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WEST PROJECT
Deion Smith
COWBOYS AND RANCHERS
• Vaqueros- The native cowboys were called vaqueros (from the Spanish word for cow) and developed roping skills, using braided
rawhide reatas. Huge roundups were held to collect cattle, and the hard-riding vaqueros controlled the chaos. As long as cattle are
raised in big American pastures, the legacy of the vaquero will endure. The early Mexican techniques for
handling cattle can be seen throughout the modern livestock industry,
• Long Drives- At the close of the Civil War, large herds of longhorn cattle roamed freely throughout Texas. High meat prices in
eastern cities attracted a variety of entrepreneurs and prompted cattlemen to search for a way to bring them to market. By 1890,
long drives to reach railroad stations had become unnecessary, and professional ranchers had replaced the early entrepreneurs in
supplying urban America with beef cattle.
• Joseph McCoy- Joseph G. McCoy was born on a farm in Sangamon County, Ill., on Dec. 21, 1837. He was educated in local schools and
spent a year in the academy of Knox College in Galesburg. After his marriage to Sarah Epler in 1861, he entered the mule and cattle
raising business.
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2. The cattle drives ended in the late 1880s for several reasons. First, there was the invention of barbed wire. This wire had sharp
points on it. Settlers used barbed wire to make fences on their property. The fences blocked the cattle trails. Second, more railroads
were built. Railheads were closer to the ranches. Third, too many cattle grazed on crowded ranges, and there was not enough grass
to feed all the cattle. Finally, the terrible winter of 1886–1887 killed thousands of cattle.
• 3. The first cattle drives from Texas on the legendary Chisholm Trail headed north out of DeWitt County about 1866, crossing
Central Texas toward the markets and railheads in Kansas. The trail was named for Indian trader Jesse Chisholm, who blazed a cattle
trail in 1865 between the North Canadian and Arkansas rivers.
FARMERS OF THE PLAINS
• 1.The U.S government supported this by setting up a reservation for the Native Americans. Then they
bought land and promised to protect them. Also because the land was cheap and they could keep the
land for 5 years.
• 2. Native American attacks, Bugs were found in the sod houses as well as vermin and snakes. The grass
was dry and it was windy, so there were a lot of fires and in there were extremely cold winters and
extremely hot summers because there was little water to balance the humidity. There were many
weather problems such as blizzards and tornadoes. Also there were very little trees in the plains so
they had to make their houses out of sod and they used cow chips (dried cow manure) as fire wood.
The farmers also had a problem plowing the land because the sod made it tough to plow so the
farmers needed to use a steel plow.
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3. face low prices for their output, subsidies prop up their income. The overproduction of crops led to
low prices and small or no profit.
INDIANS OF THE PLAINS
• 1.Initially the policy of the federal government was to try to fix tribal boundaries for each tribe and to sign
treaties promising to respect Indian tribal claims to these defined areas. This policy of assimilation, of trying
to "mainstream" Indians into American culture, took a number to forms -from legislation to education. It
looked toward imposing all aspects of white American culture on the Indians. he legislative expression of this
new policy of assimilation was the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887. Like all federal government actions this act
opposed or ignored tribal organizations and forced Indians to abandon their custom of communal
"ownership" of land.
• 2. The Sand Creek Massacre summary: On November 29, 1864, seven hundred members of
the Colorado Territory militia embarked on an attack of Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian villages. The militia
was led by U.S. Army Col. John Chivington, a Methodist preacher, as well as a freemason.
•
3. The Wounded Knee Massacre, 1890 South Dakota. Following the killing of Sitting Bull, Big Foot took
command of the final band of fighting Lakota (Sioux). They were trapped at Wounded Knee Creek and
destroyed by the U.S. Army.
• 4. Approved on February 8, 1887, "An Act to Provide for the Allotment of Lands in Severalty to Indians on the
Various Reservations," known as the Dawes Act, emphasized severalty, the treatment of Native Americans as
individuals rather than as members of tribes.
MINERS AND LUMBERING
• 1. The discovery of gold, silver, and other mining materials attracted thousands of settlers
who established new states on the frontier.
• 2. The Pacific region's milder climate and natural resources offered opportunities to western
settlers. The Pacific Region is in California, Hawaii, and Alaska
• 3. Major Mining Centers: a. Deadwood Gulch- it is one of the main mines in Deadwood,
South Dakota b. Pikes Peak- is a mine where a major gold rush took place in July 1858. It is
located in Colorado Springs, Colorado c. Comstock Lode- is a mine with a load of silver ore
under the Eastern slope of Mt. Davidson. It is located in Nevada and was the first major
discovery of silver in the US
• 4. Large businesses usually profited from mining more than independent prospectors
because much of the gold and silver that was easily obtainable was already gone. Now
miners needed larger machinery and a bigger strike to be successful.While most
individuals were not able to risk the cost of a small strike, bigger companies could. This led
to them having the majority of success.