Ranching and the cattle industry Flashcards
All 7 cards in this deck
Who was Joseph McCoy?
A cattle dealer who in 1867 built stockyards at Abilene, Kansas — a cow town on the railroad where Texas cattle could be driven, sold and shipped east.
Who was John Iliff?
The first great 'cattle baron' of the Plains, who ranched in Colorado and won contracts to supply beef to railroad workers and to reservations.
Who was Charles Goodnight?
A Texas rancher who, with Oliver Loving, opened the Goodnight–Loving Trail (1866), driving cattle to sell at reservations and mining camps.
Why was the railroad network important to the growth of the cattle industry?
Live cattle could be shipped from cow towns to more lucrative eastern markets such as Chicago instead of being driven long distances; refrigerated railcars later carried meat east.
How did the cowboy's work change as ranching spread onto the Plains?
Long cattle drives gave way to work on ranches — riding the line, mending fences and branding — so the job became safer but duller and lower in status.
True or false? Ranchers and homesteaders often came into conflict over land and water.
True. Homesteaders fenced off land and water with barbed wire, while ranchers' cattle trampled crops and spread Texas fever.
Why was driving Texas cattle north so profitable after the Civil War (1861–65)?
Texas had millions of longhorns worth only about 40 a head for beef.