Term Paper on "History of the Texas Cattle Trade"

Term Paper 15 pages (6519 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

History Of the Texas Range Cattle

Arrival of Cattle in the Americas:

A) History of Beef Cattle:

Today, there are numerous breeds of cattle, all over the world, but the fact is that all these breeds have one single ancestor, and that is the 'auroch'. There is a widespread belief that cattle were first tamed and domesticated during the Stone Ages, and that this was done in Europe and in Asia, and, in fact, the remains of domesticated cattle dating back to 6,500 BC have been found in certain places like, for example, Turkey, and in other areas in the Eastern part of the world. In 55 B.C., there is a record in history that Romans happened to spot 'red cattle' in Southwestern England, and even today, the red cattle that were seen at that time, and which are today known as Devon Cattle, are considered to be the oldest beef breeds that exist today. In the year 1623, it is said that two Devon heifers, and a Devon Bull were sent to Plymouth, from England, and, most probably, these were the first 'purebred' cattle that reached the shores of North America, and, in fact, the Texas Longhorn cattle breed is said to have sprung from those ancestors that had been brought into America, by the early explorers of that time. (Lazy Eleven Ranch)

The Texas Longhorn is a breed that is supposed to have survived as primitive cattle, and thereafter occupied the Great Plains after the buffalo herds were all destroyed. A few other breeds that were imported into America at that time are the Angus, the Shorthorn, and the Hereford. (Lazy Eleven Ranch) It is quite evident that the history of beef cattle and beef cattle farming dates back to several thousands of years, and even in Neolithic caves, there are depictions of the cattle that used to live at that time. It must be stated here that it was not until about two hundred years ago that cattle were reared just for the purpose of providing beef; in fact until that time, cattle were primarily used as draught animals to pull carts and ploughs, and were slaughtered only at the fag end of their working lives, and as a result, that beef was of extremely poor quality. (Beef Farming)

B) Emergence of the Texas Longhorn

The rearing of cattle as 'open range livestock' as an industry only worked as long as there was enough grass for the numbers of cattle, and when the ranges became crowded with more and more numbers of cattle, then there arose the need for fencing, and this altered the very nature of cattle raising. Long drives, a general roundup, and a series of other techniques, and also the Longhorn, all became eliminated because of fencing. (Big Bend, Section 5: The emergence of the Hereford)

However, the origins of the entire cattle industry can be said to belong to the state of Texas, where the Texas Longhorn breed of cattle came into prominence. It was in fact the Spanish that brought the first longhorn cattle to America during the year 1493, and it was the descendants of this breed that happened to form the Longhorns of America in later years. The very first Anglo-American settlers of the state of Texas, although they concentrated their efforts in raising cotton crops, happened to possess a few cattle as well, and when these cattle mixed with the already existing cattle in Texas, there was a proliferation of cattle in that area, and in fact, mot of the cattle for the first stocking of the central and the northern plains was supposed to have come from these herds of cattle. (Longhorn Country)

In Texas, the climate conditions and the range conditions were ideal for the raising of cattle, and perhaps this was why Texas became so very good in cattle rearing and farming. In addition, there was a liberal land system in Texas at the time, and this made it easy to acquire land, which everyone did. Soon, small acreage owners began to let their cattle graze on unoccupied lands, and others who had invested most of their money in cattle, came to depend on the open ranges for pastures. Even though some cattle were used to feed the soldiers of the Confederate Troops at that time, for the most part, the cattle were all left alone, and they grew in numbers as well as in size, and according to estimates, there were about five million longhorns at the end of the Civil War. The Longhorns in fact had long legs, and lanky bodies, that seemed to have been designed for speed, and because of the fact that for centuries these cattle had been allowed to run wild, they had developed into creatures that could withstand droughts and blizzards and other adversities with ease. In addition, they did not need much water to survive, and they had strong horizontal horns that could attack when provoked.

A strong sense of smell too added to its capabilities, and this would help a cow in finding and defending her calf, and to protect itself from any enemies. As far as the bulls were concerned, it is often said of the Texas Longhorn, "there was probably no meaner creature in Texas than a Longhorn Bull," and at the slightest provocation, it was capable of turning into a vicious creature that would attack and kill aggressively. Charles Goodnight, a Texas cowman, has said, "Their equal has never been known," about the Longhorns, and although they did in fact harbor a few diseases, they were the most popular creatures in Texas for a long time. But the sad fact is that the factors of cross breeding, culling, and castration served to reduce the numbers of pure Longhorns, and son their numbers started to dwindle drastically, and today, Longhorns are bred and maintained in certain selected state parks in Texas. (Longhorn Country)

II. Cattle Trade

A) Texas, the start of it All:

Cattle ranching have been a very important industry in Texas for many centuries now, and it most probably started as a full fledged industry during the early years of the 1690's, when the Spaniards brought cattle into America. Ranching as such dates back to the 1730's, when cattle were let loose on the San Antonio River, and they were used to feed the missionaries and the soldiers and others in that area. Soon ranching started to shift over to private raisers, like for example, Tomas Sanchez de la Barrera y Garza, Antonio Gil Ibarvo, and Martin De Leon, among others. In fact, it has been stated by researchers that the Texas ranching industry must have started in the southeast Texas-southwestern Louisiana area, from where the herds were generally driven to cattle markets in New Orleans. In fact, the Spanish government is known to have encouraged the growth of the cattle industry, especially along the famous 'Coastal bend', where liberal land grants seemed to have developed into feudal estates in later years, and huge tracts of land were granted to cattle raisers like Tomas Sanchez at Laredo. (Ranching: The Handbook of Texas Online)

When the barriers to trade to Spain were relaxed during the period form 1763 to 1803, the Texas rangers took advantage, and they started to move on to the East in search of a better outlet for their cattle. However, the raids by Indians is known to have driven the Texas rangers form their lands to other settlements for protection, and other American colonists began to crowd at that time into Texas, and when they saw the vast opportunities for cattle rearing and ranching in Texas, where herds of cattle could be reared without much expense or trouble, they began to settle down in those areas, and the men who had come into Texas with no purpose other than to plow and to plant became cattle raisers. Cattle raising remained a large industry all through the years from the republic to early statehood and later, during the Civil War, it was Texas that produced beef for the Confederacy. This then was the starting of it all. (Ranching: The Handbook of Texas Online)

B. The Trails:

1) The Chisolm Trail:

It was on May 30, 1854 that Kansas became an official territory, according to the Congress, and this led to the Texas drovers changing their route, wherein they started to move more towards the West. This new route was almost to the North, out of Texas, and it passed through Fort Gibson, Fort Scott, and finally, through Fort Leavenworth. Why the Chisolm Trail came to be known as the Chisolm Trail was because, many years earlier, Jessee Chisolm happened to follow this particular route when he was taking some Indian cattle from Texas to Fort Scoot, and the trail thereafter became known as the Chisolm Trail. This famous Trail begins at the edge of the Mexican Border, and near the present town of Brownsville, and it is also said that some… READ MORE

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