|
<br />Gulch and ro VirginiLl City in Montana. Ten thousand
<br />people came to Virginia City in 1864 ~nd the ~alJ1e yeLlr
<br />saw the found\ng of He\en.L More important. the mining,
<br />population WaS large enl)ugh to W;Hr::mt the organization
<br />of tl"Je Terrirory of Montana in 1864 and the Wyoming
<br />Territory in /868. The prospectors who accomp:mied
<br />Lt. Co/. George A. C\lsler fO\lnd gold in the Black Hills
<br />of South Dakota and thus started all illuslfious history
<br />concerning the mining of its rich deposits.
<br />In the 1860's, it was found thi:l[ cattle not only cOllld
<br />withstand the severe winters of the pbins purtion of the
<br />basin, but would thrive all the gr<lZlIlg of native grasses.
<br />Cons.equent\y, cattlemen were the first to attempt
<br />permanent settlement of the plains. Though of great
<br />intlucnce in parts of the basin today, the period of their
<br />domination WDS brief._ lasting fmnl the time of the Civil
<br />War to about 1900. when they were largely driven aside
<br />by the advancing frontier of farmers.
<br />The rapidly growing populotion of the East and the
<br />railroads advi:lr1cing to the edge of the pl:lins offered
<br />both a market and 3 means of transportation -
<br />opportunities that quickly es.tabUs1led the cattle industry
<br />in the basin. CaU\e boom towns fonowed the progress of
<br />railroads and included Abilene and Dodge City, Kans.;
<br />Ogallala and Sidney, Neb,-: Pine Bluffs and Rock River,
<br />Wyo_:and Miles City. Mont.
<br />
<br />
<br />t,
<br />.,\~..,.;.(
<br />. .\ ::;~ .~\ ~\'!
<br />I ",. ~~~~~ .;". ". ,.~ '''' ,\~" ..~~., '0*.
<br />,II;, "';1',< ,",,",.., .,,,:_,-'-'>.tlli.. ~.
<br />~l',~, " ':':':.' ,~\'.' .r:... . ,.': '.J .
<br />,-""i, io*'~~ ..;~,::tI6.t:~: :~'~7.'~:~~"t .', .
<br />'.-'~::'~~4' ?:'.' R~l}~ '-~~'i{~1.:* .
<br />
<br />Native Grasses - The Basis for Extensive
<br />Cattle Operations
<br />
<br />It is interesling that even though the galeway cities
<br />along the Missouri River and some of the mining towns
<br />grew [0 regionDI importance. by and large the same did
<br />not occur to the cattle centers. While most of these
<br />towns still persist and mJny perform Virtually the same
<br />functions as they did in the 1880's, none attracted the
<br />institutions and industry necessar)' for regional domina.
<br />
<br />20
<br />
<br />t]OIl. Perlwps the reason is to be found in their
<br />transporti:ltion roles. As railhellds. they served a vital
<br />eCl.::m'0m\c_ function, but when the rails were pushed
<br />farther west, they lost much of their status and be_came
<br />just service centers along the tracks.
<br />Though the cattlemen's er<l was short, it left some
<br />definite influences on the history of the basin. The
<br />cattlemen's occupancy helped dispel the concept that
<br />the plains were a desert and C1ided in opening to
<br />settlement the vast ,Hea betwe~n the 97th Meridian and
<br />the Roclries. The dependence of lhe cattlemen upon free
<br />land adacd to the pressure put on the Fedenil Govern.
<br />rnent to gi\le such \anci to the fanners. Also. with the
<br />growth of cattle ri:lising on the plains, the meat packing
<br />industry moved westward to center in Chicago. St.
<br />Louis, Kansas City, St. Joseph. and Omaha_ This helped
<br />cement the position of the cities along the eastern edge
<br />of the basin as the gateways through which flowed much
<br />of the goods into and out of the plains. The conflict
<br />between the cattlemen on the one hand iind the packers
<br />and the railroads on the other for the profits of the
<br />industry, culltributed \0 the economic and political
<br />controversies of lhe first decades of Ihe 20th cenlury
<br />and to the rising unrest of the <lgricultura!ists. However,
<br />the cattlemen maintained the mobility to respond to
<br />dirnatic fluctua.ti.on':i. and markets, and their socia! and
<br />economic institutions were fairly tlexible and tailored to
<br />the pbins environmerll. Today. after some 80 years of
<br />seulernent hisfOry, Illuch of the land within the basin is
<br />stIll best suited to the grazing of livestock in much the
<br />same manner i:lS practiced during the late J 800'5.
<br />Together with the arrival of the cattle industry, the
<br />1860's saw [wo major even Is which helped to slupc the
<br />destiny of the b;Jsin: The Homestead Act of 1862 and
<br />rapid expansion uf the railroad system. Each made
<br />enOrmous a.mounts of public land available to the senlcr.
<br />The Homestead Act of J 862 gave free [itle, except for a
<br />filing fee, for 160 acreS of IDUd to any citizen who would
<br />live on the land and develop it for a 5-year period.
<br />Timber cutting of sel~ct "tie" trees from forests in the
<br />western parr of the basin began in 1862. Hand.hewn
<br />rai/road ties were us~d for construction of the first
<br />transcontinental railroads. Forest and wooded Jreas also
<br />supplied fuel, fence posts, and whipS<lwed building
<br />material for the homesteaders.
<br />The period of rn'o.\)Q'i 'iailroad construction within the
<br />b<lsin occurred between /865 and /885. Of most
<br />significance was the linking of the West and the East by
<br />the Kansas Pacific, the Burlington, and the Union Pacific
<br />railroads and the crossing of the northern portion of the
<br />basin by the Great Northern <lnd Northern Pacific lines.
<br />The railroads insured the roles of the eastern gateway
<br />cities to their dominance over the commerce of the
<br />basin. To the cities a/ready listed were added Minne.
<br />apolis and somewhaf later, Sioux City. Primarily because
<br />of the east-west nature Df the mainlines of the railroads.
<br />
|