Western Cattle Drives: Hard Times on the Trail
howdy folks and greetings from the Great Plains of North Texas where
we are in the middle of a cold front the next two days, temps today are
supposed to only reach 90 degrees with low humidity! Well, it's 91 in the
shade right now but maybe it won't get above 95 which will still be cool!
Ok folks I've been talking about the great cattle drives which took place
right after the Civil War to meet market demands in the East in which the
cattle were driven on hoof mostly from Texas up to Dodge City, Kansas or
St. Louis, Missouri and could take anywhere from 2 to 3 months
depending on different factors and conditions like weather.
There were some drives that went from Southern Texas all the way up to
Montana to the gold fields in the Montana Gold Rush during the 1860s and
70s and those took a grueling 5 months and thru hostile Indian territory
after they got through Kansas.
Daily life on the cattle drives as I touched on yesterday ranged from tough
to brutal and there were many ways in which a Cowboy could meet his
end.
Some got sick and caught Pneumonia from exposure to the elements and
no medical aid. Some got infections from wounds or cuts and died from
those.
Some drowned in one of the many river crossings, some were trampled
in stampedes, a few were struck by lightning in the many storms that
came up. Some were killed when they were thrown from their horse
and hit their head or broke their neck.
Others were killed from fighting with gangs of cattle rustlers and then
a few were killed by Indians but that was becoming more rare at least
on the route up to Dodge City, farther North Indians were still at war.
In addition to all those dangers they had to endure blistering heat, a
constant lack of water, freezing in the winters, being around cattle all
the time gave them fleas and ticks, body fungus was common, they
had no bathrooms or showers and much of the time they were coated
in dust. They stayed dirty all the time and smelled like cattle and worse!
And if that wasn't bad enough, when they hit the cowtowns like Dodge
City, my home town, many of the prostitutes carried venereal diseases
and they would suffer greatly from those with no medicines to treat them!
Another problem that was common...because of their diet lacking in a
balance of nutrients and much of it being beans and bacon many of them
developed hemorrhoids. Can you think of anything more painful than
riding all day with those?
The water situation was a serious one. Nowadays here in Texas as you
drive through the countryside, at least here in North Texas there are
ponds everywhere, but those are man-made. Back then they had to find
creeks and rivers and occasional water holes or gullys filled with water.
What's remarkable from a health and hygiene view is that the rule of
the Drive was that cattle drank first when water was found or a
river was reached. Have you ever seen water that cattle have been
wading and drinking in? lol. I have and it is a muddy, churned up
mess!
And speaking of mess, I always wondered why cattle seemed to
relieve themselves in the water! So the water rule was that after
the cattle drank then the men drank...I don't know who came up
with that rule but it doesn't make sense to me.
One cowboy complained to his trail boss, “I ain’t kicking, but I had
to chew that water before I could swallow it.”
Any Volunteers to be a cowboy after reading all this? In the next post
I'll be giving detailed descriptions from some of the actual cowboys
who kept diaries, it's utterly fascinating if you like history!
top 2 photos are from history.net
Thanks for reading folks, God bless you all!
-jonboy Texas
the gentleman redneck
ps- ya know, you might just be a redneck if:
you go fishin in your above ground pool..and catch fish!
They don't seem so tough, LoL
"And if that wasn't bad enough, when they hit the cowtowns like Dodge
City, my home town, many of the prostitutes carried venereal diseases
and they would suffer greatly from those with no medicines to treat them!"
howdy today witty-waiter! hey if you think that is funny then you have a twisted sense of humor! lol. it is kinda funny in a way I guess. ha!
you go back to work tomorrow, did you back and feet recover and did you get new shoes?
Your commentary is funny, not what they had to go through. I did get new shoes but I am off till Wednesday. Plenty of time to rest
oh sorry I missed your reply earlier witty waiter. .off till Wednesday? that was a nice break but you needed to heal up completely so that works out well! new shoes sound good too.
No worries. Just relaxing and getting some errands done
howdy there @the-witty-waiter! did you get properly recovered for tomorrow?
what kind of shoes are they, there is some form of dress code or uniforms there at the joint
correct?
We dress in all black but I can get away with tennis shoes. I bought some Skechers with memory foam. Hopefully they do the trick. Feeling much better
witty-waiter! I'm glad to hear that you're ready to go. that means you go to bed early tonight?
I think I'll pass!
lol! sorry I missed your comment earlier simms50. I agree, that would be a brutal job!
Hey fishing in a pool is great casting practice...especially if it's big enough for fly casting practice...lol...
Hey, bro...if you got an upvote, can you do my Earthquake thread when you get a sec? Trying to have no "dusted" threads this week...lol....
howdy today @mepatriot! yeah I just added a second part to that redneck joke about actually catching something in your pool.
yes sir, I'll go there now.
