranches in the plains themselves
What was the open range like
Unfenced land that was used to graze cattle, the cattle were branded to show which belonged to which ranch
Why was the open range successful
The plains Indians were defeated and put in reservations, buffalo were gone, in the north the cold would kill the diseased ticks, the railroads
Why did the open range end (3 reasons)
Harsh winters in 1886 and 1887 killed a lot of cattle
More and more people were ranching- decrease in value and grass stocks
Large corporations squeezed out the smaller ranchers
