The Old Chisholm Trail

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz_meMQ5dLs

The West at the Turn of the Century

Life After the Civil War

SS5H3 The student will describe how life changed in America at the turn of the century.

a. Describe the role of the cattle trails in the late 19th century; include the Black Cowboys of Texas, the

Great Western Cattle Trail, and the Chisholm Trail.

What’s Going On?!?!?• After the Civil War, Texans were looking for

ways to make a living. • In Texas there was little or no demand for the

abundant cattle abandoned after the war.• Up North, however, demand for cattle was very high.– Therefore, a supply and demand relationship developed.

Discovery Video

• http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=1AE98883-9DBA-4A9E-9C19-318B5413B85F&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US

The Chisholm Trail

• In 1867, Joseph G McCoy established a cattle-shipping terminal in Abilene, Kansas.– He knew that $2.00 Longhorns in Texas were

worth almost 10 times as much in the North,– He was the 1st to exploit the expanding railroads to move the cattle to distant markets.* Did you know a dollar in 1860 was worth the

equivalent of around $26.00 in today’s economy?

So what does McCoy have to do with the Chisholm Trail?

• In order to reach McCoy’s shipping yard cattle drivers used Jesse Chisholm’s trail which extended from Wichita, Kansas across the Indian Territory (now known as Oklahoma) to the Red River.

• Millions of Longhorn cattle travelled along the Chisholm Trail in only a few short years

Major Cattle Trails and Railroads

Various Names for the Chisholm Trail

• The Abilene Trail• The Cattle Trail• The Eastern Trail• The Great Texas Cattle Trail• The Kansas Trail• McCoy’s Trail

End of an Era for the Chisholm Trail

• By the late 1880’s, driving cattle north from Texas was no longer profitable and declined rapidly.

• Almost as quickly as the route to Abilene was established, the era of open-range

cattle driving came to a close.

Oh, the Many Reasons

• Reliance on the Chisholm Trail began to decline in the 1870’s for a number of reasons.– The construction of new rail lines to Texas– The development of barbed wire and the

establishment of homestead laws that closed off the open range

– A public demand for better grades of beef– An oversupply of Longhorns which overran the market– Texas fever quarantines in Kansas and Missouri

The Great Western Cattle Trail

• Another famous cattle trail used in the 1800’s for movement of cattle to markets in the East.

• Ran west and roughly parallel to the Chisholm Trail.

Cattle Trails and Railroads

Began at Bandera, Texas and ended in Dodge City, Kansas

Also Known As:

• The Western Trail• The Dodge City Trail• The Old Texas Trail

Sweet Beginnings

• In 1874 Captain John T. Lytle and several cowboys set out with 3,500 head of Longhorn cattle to take advantage of the North’s desire for beef.

• The trail they blazed would become known as the Great Western Cattle Trail.

If This Trail Could Talk

• Over 7 million cattle and horses passed through Texas and Oklahoma to the railheads in Kansas and Nebraska.

• The Great Western Cattle Trail is responsible for developing the cattle industry as far

north as Wyoming and Montana.

Life on the Trail

• A typical head would move 10-12 miles a day and included the trail boss, a wrangler, and a cook.– The distance between Westside Elementary School

and Georgia Highlands College is 12.31 miles.• The drive from South Texas to Kansas took about

2 months at a cost of $1000 in wages and provisions.

• At the end of the trail, cattle sold for $20.00 to $35.00 per head.

Black Cowboys of Texas

• 1/3 of cowboys were either Mexican or African American.

Cowboys

African-Amer-ican or Mexi-canOther

Discovery Video

• http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=A1928D89-37CB-4A38-B599-98A2D18B4CC7&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US

The Life of a Cowboy

• Few cowboys lived up to the rough and rowdy, drinking and brawling image. popularized later in books, songs and movies.– Had to be dependable under harsh conditions.– Quick to act and knowledgeable about Longhorn

instincts.

So You Think You Can Be a Cowboy, Huh?

• Many dangers faced cattle drivers and cowboys:– Stampedes– Weather Thunderstorms, in particular, and

blizzards– Crossing rivers– Prairie fires– Predatory animals

Still Think You Have the Stomach for It?

MenuBreakfast

Bread or biscuits, coffeeLunch

Chili or stew, bread, water or coffeeSupper

Steak with beans, potatoes with gravy, biscuits, water or coffee