People went west looking for farmland and gold. They passed through the Great Plains & over the Rocky Mountains.

People went west looking for farmland and gold.They passed through the Great Plains & over the Rocky Mountains.

Pike’s Peak or Bust

• Men went to the Rockies to dig for gold.• “Gold Rush” – people went in search of

making it Rich!• Comstock Lode – one of the richest silver &

gold strikes ever

• Strike – the discovery of gold or silver• Lode – a source of ore

Miner toolsPicksShovelsSifterSpoonsKnifeLamps

wheelbarrowExplosives

Pan

rope

Mining Camp to Boom Town• As soon as gold or silver was found people hurried to

the site.• Miners and shop keepers often lived in tents• Sometimes women set up cook tents and sold meals• Whole cities grew up near sites• If the strike was rich – wood buildings would replace

tents• Boom town – a town that grows quickly around a

gold/silver strike

Helps Settle the West • Discovery of gold and silver help settle the west• Populations grew and asked for statehood.• Colorado, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho

Mining Companies• Groups of wealthy men formed companies

and bought out miners claims.• Miners made very little money• Mine owners made millions• Those that opened stores made money too.

Cattle Herding• Open range – no fences on the

Plains• Cattle roamed across the

Southern Plains• Texans hired cowhands to round

up herds

• Cowhands moved herds to railheads

• Railheads – stations were ranchers sold cattle to buyers

• Cattle then shipped in cars to meatpacking plants

• 2-3 months to move cattle on cattle drives• Cattle drives – the moving of the cattle• Long, dusty, dangerous• 12+ cowhands on horseback moved 2,000

or more restless cattle.

Cowboy ClothesClothes had a purpose!

bandanna

spurs

lasso

Branding ironsaddleboots

Chaps

Wide brim hat

• Cattle were branded so ranchers knew who they belonged to.

The End of the Open Range

• Ranchers also sold to mining camps, US Army, and other ranchers

• Too many cattle for sale = price dropped• Farmers moved onto the plains and put up fences• The days of the open range and long cattle drives

were over.

Homework• Create a brand that you could use, if you were a cowboy or cowgirl to mark your

cattle. Here are some examples.