Across
- 4. a law passed by Congress in 1862 offering government loans and free land to the two companies building the Transcontinental Railroad. (President Lincoln)
- 6. young men mainly from Texas paid to herd and drive cattle north.
- 7. The name given to the Transcontinental Railroad by Native Americans.
- 8. was a person settling on land in the early west prior to the official opening to settlement in order to gain the claim.
- 10. used on the very last rail of the Transcontinental railroad marking its completion.
- 11. a railroad that crosses an entire continent.
- 12. a long journey taken by cowboys to herd, or drive, cattle from the ranches in Texas north on trails leading to the railroads.
Down
- 1. Nickname given to the first African American Cavalry regiments of the U.S. Army who served in the western U.S. during 1867-1896, fighting Native American Tribes on the frontier.
- 2. person who claimed land on the Great Plains under The Homestead Act of 1862 Sodbuster- settler on the Great Plains in the late 1800s who had to “bust” through thick sod to plant crops.
- 3. a type of steel fencing with sharp points at various intervals. Invented by Joseph Gliden that resulted in closing the western frontier and ending the cattle drives and cowboy era.
- 5. Famous cattle trail used to herd longhorns from San Antonio, Texas to Abilene, Kansas.
- 9. Former slave turned Cowboy. Famous for his skills of roping, and cattle herding.