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Practice dictation & shadowing on the daily life story: Cowboys
Cowboys
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Cowboys.
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The golden age of the American cowboy was shortlived.
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It began in the 1860s with the great cattle drives from Texas N to Kansas.
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By 1890, when railroads had reached remote areas, there was no more need for large scale cattle drives.
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Of course, Cowboys have a history before 1860.
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In fact, there were Mexican Cowboys long before that.
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The Spanish conqueror of Mexico, Hernan Cortez, brought cattle with him in 1521.
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Cortez also branded his cattle with a three cross design.
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The Spanish sharp horned cattle roamed the deserts and prairies freely.
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Eventually they found their way to Texas.
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American settlers in Texas interbred their animals with the Spanish breed.
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The Texas Longhorn cow was the result.
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It was famous for its bad temper and aggressiveness.
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The Longhorn was a dangerous animal, with each of its horns measuring up to 3 1/2 feet long.
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After the American Civil War ended in 1865, disbanded soldiers who were former black slaves and young men seeking adventure headed West.
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At that time, there were about 5 million cattle in Texas.
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Back in the east, there was a big demand for beef.
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By this time, railways from the east extended as far West as Kansas.
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It was still more than 600 miles from South Texas to the railway.
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Between the two places there were rivers to cross, Indian tribes, Badlands and other problems.
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A fur trader named Jesse Chisholm had driven his wagon north in 1865.
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Cowboys and cattle followed the Chisholm Trail, N to Abilene, KS.
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This cattle trail became the most famous route for driving cattle until it was barred with barbed wire in 1884.
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In 1867, cattle dealer Joseph G McCoy built pens for 3000 cattle in the little town of Abilene.
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Soon Abilene was the most dangerous town in America.
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After the long cattle drive, Cowboys who had just been paid went wild.
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Sheriff Wild Bill Hickok tamed Abilene in 1871 by forcing Cowboys to turn over their guns when they arrived in town.
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Other towns replaced Abilene as the wildest town in the West, Newton, Wichita, Ellsworth and Dodge City.
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In Kansas.
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A herd of 3000 Texas Longhorns might sell for $100,000, making the rancher rich.
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The Cowboys might get $200.00 in wages, which often disappeared on drink, women and gambling.
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Getting cattle to Kansas was far from easy.
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One of the biggest difficulties was getting the herd across rivers, especially when the river was high.
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There were no bridges in Eighteen, 71350 Cowboys driving 60,000 cattle waited two weeks for the water level in the Red River to go down.
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Food for men and animals was also difficult to find at times.
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An early cattlemen developed the Chuck wagon, which were both a supply wagon and a portable kitchen.
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In the 1870s there were probably 40,000 Cowboys in the West.
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After the prairies were fenced in, there was less work.
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Large ranches still employ Cowboys to round up the cattle for branding or for sale.
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Even today, about 20,000 Cowboys still work in North America.