Characteristics of the West: The Cattle Frontier Topic 6.2 (Contextualization) (jan 1, 1860 – 8h 20min, jun 6, 2026 y)

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Cattle:
There was economic potential with the free grassland and cattle reaching from Texas to Canada. Vaqueros, or Mexican Cowboys, rounded up some cattle in Texas, however, the construction of railroads opened up eastern markets for Texas cattle. In Chicago, cattle would be sold for $30 to $50. Cow towns began to develop, and cowboys would get about a dollar a day for doing their work. The cattle drives began to end in the 1880s since the grass was destroyed and a winter blizzard and drought of 1885 - 1886 killed 90% of the cattle. Homesteaders shut down the cattle frontier since they used barbed wire so there was less open land. Some ranches held cattle and they fed them hay and grains making their meat more tender. More people switched from pork to beef. The Wild West was tamed by the 1890s.

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