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In lecture 6, "Ways and habits of the West," we heard of the development of the cattle kingdom in the Great Plains. There was a big demand for protein in the middle of the 19th century. This evolved into a need for faster transportation of cattle and new technological and management practices.
A man by the name of Joseph McCoy took it upon himself to develop a railroad that brought itself closer to the cattle for faster transfer to the market. This developed into new towns based solely on cattle production. For example, Abilene, Texas developed into a main station for ranchers to drive their cattle to and load up on a train heading to market. Saloons, hotels, and general stores popped up to provide the cowboys luxury at the end of their ride. These towns soon developed into farm towns because people in the town decided they didn’t want the commotion from the cowboys and wanted a nice quiet town. With the new towns farmers started plowing up the lands which soon developed into the end of the "open range." Ranchers then found out about lush country in the more northern Great Plains, and soon the cattle kingdom expanded all the way into present day Montana. New method of management for cattle were introduced, such as fencing, wintering cattle with hay, and better breeding of cattle for more pounds and marbled beef. A few events like the "Blue Winter" of 1887 and the "Hard Winter" of 1907 took place and showed ranchers there was need for different practices to make it through the hard winters more easily. The big ranches from there soon broke out into smaller family farms and ranches. The cattle industry today can pay its respects for progress to the lessons learned from earlier ranchers. They sculpted the way for the ranching of today. There is still much room for improvement, and the cattle industry of today will also sculpt the way for future ranchers of the Great Plains.