Spanish expeditions and missionaries traveling into Texas are the ones who are credited as first brining cattle into the Americas, this includes both Mexico and Texas. Early explorers, settlers, and missionaries would travel into what is present day Texas from the west, south, and along the coast and they would bring cattle along with them as an important source of both labor and food. An example of this is Fransisco de Coronado, who in his 1541-1542 expedition brought along 1500 heads of cattle and sheep (Flint, 2003). Some of which survived as they cut across the Panhandle of Texas. However, it was not until centuries later that the early Texas cattle industry began to form. One of the first breeds to be introduced into Texas was most likely the Criollo cow because of their small and sturdy nature they could survive in the arid and dry conditions of Texas. It is our hope that with this research we can narrow down exactly when cattle began to be incorporated into Texas tribes and settlements as well as what breeds of cattle, they were bringing in.
The first cattle to enter into Texas were coming in from Spain and New Spain and therefore, there was an influx of cattle ranching techniques that have been adapted from Spanish influence (Utley, 1966). The Spanish government even “encouraged stock raising with liberal land grants” that helped to increase the herd size for many private ranchers in both central and south Texas in the early 1700s (Utley, 1966). During this time, we not only see herds forming but there were also wild populations of cattle that are assumed to have come from the strays that would wander away from the herds, because unlike today, there would not always be fences to hold in the herd (Utley, 1966). With these wild herds came names for the cattle based on whether the cow could safely be captured (mestenas) or if it was too wild to be tamed (cimarrones).
Over time Spanish ranching techniques would merge with those that were being introduced from east of Texas who had a more English influence. Not only do we see a change in ranching styles as these two types began to merge but we also see Spanish cattle being breed with English cattle for favorable traits. One of the more popular breeds to come from this is the Texas Longhorn.
NOTE: I know that this tiny introduction is only a fraction of the introduction of cattle into Texas. So, in the comment section below comment on old ranching techniques and anything on the history of cattle in Texas.
Reference:
Vierra, B.J., & Hordes, S.M. (1997). Let the Dust Settle: A Review of the Coronado Campsite in the Tiguex Province. In the Coronado Expedition to Tierra Nueva: The 1540-1542 Route Across the Southwest. University Press Colorado. pp. 249-261.
Utley, R.M., (1966). The Range Cattle Industry in the Bg Bend of Texas. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly. 69(4) pp. 419-441. https://www.jstor.org/stable/30240946
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