You da man! Thanks, Jon.
hey that didn't work, I had already voted for the post so I voted for one of your comments to see if that would add to the post because I never paid attention to that before, but it didn't.
OH...lol...well thanks for trying anyway, my friend. Not sure how that works, but I think it goes under "Curation...?"
probably who knows? lol
95 is still too hot! Nice redneck joke ;)
It's amazing anyone survived let alone went and did it again! I'm with you on the drinking rule. Doesn't make sense.
howdy @squirrelbait! yes, when the water was just a small amount in a gully or water hole there wouldn't be hardly anything left and one of the bosses said many a time they'd have to get down and drink what little was left in a hoof print in the mud!
thanks I'm glad you liked the joke, I can just see that one!
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Texas and cowboys! You know, i don't know about cow boys much, but when i was growing up, and had as much time for movies, i remember those American cowboys movies, and it was always about TEXAS!
I like the way you here narrate of travails. It is a an interesting insight back in time, and you capture it with a good narrative sweep.
This post demonstrates everything from originality to relevance and depth whether or not one loves history. So I am going to feature this post on the next Xposed Curator's Rebound #23. You may find details about it Xposed Curator's Rebound
My hope is to bring your quality work here the exposure it deserves, and with it, hopefully the rewards.
Congratulations, and best wishes.
howdy @mirrors! I think I've seen you around but never interacted with you. Well if you don't know about Cowboys then that means you are not from the United States, where are you located?
And thank you so much for featuring my post! What can I do in return?
go and resteem one of your recent posts?
I see that you just joined in March so at 54 you are doing very well!
God bless you!
lol.....i am not, very true. I am from Uganda! I have seen you around to...you know where? Guess. Anyway, if you don't remember, then wait for sevens day this week and see who tops the League!!! Hahahahh...
You know i was there in the @abh12345's engagementleague some time back, and was i think for 4 weeks running, always in the top 10, then i dropped out. Got busy.
Then this last week i got back to the top ten. And it is you on top, and for a while! It was kinda a new name, given i was familiar with the @lynncoyle1's.
And now as i was combing the tags, i land on this post. And there, i see the same name!
There is nothing to do in return, @janton. Just that my idea of featuring quality content is to drive traffic to the blogs of their authors, and to hopefully get their posts rewarded as deserved.
Of course it is fair that if you are featured, you take time and visit the other featured alongside you, and show some support, an upvote and/or a comment. Otherwise, there is really no rule!
And then, the initiative has only recently started, and is still new out there, despite its undertaking to reward both content curators as well as creators, so a resteem would certainly be of great help.
More than that, you can also in your interactions, once you have understood the concept, make mention of it to the rest. I am sure if you will come to my blog and find out in depth how the whole idea works, that you will appreciate it. And who knows, hopefully, i should say, become an ambassador for it.
Otherwise, yes, i joined in March, and have done relatively well for my self...and it was, and still is, just exactly what you are doing by topping Asher's engagement league. So keep it up.
Glad to make your acquaintance.
Here is, meanwhile a link to the post in which you are featured.
It is well deserved, and i hope it serves you well. for this quality history write
howdy back @mirrors! I thought I recognized the username and very distinctive profile image so I went back to the Engagement League page and there you were!
And with a challenge no less! I like that feisty attitude! Ok well it's on now, we'll see you near the top I'm sure. I'll try to make it challenging for you! lol.
Thanks so much again for the post being featured and I will go and visit, comment and upvote the other posts on there and also study this program more and I like it already, it looks very helpful.
Thank you so much for putting this initiative together.
What is it like in Uganda? I have no idea and don't know anyone from that area. Didn't you guys have a dictator there..Idi Amin? not sure how to spell the last name..but what is the government like today?
Sure, visit those featured if you can manage, engagement among those who are to be 'helped' is their best contribution to the support others with good voting power offer them.
I think we the 'little guy's can at least do that - engage, comment, show some solidarity, whether or not our vote has monetary value. So i will really appreciate you encouragement to the others featured.
Otherwise Uganda is well. You know we have some really beautiful climate and people...Your former statesman - Churchill - was right to christen us The Pearl of Africa!,
That Amin fellow is only an exception, and now that i mention him, yes, You have the spelling right! You must be an Indian! lol.....we have history with them, and the name Amin is written all over.
How is the condition today? Well, when you consider that our president has been in power for 3 decades now, and still counting, then you get an idea what it is like....not far from the Zimbabwe drama until Mugabe was finally ousted.
