The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 20, July 1916 - April, 1917 Page: 15
426 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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History of the Cattle Industry in the Southwest 15
try will cease to exist. Frontier life meets peculiar problems,
and accordingly a peculiar type of society is developed there.
In the grazing country the population was sparse and the vil-
lages scattered far apart. Villages which were fortunate enough
to be situated on a railroad-when the railroads were built-be-
came shipping stations. Some of these developed into cities. In
such, banking business was in especial demand. Drovers and
purchasers needed bills of credit or ready money. The first bank
which transacted business with the cattlemen was the First Na-
tional Bank of Kansas City. Later banking facilities were opened
to drovers at Wichita, Kansas.' Bankers ran considerable risks,
but the cattlemen seldom abused their privileges. Bankers now
are glad to aid the cattlemen through an unlucky season by tak-
ing mortgages on the herds. Farmers complain that the banks
favor the grazers and that they find it difficult to borrow.
In the early days the ranges were practically womanless. The
lives of the cowboys were hard, luxuries and avenues of culture
were absent. Their garb consisted of woolen shirts, loose coats
in cold weather, woolen or leather trousers, spurs, pistols, knives
and hats that served as umbrellas in the rain. Each man owned
a pony, for without one he could find no other means of con-
veyance if he should be thrown out of employment. The "round
up" was the chief social event and it was also of great economic
importance. On these occasions men, from large areas of coun-
try, met and enjoyed feast and social intercourse while branding
or rebranding the cattle brought in.2
In the cattle villages society was conducted very unconvention-
ally. The ball was the chief event of the winter. Women were
less numerous at these than men, but many cowboys were too
far from town to attend. Those who attended wore full range
uniforms and their fair partners were costumed in ginghams and
calicoes.8
Professional men found it difficult to earn a livelihood. The
minister toiled at some labor to supplement his tiny salary, and
1McCoy, J. G., Historio Sketches of the Cattle Trade in the West and
Southwest, Ch. XVI.
2Grohman, W. Baillie, "Cattle Ranches in the Far West," in Fort-
nightly Review, XXXIV, 447.
sHough, E., The Cowboy, II, ch. XIII.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 20, July 1916 - April, 1917, periodical, 1917; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101070/m1/21/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.