The Civil War had a major impact on the beef industry across the country and in Colorado . Prior to the Civil War , Texas cattle were moved from Texas to the shipping points along the Mississippi River . With the advent of the Civil War , these markets were closed . Thus , the cattle industry in Texas became dormant . It was also during this time that the term “ cowboy ” came into being . Because the men of the area were gone to war , the boys cared for the cattle . The age range of people moving the cattle was as young as 11 , with the average age being 13 , thus the term cowboy . In Colorado , settlers were moving into the state in record numbers . Many were moving here to escape the war and found Colorado a good place to settle . This was the beginning of the end of large herds ranging across the landscape because other uses were being found for the land .
All cowboys shared the same risks , salary , food , and sleeping arrangements . Following the Civil War , one-fourth of the cowboys on the great cattle drives were African American . Like the cowboys of other races , some African Americans went on to become trail bosses , ranchers , and rodeo performers . Bose Ikard rode with Charles Goodnight and became his trusted friend who was his “ detective , banker , and everything else in Colorado , New Mexico , and other wild country .” Isam Dart became a rancher in Northwest Colorado . Nate Love , Add Jones , and Bill Pickett became rodeo and wild west show performers . Nate Love wrote his memoirs after retiring in 1889 . Bill Pickett , who is thought to have invented steer wrestling , was the first African American cowboy to be inducted into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City , OK .
The Civil War ( 1861-1865 ) brought a slowdown to the sale of cattle from west to the east . As a result , the number of cattle increased in the west , especially in Texas . After the war , there was a shortage of cattle in the east . A cattle trader , Joseph McCoy , thought of driving cattle from Texas to Abilene , KS where they could be loaded on the Kansas Pacific Railroad and shipped to Chicago . In Abilene the cattle sold for $ 15- $ 18 each ; in Chicago they brought $ 24- $ 28 . The higher prices for cattle in the east meant those shipping cattle east could make a profit . In 1867 , over 35,000 head of cattle were shipped east from Abilene on the railroad . At that time the method of getting cattle from one location to another was to lead the cattle or make the cattle walk in the direction you wanted them to go . This is called driving cattle . Driving cattle can be done on foot but it is easier for cowboys to use a horse . Sometimes when driving cattle , one person would lead one of the animals in the direction they wanted the herd to go . Another person would get behind the cattle and encourage the cattle to follow the leader . As the railroads were built further west , the cow towns ( the shipping points where cattle were shipped from ) also moved west . The first trainload of cattle that went east from Colorado was sent from the little town of Kit Carson in 1869 . By 1872 , 428 carloads of cattle were shipped from Denver , 85 from Deer Trail , 162 from Kit Carson and 116 from Cheyenne Wells . Another 31,250 head of Colorado cattle were shipped out of North Platte , Nebraska , on the Union Pacific Railroad . Later , when the railroads spanned the continent , cattle were also shipped west .
How many boxcar loads of cattle were shipped from Colorado in 1872 ?
If a train carload holds 50,000 pounds , how many 600 pound cattle could be loaded on the boxcar ?