新概念四Lesson21补充TheGreatWest.pptVIP

The Great West When the Civil War ended, the boundaries of American territory were moving westward. A long line of towns ran north through central Texas and onward to the Canadian border. Between this line and the settled areas on the Pacific, there were almost no white people. The great west was shaped like a square with about 1,600 kilometers on each side. With mountains, deserts, and plains, it was the home of the Indian, the buffalo, and the wild horse. Tens of thousands of buffalo-hunting Indians roamed the Western plains in 1860. They were skilled horse-riders and good fighters. Then, two groups of fast-moving white men closed in, eager to take the natives’ land---one group was from the Pacific Coast, the other from the East. In 1851, the Washington government decided to break the great Indian barrier in the west. In 1860s, Washington pushed the Indians into smaller areas and did not allow them to leave. The Indians gave up their lands only when promised by the federal government that they would be left alone and given food, clothing, and other supplies. But the government men in charge in the end gave the Indians dirty blankets, spoiled beef, and stole the money that the government was supposed to give the Indians. White men kept stealing their land and pushed them on to other areas. Some of these white men also stole or slept with the Indian tribes’ women. The Indians often fought back, killing hundreds of these white men. From 1868 to 1890, Indians and whites fought each other all over the West in one long war. When the Civil war ended, the grassy plains of Texas supported several million long-horned cattle. When the railroads came to the west, they allowed people to transport cattle to warehouses to be killed, and then sent to consumers in the east. These were the days of cowboys. The equipment of the lonely cowboy---from guns and cowboy hat to high-heeled boots---were useful. Cowboys were tough and strong men who loved freedom and