8.5 Ranches

Common Misconception: Ranches weren't the luxurious estates depicted in old Westerns.
Reality: Most ranchers were ordinary people seeking a fresh start, similar to Great Plains farmers.

Location: Stretched from Texas to Canada, and from Kansas/Western Dakotas to the Rocky Mountains.
Climate: Characterized by low rainfall (less than 20 inches annually), west of the 100-degree west longitude.
Terrain: Predominantly short grass, scrub brush, sage, and mesquite.

Origins: Descendants of cattle brought by the Spanish in the 1500s.
Development: Evolved through interbreeding, adapting to harsh Western Plains conditions.
Characteristics: Hardy, able to survive on poor vegetation.
Horns: Could measure up to seven feet from tip to tip.

Rounding Up Wild Cattle: A cheap method was to gather wild cattle in Texas.
Breeding Stock: Some ranchers purchased eastern-bred cattle for breeding purposes.
- Prize Bulls: Highly valued for siring offspring, potentially costing thousands of dollars.
Rustling: Unethical ranchers might steal cattle from other ranches.
- Challenges: Difficulty in tracking cattle on the open range made rustling easier.

Buying Out Stockmen: Ranchers with capital could purchase land from those leaving the business.
Government Land: Free or cheap land was available further west.
Water Access: A critical requirement for all ranches.
- Streams/Rivers: Clean, moving water sources were essential.
- Water Rights: Needed if a stream/river didn't run through the land.
- Land Value: Land without water was essentially worthless.
Railroad Land: Available at $2.50 per acre.

Initial Structures: Ranged from stone houses to log cabins, dugouts, or sod houses.
Evolution: Better homes were built as profits increased.
Gender Imbalance: Few women lived on ranches due to isolation and hardship.
- Family Arrangements: Some ranchers maintained separate town houses for their wives and children.
Typical Ranch Features: Barns and bunkhouses were signs of a developed ranch.
Cowboy Housing: Initially, cowboys lived in dugouts, sod houses, or shanties.
Improvements: Bunkhouses, barns, and corals were later additions as ranches prospered.
Priorities: Ranchers focused on herd growth over cowboy comfort.

Routine: Slow-paced for most of the year.
Cowboy Responsibilities: Minimal attention needed by the cows, as long as food and water were accessible.
Cattle Range: Cows roamed widely (up to 100 miles) in a season, mixing with other herds.
Roundup Time: Cattle were brought back, calves branded, and decisions made on which cows to sell or keep for breeding.

Docile Creatures: Jackrabbits, prairie dogs, and antelope posed little threat.
Mountain Lions: Occasionally preyed on cattle but were generally afraid of humans.
Poisonous Creatures: Rattlesnakes, scorpions, tarantulas, and centipedes were the most dangerous.
- Rattlesnakes: Abundant, easily killed, but could startle horses.
- Prairie Dog Holes: Horses could break legs if they stepped in one, leading to euthanasia.

Lack of Excitement: Western ranch life was generally uneventful.
Cowboy Life: Not as glamorous as depicted in movies.
Stampede Deaths: Grim realities, such as cowboys being trampled beyond recognition.
- Identification: Solely based on belongings like gun handles.

Vast Control: Ranchers often controlled large areas of open range without owning much land.
Example: John F. Elliff controlled 5,590 square miles (size of Rhode Island and Connecticut combined) but only owned 23 square miles along streams.