But of course compared to the Amin time, well, it is a much preferable evil.
howdy back @mirrors...so the country is stable but the economy is pretty slow with high unemployment? I'm guessing.
The weather is beautiful? like no snow, ice and bitter cold in the winters and no 100+degrees or 48C+ in the summer?
I want to go visit The Pearl of Africa! if it's safe for white people.
I'd love to visit. Perhaps some day you will be able to host a big Steemit
party in your new palace from all the Steem you earned on this platform!
I already went and commented and voted those two posts in that link which you sent me. I should resteem that one too.
Thanks so much for all the information and all that you are doing to help others. and good luck in the contest, I will expect you to be at least in the top ten if not higher! God bless!
Apologies for getting back late on this. The country is stable, that is a plus, at least. And yes, the economy is pretty much slow. And unemployment is at fever peak! About 80% of graduating youth every year find no employment. That is how bad it is.
Everything else is however pretty much normal. You sure should visit. Our climate is good. There is no such thing as snow. There has never been! lol. We basically have two seasons per year. Wet when it rains and dry when there sun glares hot.
So maybe you should let me know before hand which, between rains storms and glaring suns, you prefer so i know when to to organize the steemit meet up party!
Otherwise thanks for supporting the promoted authors. I have seen your foot prints on their posts.
howdy today @mirrors! don't be concerned if you are too busy to geet back to me right away, I'm fine to hear back in a day or two, I'm sure you are very busy. Your climate sounds wonderful..well not the rainy season but it's necessary for the environment and plants and water supply and all.
But the unemployment rate is a little scary for graduates! I'd think many would have plans to move to another country for work sadly.
thanks so much for getting back to me!
Hey @mirrors! This is a small world after all :) Nice to see you here!
A small world it is, True. The globalists see it as one 'village'!
The globalists are on to something I'd say. It's a nice way to view the world :)
It is, but still one that is a long way, in my opinion, from actualizing.
Yes, unfortunately @mirrors, I believe you are correct.
It ain't gonna happen. I have cattle wading in water right now and I am never drinking it! I would die of dehydration!
haha! yeah I remember seeing them cooling off in the water and under the shade at your place in one of Farmer's videos, now every time you see that you'll think of getting a drink of that water!
The first example of cruel and unusual punishment:
The second example:
I have seen water after a herd of cattle have passed through. No thank you! It is a wonder some didn't come down with something worse than haemorrhoids.
lol! so true @cecicastor, that was a horrible rule!
I don’t know about you, but reading stuff like this has me wondering how we’ve made it this far? After living in good hygiene that we do these days, it would be an utter shock to live a day like they did then.
lol! yeah like not taking a bath for a couple of months at a time even though you're sweaty and caked with dirt and filth? oh man, it's amazing. plus in the 1800s most people even in town had a strange mindset on bathing and didn't think it was very healthy! so it's a little hard to wrap your head around.
The mortality rates were though the roof though, like if you got almost any kind of serious infection or any level of pneumonia you were probably a goner without anti-biotics or good nutrition.
I don't really think I'd do too well in those times. I like our time.
thank you @hebrewhousewife!
Horse riding and hemorrhoids. That should have been your title haha
We have a famous stamped in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, every summer, where thousands of people attend. Calgary is a lot like Texas :)
Thankfully now, people have the sense to carry fresh water along the way and not drink from the dung filled rivers :)
lol! yeah right I noted right off how similar Galgary is to Texas! but only for one month because that's how long the summers are up there!
howdy @lynncoyle1! I commented to you some time ago about the contest but got noooooo reply. That's okay though, by my age I'm very used to women ignoring me.
Actually oldtimer just did a post today about the Galgary Stampede and I was amazed at everyone wearing cowboy hats! part time cowboys for shore! there ain't no full time cowboys in Canada! buncha wannabes.
@janton, I'll have to check out Asher's post; for some reason I seem to have missed a few comments from people. I wouldn't ignore you buddy!
Now, more importantly, we totally have real cowboys in Canada. In Calgary, there are rednecks who wear cowboy hats daily!! Totally not kidding there 😎 Now, at the stampede, there are plenty of wanna be cowboys, and the real ones make fun of them all the time!
lol! I bet the real ones do make fun! well, with the temperatures that you have or had up there, I don't know how they run a cattle operation but I was mostly teasing anyway.
I don't think the comment I left was on Asher's post and it don't matter anyway I just congratulated you.
Canadian rednecks huh? who'd a thunk?
Actually, I've since replied to your comment...it was on my mural one :)
And I know you were teasing haha, but right? who'd a thunk it? in Canada of all places :)
now those Cowboys up there have to be TOUGH!
have to admire them or wonder about their sanity come winter. lol
The winter is brutal there, that's for sure @janton!