Station #5 Eating on the Trail- The Chuck Wagon Chuck Wagon Etiquette No one eats until Cookie calls. When Cookie calls, everyone comes a runnin’. Hungry cowboys wait for no man. They fill their plates, fill their bellies and then move on so stragglers can fill their plates. Cowboys eat first, talk later It’s okay to eat with your fingers. The food is clean. If you are refilling the coffee cup and someone yells “Man at the Pot” you’re obliged to serve refills. Don’t take the last serving unless you’re sure you are the last man. Food left on the plate is an insult to the cook.
Transcript
Station #5 Eating on the Trail- The Chuck WagonChuck Wagon Etiquette
No one eats until Cookie calls. When Cookie calls, everyone comes a runnin’. Hungry cowboys wait for no man. They fill their
plates, fill their bellies and then move on so stragglers can fill their plates.
Cowboys eat first, talk later It’s okay to eat with your fingers. The food is clean. If you are refilling the coffee cup and someone yells “Man at the Pot” you’re
obliged to serve refills. Don’t take the last serving unless you’re sure you are the last man. Food left on the plate is an insult to the cook. No running or saddling a horse near the wagon. When you ride off, always ride
downwind from the wagon. If you come across any decent firewood, bring it back to the wagon. Strangers are always welcome at the wagon.
Station #5- Eating on the Trail (Chuck Wagon Food)
Butter Merengue Rice
Canned Food Cobbler Lamp Chop
Biscuits Bacon / Jerky Gravy
Potatoes Pancakes Beans
Station #1 Making a Brand
The act of marking livestock with fire-heated marks to identify ownership has origins in ancient times, with use dating back to the ancient Egyptians. The word brand originally meant anything hot or burning, such as firebrand, or a burning stick, by the European Middle Ages, it commonly identified the process of burning a mark into stock animals with thick hides, such as cattle so as to identify ownership. The practice became particularly widespread in nations with large cattle grazing regions, such as Spain.
The following is how you read a brand:
1. Brands are read left to right, top to bottom and outside to inside.
2. Letters and numbers represent letter and numbers.
3. Letters are always capital letters.4. A letter laid on its side is called a
lazy letter.5. An upside down letter is read as
crazy.6. A backwards letter is read as
reverse.
7. If a letter/number shows action you say the action first.
8. If a letter/number has legs it is walking/running/jumping.
9. If a letter/number is on its side it is lazy.
10. If a letter/number has wings it is flying.
11. A half circle not touching a letter/number is a quarter circle.
12. A half circle touching a letter/number is swinging or rocking.
Station #2- Wrangling horses and cattle In the 1500’s Spaniards introduced horses and cattle into North America. They set up ranches in Mexico and regions from Texas to California and in time their animals multiplied and wandered freely across the region.
The first settlers to North America were largely homesteaders who provided for themselves but by the 1800’s things were changing. Settlers and new immigrants were beginning to congregate in cities like Boston, Chicago, New York, Toronto and Montreal where shipping and industry created work. The shift from homesteading to life in industrialized cities created housing problems and difficulties in obtaining food.
In the 1800’s many people saw the demined for beef in the East and the promise of free or inexpensive land in the West as an opportunity to prosper. Thousands of settlers headed west to the wild cattle and open ranges. Cowboys were hired to take live cattle from the range to the city markets where they were sold and processed into beef. Some cowboys drove cattle further west and north to establish ranches on the
open range that would be profitable when the coming railways linked the west and east.
Station #4-Trail Drive Definitions:
Chuck WagonA wagon that carried food, supplies and cooking equipment on trail drives.
Drag RiderA cowboy who rides at the rear of the herd to keep it moving.
Flank RiderA cowboy who rides at the sides of the heard to keep it from spreading out.
Point RiderA cowboy who rides at the front of the herd on a trail ride.
RemudaThe extra horses taken on the trail drive.
Swing RiderA cowboy who rides alongside a herd to run it in the right direction.
Trail BossA cowboy in charge of all other cowboys and cattle on the trail drive.
WranglerA cowboy in charge of the remuda on the trail.
Station #3 Entertainment on the TrailTimeout was rare for the trail rider. His brand of fun, when he had time included trying to ride any unwilling animal he could find, talking, horse racing, and poker. Card games were usually played for matches because while on the drive they were not paid until they reached the railhead.
After the herd was bedded down for the night, the cowboys who were not too tired and who were free of
duties assembled around the fire and passed the time talking and singing. Their songs, both sad and rollicking often ended with a hymn.
Station #3 Song Lyrics Old Chisholm Trail
Oh come along, boys, and listen to my tale,
I'll tell you all my troubles on the ol'
Chisholm trail.(chorus)
Come a-ti yi youpy youpy yea youpy yeaCome a-ti yi youpy youpy yea
On a ten dollar horse and a forty dollar saddle,
I was ridin', and a punchin' Texas cattle.
We left ol' Texas October twenty-thirdDrivin' up the trail with the U-2 herd.
I'm up in the morning before daylight,And before I sleep the moon shine bright.
It's bacon and beans most every day,I'd just as soon be eating prairie hay.
I woke up one morning on the Chisholm trail,With a rope in my hand and a cow by the
tail,
Last night on guard, and the leader broke the ranks,
I hit my horse down the shoulders and spurred him in the flanks.
Oh, it's cloudy in the west, and a lookin' like rain,
And my darned old slicker's in the wagon again.
Oh the wind commenced to blow and the rain began to fall,
And it looked by grab that we was gonna lose 'em all.
I jumped in the saddle an' I grabbed a-hold the horn,
The best darned cowpuncher ever was born.
I was on my best horse, and a going on the run,
The quickest shootin' cowboy that ever pulled a gun.
No chaps, no slicker, and it's pouring down rain,
And I swear, by God, I'll never night herd again.
I'm going to the ranch to draw my money,Goin' into town to see my honey.
I went to the boss to get my roll,He figured me out nine dollars in the hole.
So I'll sell my outfit as fast as I can,And I won't punch cows for no man.
So I sold old baldy and I hung up my saddle,And I bid farewell to the longhorn can
Station #1 Making a Brand Directions
1. Read about making a brand2. Use the pipe cleaners to
make your own brand.
3. At the end of the simulationtime, answer the questions.
Station #2 Wrangling horses and cattle directions
1. Read about wrangling on the trail
2. Use the rope to make a lasso and lasso as many horses as you can from at least 6 feet away
3. At the end of the simulation time, answer the questions
Station #3 Entertainment on the Trail
1. Read about entertainment on the trail
2. Either play a game of cards, horseshoes, or sing a tune to the Old Chisholm Trail
3. At the end of the simulation time, answer the questions
Station #4 Trail Drive
1. Read about the different roles on the trail drive
2. Assign each member in your group a role, design a quick belt buckle that represents your character and share it with the group
3. At the end of the simulation time, answer the questions
Station #5 Eating on the Trail
1. Read about Eating on the Trail and the chuck wagon etiquette
2. Use the play food/dishes to simulate a on the trail meal using the chuck wagon etiquette
3. At the end of the simulation time, answer the questions
