Cattle Drives
Why did ranchers drive cattle long distances?
To get them to markets where they could be sold.
What is a young female cow that has not had a calf called?
Heifer
What animal did cowboys primarily use to work cattle?
Horses
What famous trail carried cattle from Texas toward Kansas?
Chisholm Trail
What state became famous for its huge cattle industry after the Civil War?
Texas
What made cattle drives necessary in the years after the Civil War?
There was a large supply of cattle in Texas but limited local markets.
What is a mature male cattle called?
Bull
What tool did cowboys use to catch cattle?
Rope
What trail was known for moving cattle from Texas toward Missouri?
Shawnee Trail
What invention made identifying cattle ownership easier?
Branding
What was one major danger during a cattle drive?
Stampedes, storms, river crossings, thieves, or disease.
What is a group of cattle called?
Herd
What was the main job of a trail cook?
Prepare food for the cattle-drive crew.
Which trail was associated with cattle moving toward Dodge City, Kansas?
Western Trail
Why were barbed-wire fences important to the cattle industry?
They allowed ranchers to fence land and control where cattle could go.
Why were cattle drives eventually replaced by other methods of transporting cattle?
Railroads expanded, making it faster and easier to transport cattle.
Who invinted barbed wire
Joseph Glidden
Why was a cowboy's horse so important on a cattle drive?
It allowed the cowboy to travel with and control the herd.
Why were towns such as Abilene and Dodge City important to cattle drives?
They were major cattle-shipping and railroad market points.
What major invention/industry helped bring an end to the era of long cattle drives?
Railroads
What economic problem did the cattle drive help solve for Texas ranchers?
It connected Texas cattle to distant markets where they were worth more money.
What is the term for moving cattle from one location to another on horseback?
Cattle Drive
Why did cattle drives require multiple cowboys instead of just one?
Large herds needed people positioned around them to guide, protect, and control the cattle.
Why did cattle trails generally end at railroad towns?
Cattle could be loaded onto trains and transported to larger markets.
A rancher has 2,000 cattle in Texas, but the nearest profitable market is hundreds of miles away. Explain why a cattle drive might have been worth the risk in the late 1800s.
Cattle were worth much more in northern markets, so driving them to a railroad/shipping point could produce a much larger profit despite the risks and costs.