Cattlemen and Cowboys

These two maps show how quickly the cattle-ranching industry grew after 1860,

Beginnings of the Cattle Kingdom

1. First cattle owners and cowboys were Spaniard vacqueros.
2. In Texas cattle roamed free - branding used to identify ownership.
3. 1836: Texas rebellion against Mexico – established own republic.  Mexicans abandoned land and cattle.  Texans took over their ranches, but not as serious businesses. 
4. Cattle wandered free during Civil War and bred, so soldiers returning home found large numbers of Longhorn cattle roaming free and unbranded. 

Beginning of the Long Drives

1. Word spread that beef was in short supply in the northern towns such as Chicago.
2. Charles Goodnight and others began to drive herds north to the markets.
3. Goodnight and Oliver Loving opened up the Goodnight-Loving Trail to Colorado (1866). 

Cowtowns

1. Abilene was the first cow town – cattle were put on trains and transported to Chicago.  The cattle men could trade them safely.  Other towns (eg.  Ellsworth) set up. 
2. Railways were the key factor – could carry cattle further, producing more profit. 

Ranching on the Northern Plains

1. Goodnight had showed ranching in Colorado could be successful – others followed. 
2. John Iliffe - 'Cattle King of the Northern Plains' – bought Longhorns from Loving and established successful ranches, using the railway to open up markets. 
3. A loop-hole in the law stated that, if a rancher owned any land in a valley, he had the right to graze his cattle over all of it.  Thus, by buying a few acres, a rancher gained the right to use all of it – this was nicknamed the 'Crazy Quilt'. 

  This map shows the land owned by the Swan Cattle Company in Wyoming, showing the blocks of land owned by the Company which enabled them to control the entire range.

Cowboys

Cattlemen had huge herds that needed watching, then driving hundreds of mile – needed cowboys with skills:

1. Jobs:
   • Winter: little to do around ranch - many cowboys unemployed, but a few lived in line camps to prevent cattle drifting onto the open plain. 
   • Spring: 'bog-riding' to haul out 'mired' cows (stuck in mud)/ round-up (collect all cattle of same brand).
   • Summer: trail drives of cattle to market.
2. Clothes worn for comfort and convenience:
   • hat:  protection from sun, wind, rain/ useful as pillow/ give horse a drink.
   • bandana:  used as mask against dust.
   • chaps:  protect legs in fall or from chafing.
   • boots and spurs:  heeled boots are more comfortable for riding.
   • saddle:  the 'cowboy's throne'; very valuable because his livelihood.
3. Dangers and hardships: thieves; Indigenous raiding parties; angry homesteaders; floods; storms; prairie fires; stampedes; long hours – many deaths, especially on the long drives. 
4. Life similar to Indigenous people in many ways:
   • Depended on Great Plains.
   • moved around (though driving, , not following herds).
   • cared for cattle, eg bog riding/ line camps (cf dog soldiers during the hunt).
   • food and clothing based on cattle (cf reliance for the buffalo).
   • round-up was a collective event – all co-operated (cf buffalo hunt).

Beef Bonanza

The hey-day of the cowboys and cattlemen was 1880-1885 because:

1. Indigenous Peoples on reservations needed beef.
2. More railways had been built, with refrigerated carriages.
3. High prices for beef in the east. 

Note especially James Brisbin's book about Goodnight's success: Beef Bonanza on the Plains, or How to Get Rich Quick – encouraged many others to go into cattle ranching. 

End of the Open Range

1. By 1885 ranges were overstocked – too many cattle for market depressed prices. 
2. 1886-1887 was a very bad winter – herds coudl not be fed and froze to death.  Ranchers realized they would have to fence off land and grow winter fodder. 
3. Barbed wire – provided cheap fencing for homesteaders = end of the open range.
4. Windpump gives water (no need for open range) = end to cowboys' life.

Going Deeper

The following links will help you widen your knowledge:

Good introduction - Chorus Trust

'Cowboys and Indians': Similarities and Differences

Where did the cowboys come from?  - BBC

Life of the cowbys  - BBC

  Why did cattle ranching grow so quickly on the Plains?

Rise of the Cattle Industry - Mr Cloke

Decline of the Cattle Industry - Mr Cloke

Changing Life of the Cowboys - Mr Cloke

Ranchers versus Homesteaders - Mr Cloke

The Johnson County War 1892 - Mr Cloke