Cattle Drives

     You may have seen multiple shows or movies that include cowboys, but do you know what cowboys actually do? They lead and help in the cattle drive industry! Although we know what they do, what exactly are cattle drives? Let's go and find out!

     The cattle drives all began after the Civil war, when Texas and other Confederate states were low in money, but high in cattle! It turns out cattle numbers grew and grew while they were away! Government decided to sell the cattle up North because that way, they would earn a lot of cash!

     Cowboys, or cowhands directed the cattle on specific trails to sell them. They had many hardships along the way, including rivers, canyons, raids, and worst of all, stampedes! All that work would be worth it in the end, because their profits would be big!

     The jobs of the cattle drive were very specific, everyone had something to do. The trail boss was the big gun, he was the leader and also got paid the most out of the group. The horse wrangler took care of the horses and saddled them. The cook and his assistant made biscuits out of a chuck wagon every day, for every one. The point man led the cattle on both front sides of the cluster. There also were drags, flanks, and other less-experienced jobs too, but they didn't earn as much. Which job do you like best?

     Cattle drives, as you can see, are hard and sometimes boring, but it must be done at that time. Luckily, we don't have to do that any more, because even if we wanted to, we have railroads!