When did the cattle drive start and end?

Asked by: Ryan Cantrell

Cattle drives were a major economic activity in the 19th and early 20th century American West, particularly between 1850s and 1910s. In this period, 27 million cattle were driven from Texas to railheads in Kansas, for shipment to stockyards in Louisiana and points east.

What year did the cattle drive end?

The drives continued into the 1890s with herds being driven from the Texas panhandle to Montana, but by 1895, the era of cattle drives finally ended as new homestead laws further spurred settlement.

What was the cattle drive and why did it end?

The historical era of the cattle drive lasted about 20 years. It began shortly after the Civil War and ended once the railroads reached Texas. This transportation system provided a route for beef to travel safely from the farms and ranches where it was produced to the markets where it was sold.

When did most cattle drives start?

Cattle drives to northern and western markets, and later to railroad-loading facilities, started in earnest in 1866, when an estimated 260,000 head of cattle crossed the Red River. The drives were conducted for only about 20 years, becoming unnecessary with the advent of the railroads and refrigeration in the 1880s.

What ended the cowboy era?

During the winter of 1886-1887, thousands of cattle died when temperatures reached well below freezing in parts of the West. Many scholars believe that this devastating winter was the beginning of the end for the cowboy era.

How much did a cowboy make on a cattle drive?

On most cattle drives there was one cowboy to every 250 cattle, which required the cowboy to be vigilant at all times, all for $30 to $40 per month pay. The cowboy in charge of the remuda was paid $25 a month. The cook was paid between $50 and $75 per month depending on the size of the cattle drive and experience.

Do cowboys still drive cattle?

Modern cattle drives



Today, cattle drives are primarily used to round up cattle within the boundaries of a ranch and to move them from one pasture to another, a process that generally lasts at most a few days.

How did cowboys know where they were going?

One of the cook’s jobs was to note the North Star each night and turn the tongue of the chuckwagon toward it. This way, the drive would know which way to head out the next morning. Cowboys often wore their clothes for weeks without changing.

What do you call the two cowboys at the front of a cattle drive?

The point man, also called the point rider or lead rider, is the cowboy who rides near the front of the herd—determining the direction, controlling the speed, and giving the cattle something to follow. Larger herds sometimes necessitate the use of two point men.

Did barbed wire end the Wild West?

Had enabled before barbed wire the West was better suited to cowboys or cattlemen who followed the law of the open range which meant they could graze freely where they liked.

Why did cowboys not like barbed wire?

The cowboys hated the wire: cattle would get nasty wounds and infections. When the blizzards came, the cattle would try to head south. Sometimes they got stuck against the wire and died in their thousands. Other cowmen adopted barbed wire, using it to fence off private ranches.

What were black cowboys called?

Originally, White cowboys were called cowhands, and African Americans were pejoratively referred to as “cowboys.” African American men being called “boy” regardless of their age stems from slavery and the plantation era in the South.

What did beer taste like in the Old West?

Most brews would have come from grains but lower quality grains not used for bread making. And it would have tasted sweet like a whiskey mash before distillation.

What percent of cowboys were Mexican?

Similarly, cowboys of Mexican descent also averaged about 15% of the total, but were more common in Texas and the southwest. Some estimates suggest that in the late 19th century, one out of every three cowboys was a Mexican vaquero, and 20% may have been African-American.