The Cattle Frontier
What was the main job of a cowboy on the open range?
To herd and drive cattle from ranches to railheads or markets.
What outlaw duo became famous for robbing banks and trains in the late 1800s?
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
What tool was used to separate gold from dirt and gravel in a stream?
A Gold Pan
What was the average age of a working cowboy?
Around 24 years old.
Cowboys often wore these around their necks to protect from dust and sun.
Bandana
What is a “chuckwagon”?
A wagon used to carry food and cooking supplies on cattle drives.
What frontier scout and trapper was known for his tall tales and bear-fighting stories?
Davy Crockett
What year did the California Gold Rush begin?
1848
What was the purpose of branding cattle?
To identify ownership and deter thieves.
What was the purpose of a “pony express” rider?
Deliver mail quickly
What term referred to cattle thieves in the Old West?
Rustlers.
This Mexican bandit was both a revolutionary and a folk hero.
Pancho Villa
What was a “sluice box”?
A wooden trough used to channel water and trap gold flakes.
What was the main breed of cattle driven north from Texas?
The Texas Longhorn.
What term described the lawless frontier areas without formal government or law enforcement?
The “Wild West.”
What was the name of the famous 1881 gunfight in Tombstone, Arizona, involving Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday?
The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
What Native American leader defeated Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn?
Sitting Bull (with Crazy Horse).
What was the main reason boomtowns often turned into ghost towns?
The mines ran dry or became unprofitable.
Who was known as the “Father of the Texas Panhandle”?
Charles Goodnight
What was the typical structure of a frontier saloon built from?
Rough timber and false fronts.
What was the name of the famous 1880s cattle trail that ran from Texas to Montana?
The Great Western Cattle Trail.
What legendary cattle ranch was at the center of the Johnson County War in Wyoming?
The Wagon Box Ranch
What did the term “claim jumper” mean?
A person who illegally took over another miner’s claim.
What railroad completion in 1869 dramatically changed cattle and mining transportation in the West?
The First Transcontinental Railroad.
By 1885, what invention and expansion helped signal the closing of the western frontier?
The railroad network and barbed wire fencing.