Cattle Ranching in the American West

Steele, Christy. Cattle Ranching in the American West. 2005. 48p. ISBN 0-8368-5787-9. Available at 636.2 STE on the library shelves.

When Christopher Columbus first lands in America, he discovers that there are neither horses nor cattle. So on his next trip he brings both. The availability of large open spaces and excellent foraging areas encourage the growth of both populations.

As colonists expanded on the continent, cows and horses went before them, and soon wild cattle and horses were everywhere. Thus evolved a new type of estate, the ranch or haciendia, and a new profession, the vaquero. First these vaqueros, who worked with the cattle, were slaves and indentured servants. But soon enough, with the push by Americans through Texas and what was then Northern Mexico, the vaqueros were transformed into cowboys.

Despite popular representation, cowboys were very low on the social order and worked very hard for meager earnings. Driving cattle from Texas and the Southwest United States to markets in California and the Midwest, they lived dangerous and isolated life.

The history of cattle ranching mirrors the society of the time, and was affected by ups and downs in the fortunes of the United States but eventually fulfilled the Manifest Destiny predicted by American Founders.