By Mrs. Villanueva

THE TEXAS CATTLE KINGDOMUNIT 9, LESSON 2

THE TEXAS CATTLE KINGDOMUNIT 9, LESSON 2

In the 1500s the Spanish explorers brought cattle to Texas. This cattle was very thin and not the type of cattle you might see today.

Tejanos were the men who brought in these cattle. Vaqueros were the Spanish workers who worked on the ranches.

A few hundred years later, the Anglo American settlers brought in a different type of cattle that was heavier. This is more like the kind you would see today.

THE TEXAS CATTLE KINGDOMUNIT 9, LESSON 2

These 2 types of cattle mixed together to create the Texas Longhorn.

Longhorn cattle are large and strong. They require very little water so they do well during the Texas hot season. The Longhorns grazed on the open range, or grassy plains.

These open ranges were partly owned by the ranchers, but some of the land was owned by the state of Texas.

THE TEXAS CATTLE KINGDOMUNIT 9, LESSON 2

After the Civil War, many people moved to Texas land with their cattle. Mostly, they were using the open range to feed the cattle.

Problems arose with many different ranchers allowing their cattle to graze on the same open range. The ranchers could not tell their cattle apart from others.

To solve this problem, ranchers began branding their cattle. A brand is a design burned into the hide of a cow. Each rancher had their own brand and all the cattle that belonged to them had their brand.

THE TEXAS CATTLE KINGDOMUNIT 9, LESSON 2

There were different roles for men on the ranch.

The cowhand took care of the cattle and made sure every cow had their brand.

The line riders rode up and down the ranch borders to make sure the cattle stayed together.

In the event that any cattle got lost, the ranchers would have roundups. Cowhands from each ranch would gather to go through each cow and check the brands to get them back to their owner.