SC-L23 The Cattle Drive

The Cattle Drive by Richard Stull

By 1866, most of the beef that was eaten in the East came from Texas. Ranchers in Texas first had to move their cattle to Chicago. That's where the meatpacking plants were. The beef was then packed and shipped by train to eastern cities.

Moving a herd of cattle was called cattle driving. Ranchers hired cowboys to move the cows. About ten or twelve cowboys could move a herd of 3,000 cows.

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The cattle drives started in Texas. They ended in Sedalia, Missouri, where there was a railroad. From there, the cows were shipped by train to Chicago.

There was one problem. The trail to Missouri went through farms in eastern Kansas. The residents along the trail did not want the cows crossing their land. They thought the cattle carried disease. The cows also trampled and ate the farmers' crops.

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Fights broke out between farmers and cowboys. The cowboys did not want to fight the farmers, so they started moving the cows along a different trail.

This new trail did not go through the farms of eastern Kansas. It ended in a town in western Kansas. The town was Abilene. Abilene also had a railroad extending all the way to Chicago.

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A cattle drive was hard work. The trail from Texas to Abilene was about a thousand miles long. The trip could take almost two months. During that time, the cowboys herded the cattle across rivers and small mountain ranges.

During the day, the cowboys drove the herd along the trail. At night, they watched the cattle to guard against thieves and watch for stampedes. The cowboys took turns sleeping and watching.

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The cowboys drove the cows over the sprawling Indian Territory. The land is now part of Oklahoma. The American Indians there were not hostile. In fact, they made money from cattle drives. The cowboys had to pay the tribes ten cents for each cow that passed through their land.

When they reached the railroad in Abilene, the cowboys sold the herd. They then rode back to Texas.

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The time of the great cattle drives lasted about twenty years. In that time, many people prospered. Ranchers became rich. Railroads made money. The meatpackers made money. Owners of stores in towns such as Abilene made money. Even the cowboys made money.

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By 1890, things had changed. Railroads ran to Texas and other states in the West. Meatpacking plants had been built throughout the West. The ranchers in Texas did not have to drive their cows to Kansas. The cows did not have to be shipped by train to Chicago. The age of the great cattle drives had come to an end.

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Texas Ranches

Ranching first started in what is now Texas. Mexican cowboys manned the ranches. Then, in 1836, Texas became part of the United States. Some Texans were **hostile** toward Mexicans. They drove many Mexican **residents** out of Texas and claimed the cattle left behind.

In 1861, the Civil War started. Texans went off to fight. The cattle roamed free across the **sprawling** plains. There were huge herds. On returning home, the Texans started rounding them up.

By 1885, just 35 men owned an area **extending** across 30,000 square miles. They owned more than a million cattle. These ranch owners **prospered!**

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