Cowboys Between 1870-1900

4 Pages 976 Words

The years of the late 1800’s were a time of great expansion and growth for the U.S. The Central Pacific railroad moved east and the Union Pacific moved west through the plains. Joseph McCoy of Springfield, IL devised a plan to take cattle out of Texas and take them to western towns. From there, he would ship them by rail to packing factories in the East. After a long search, he found the town of Abilene, KS. He bought grassy land surrounding the town and built holding pens for the thousands of cattle. Thus began the Chisholm Trail and the origin of the “long drive.”
Each long drive lasted about three months and was a transport of cattle held each year. There were four main cattle trails traveled by the cowboys. First, the Chisholm Trail ran from San Antonio, TX to Abilene, KS. The Sedalia Trail ran also from San Antonio on to Sedalia, MO. The Goodnight-Loving Trail ran from San Angelo, TX to Cheyenne, WY and the Western Trail from Bandera, TX to Dodge City, KS. The cowboys who made the long drive rode on horses from Mexico. Hernán Cortés brought small horses in 1519 known as piebald pintos.
The law in the West has been characterized as “5 cartridges in the cylinder and 1 in the chamber.” The Gold Rush of ’49 brought many people to the frontier, a few of whom became very rich and many more who were extremely poor. Some believed they could take advantage of the newly rich, which led to increased crime. Train robbers and wagon holdups were common. The only solution was to hire mercenaries to “clean up” some crime-ridden cities. Although lawmen were essential to keep the peace, the marshals, sheriffs and deputies were often as corrupt as the outlaws. Wyatt Earp was marshal of Tombstone, AZ, but was a former horse thief, an embezzler, and a gambler. When Earp worked in Dodge City, he met another not-so-good guy, Doc Holiday. Although Holiday was an alcoholic and a cold-hearted killer, he and Earp became good friends. Othe...