Cattle Ranching

Question 1

Stage 1

Answer 1

Joseph McCoy was the first to use the Chisholm Trail to bring the Texas Longhorn Cattle from Texas after the American Civil War.

He took them to Abilene to meet the railroad knowing that they would sell for four times more in the bigger cities of the east.

Question 2

Stage 2

Answer 2

Goodnight and Loving also used their own Goodnight-Loving Trail.

This time they developed the cattle trail to send beef to the Navajo Indians who needed more food and to feed the growing mining towns in the West.

They proved how much profit could be made from this industry.

Question 3

Stage 3

Answer 3

John Iliff made the big step to breed cattle in the American West to save the exhausting journey on the cattle drives.

Ranches were created on the Open Range of the American West, with ranches close to the railroads for easy transport to the east.

Question 4

Stage 4

Answer 4

As a consequence there was a BEEF BONANZA and cattle ranchers made so much money they became known as CATTLE BARONS!

They also had a huge amount of influence over law and order and politics in their local areas. By 1871 the cattle industry was making a lot of money.

Refrigerated railroad trucks were introduced in 1875 which made transporting beef even more efficient, this was called ranching on the open range.