Life of Cowboys On and Off the Ranch

Life of a cowboy

• The journey took 3-4 months.
• Cowboys wanted to escape farming on the Plains.
• All cowboy were led by a trail boss.
• The average crew was around 11 cowboys large.
• Conditions were very dusty.
• They would leave their families to go and become a cowboy.
• They rode horses throughout daylight hours.
• They would sleep out in the open.
• The journey ended at Abilene.
• At the end of the trail, cowboys would drink hard when paid.
• There was conflict between cowboys and homesteaders as homesteaders grew crops on the edge of the trail which meant they could blame them and claim for damaged crops.
• The landscape was very dry.
• The group always had a rangler with them.

Life for cowboys on the open range

1) The journey- driving a herd from Kansas on the Chisholm trail took 2-3 months, and using the Goodnight-Loving trail to Cheyenne took up to 6 months.

2) Problems- stampeding cattle could get lost, injured or killed. Running for long distances meant the cows lost weight and became less valuable. They has to swim cattle across rivers, deal with snakes and wild animals, negotiate permission to cross Indian land, guard the herd from theft, and fend off Indian/Outlaw attacks.

3) Jobs and equipment- cowboys worked in outfits led by a trail boss, who was responsible for the speed of the herd, and where camp was made. The…