What happened to the Cattle Drives?
2 Jan 2023

What happened to the Cattle Drives?

by | posted in: The American West, 19th Century, Uncategorized | 0

the period of the cattle drives was relatively short, beginning in the 1850s, largely suspended during the Civil War, and ending in the 1890s due to railroad expansion. In the beginning, a group of cowboys would drive a herd of as many as a thousand cattle from pastures in Texas, Colorado, Kansas, and New Mexico north and east to railheads. The towns at the end of the rails were those of western legend – Abeline, Dodge City, Wichita, Ellsworth, Cheyenne, Denver, Fort Worth, and Dallas.

Across the Great Divide: Book 3 The Founding
4 Nov 2022

Across the Great Divide: Book 3 The Founding

by | posted in: Across the Great Divide book series, Black History, The American West, 19th Century | 0

The man smiled, but his eyes did not. Handing Luther a paper, he said, “What you can do is get out of Indiana. We don’t want your kind here. I’m the sheriff and part of the Superintendent Board for the Colored just formed here in Madison. Maybe you can’t read that, but it says that you came into this state illegally, in violation of the Indiana constitution. You’re an escaped slave from Kentucky. War or no war, slavery is still legal in Kentucky, and unless you have freedom papers or permission from the state of Indiana to be here, you need to git! Someone recognized your wagon—you were at the riots in Evansville. The sheriff there sent me a wire. You’re a troublemaker. You fired a gun at white men. You slaves are just a bunch of escaped monkeys, trying to overrun us. You have twenty-four hours to get out of the state, or I’ll be back with chains and ship you to your owner in Kentucky.”

Did you know… Maggie Brown?
23 May 2022

Did you know… Maggie Brown?

by | posted in: History Makers, The American West, 19th Century, Women of the West | 1

Maggie was always spunky and adventurous, inclined to get her own way. She loved her parents but chafed under their rules. She valued her father’s hard work, coming from County Cork, Ireland to Missouri, and taking whatever labor jobs he could find to feed the family. As she grew to adulthood, she aspired to marry a rich man, to ease her father’s labors. When the family moved to Leadville, Colorado in 1898, she dropped that aspiration. She met JJ Brown and fell head over heels in love. After some internal struggle, she decided it best to marry a man for love rather than for money.

Did you know… John Slaughter?(October 2, 1841 – February 16, 1922)
2 Aug 2019

Did you know… John Slaughter?(October 2, 1841 – February 16, 1922)

by | posted in: History Makers, The American West, 19th Century | 0

John’s reputation grew, rivaling the legendary cattle king Chisum. A few years after the Gunfight at the OK Corral, men from Tombstone came and asked him to run for sheriff. The Clantons were still there, the pay was low, and the risks were high. But the townspeople were desperate – the town was more lawless than it had ever been. In 1886, John became sheriff of Cochise County