Chapter 5 Part 2

The Miners

and

The Ranchers

The Miners

• Mining was the first economic boom of the West

• Impact on Native Americans and treaties

• Began in California at Sutter’s Mill when James Marshall found gold in 1848

• Led to the 49ers and statehood for Ca.

1859 The Comstock Lode

• Nevada

• The largest concentration of silver ever found in the U.S.

• The Ophen Mine

• Source of the Hearst money

Other Boom Towns

• Virginia City

• Leadville

• Deadwood

• Abilene

• Dirty, overcrowding, inflation, entrepreneurial women, lawlessness

Shady Characters and crime

• Wild Bill Hickok

• Deadwood Dick

• Calamity Jane

• Vigilante committees

Techniques

• Panning

• Sluicing

• Digging

Dangers

• Other miners

• Native Americans

• The heat underground

• Cave-ins

• More Americans died in mining accidents than were killed in Indian wars.

The Ranchers

• Ranching was the second economic boom of the West

• As the numbers of Buffalo decreased, the numbers of cattle and horses increased on the Plains

The Spanish

• Had brought their cattle, horses and techniques from Spain and introduced the Longhorn steer to the dry grasslands of Texas

• The Vaqueros (Spaniards and then Mexicans) introduced American ranchers to caring for large herds.

The Vaqueros

• Introduced roping, driving, special clothing and vocabulary

• At first, spurs were worn on bare feet!• Chaparreras: leather overalls (chaps)• Charque: jerky• Bronco: wild horse• Mestinos: mustangs (wild strays)

Also from the Spanish

• Rancho, Corral, Rodeo

The Cowboy

• Has been romanticized

• A tough life• 15-40 years old• Slept outside• Terrible food• Drives were 3 Months long!...called the

long drive

The Cowboy

• 12% Mexican• 25% African American

• Most did not own the horses they rode…just the saddle

• Worked for a boss• Danger of drowning when crossing rivers• Lightening was also an issue (piled spurs and

other metal items just outside of camp)

In the 1840’s

• Some drove cattle to California through Indian territory or the Great Desert

• Received anywhere from $25 to $125 a head

• Then sent on RR to New York and there was a stampede!

The Chicago Stockyards

• As cities grew so did the demand for beef

• After 1865 Cattle were driven along the Chisholm trail to RR hubs which took the cattle to Chicago stockyards to be slaughtered

Joe McCoy

• Drew up plans for shippng yards in several towns where trails and rails would come together

• Farmers had become upset over ruined crops during cattle drives

The Chisholm Trail

• Was the major cattle route…tho- there were others

• Chisholm Trail went from San Antonio (Tx) to Oklahoma, Kansas where the RRs took the steer to Chicago

Cowboys

• Worked 10 to 14 hours daily on the ranch and 14 and more hours daily on the range

• One cowboy for 250 head of cattle

• Trail Boss paid $100 per month

• He supervised the drive and dealt with settlers and Native Americans

By 1887

• The era of the Cowboy was over

• Mostly due to the invention of barbed wire in 1874 (by Glidden)

• Within two decades the open range was increasingly fenced-in ranches

wild West Shows• Part of the Romance of the West

• Buffalo Bill Cody

• Wild Bill Hickok

• Annie Oakley

• Calamity Jane

• Even Sitting Bull

• Roping, Riding, Shooting exhibitions