Cattle Drives and Cowboys Texas History

​The Long Drive

​Cattle Ranching in Texas

​Cattle ranching has been part of Texas history for over three centuries. Spanish settlers brought the first cattle to the area in the late 1600s. Ranchers began raising larger herds of cattle in the 1700s. By the late 1800s, cattle ranching flourished.

​The growth of this industry was a major development in the era of Cotton, Cattle, and Railroads within Texas. This era lasted from 1865 to 1900 and was marked by the return to prominence of cotton growing after the Civil War, the growth of the cattle industry, and the expansion of railroads in Texas. The growth of these three industries had a major impact on each other and on life in Texas.

​Cattle Ranching in Texas after the Civil War

​In the first decades after the Civil War, cattle and cotton dominated much of the Texas landscape. This was the age of the cattle drive, when a team of cowhands drove a thousand head of cattle north to be taken by train to market. It was also the period when Texas became the nation's chief producer of cotton.

​While the cattle drive faded into history after just a couple of decades, the cowhand became a legendary part of Texas culture. Much of the open range was replaced by fenced ranch lands and spreading cotton fields. Still, cattle and cotton remained as vital parts of the Texas economy.

​The glory days of the Texas cowboy took place during the 25 years that followed the
Civil War. This was the era of the long drive, when cattle were rounded up in south and central
Texas and herded north to the rail towns of Kansas or to the grasslands of Wyoming and Montana.
There was excitement, but there were also long hours and, sometimes, real trouble.

​What do you think?

How would you describe the life of a cowboy on a cattle drive?

What might be concerns you would have while on the cattle drive?

Match

O.K. cowpoke. Match ‘em up. Ain’t as easy as it looks.

• buffalo chip

• dogie

• hobble

• chuck

• heifer

 dried dung (“poop”)

a calf without a mother

to tie a horse at the ankles to prevent wandering

food

a young female cow

•  dried dung (“poop”)

• a calf without a mother

• to tie a horse at the ankles to prevent wandering

• food

• a young female cow

​A typical cattle drive might have 2,000 longhorns and 12 cowboys. Except for the boss, the cook, and the wrangler, the cowboys rotated their riding positions during the day.

​A  Trail boss: No-nonsense leader of the drive. Often rode a few miles ahead to scout out the trail.

B  Remuda: Extra horses (often 50 to 100) for cowboys to ride. Horses got tired and needed rest.

C  Wrangler: Took care of the remuda. Lowest paid man on the drive.

D  Point: Rode in front and helped guide the herd.

E  Drag: Kept stragglers from falling behind. Ate a lot of dust. Hence the phrase, “It’s a drag.”

F  Cook: Next to boss, the cook was the highest paid man on the drive.

G  Swing: Kept cattle from straying.

H  Flank: Behind swing men. Same job

​ https://www.dbqonline.com/page/691/EV/7/en/

Multiple Choice

About how many years did the glory days of the cowboy period last?

• 10 - 20 years

• 20 - 25 years

• 20-30 years

• 30 - 50 years

Open Ended

Explain how barbed wire could have ended the days of the long drive.

Open Ended

Why did many of the long drives end in Kansas?

Multiple Choice

What is a vaquero?

• a rope used to catch cattle

• a cattle rancher

• a factory where meat is prepared for market

• a Mexican cowboy

Multiple Choice

What is a brushpopper?

• a cowboy who caught wild and semi-wild cattle in brush country of south Texas

• tool used to remove stickers from a cowboy's jeans

• the lead cowboy who explores the trail ahead

• cattle that were spooked or unhappy on the drive

​Three major cattle drive routes in Texas:

1. Chisholm Trail

2. Western Trail

3. Goodnight-Loving Trail

A typical cattle drive covered about 15 miles per day.

About how many weeks did it take to go from Brownsville to Abilene?

​Share your thoughts:

Based on this data, what might encourage a Texas cowboy to sign-up for a cattle drive?

What might discourage them from joining a cattle drive?

​Baylis Fletcher was born on July 4, 1859, and grew up in the ranch country around Lexington,
Texas. He was 19 when he signed on to this cattle drive from the Corpus Christi area through
Dodge City to Cheyenne, Wyoming.

​Baylis John Fletcher, Up the Trail in ’79.

Open Ended

Why were trail cattle branded?

​Cattle can smell water up to ten miles away. For cowboys in charge of the cattle, is this a good thing or bad thing?

Explain your reasoning.

Open Ended

What were the "angry men" in north Texas probably angry about?

Open Ended

What evidence in Fletcher's account, do you think he would sign-up for another cattle drive? Why or why not?