| A | B |
|---|
| transcontinental | across a continent |
| prairie | a large area of level or slightly rolling land |
| homesteader | a person who received land under the Homestead Act of 1862 |
| reservation | public land set aside by the government for the use of a particular group of people |
| tradition | the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs from one generation to another |
| prospector | a person who searches for gold, silver, or other valuable minerals |
| boom town | a camp that grows into a town almost overnight |
| Central Pacific Railroad Company | a chartered RR corporation ( part of transcontinental RR) which was to be built eastward from California; employed many Chinese immigrants |
| Union Pacific Railroad Company | a railroad that started in Omaha, and it connected with the Central Paciific Railroad in Promentary Point, Utah; employed many Irish immigrants |
| Homestead Act | Passed in 1862, it gave 160 acres of public land to any settler who would farm the land for five years, build a home within six months and grow crops. The settler would only have to pay a registration fee of $10 |
| buffalo | important to the Native Americans as a source of food, clothing, and blankets. Many buffalo were killed because they were troublesome to the building of the transcontinental railroad |
| Sand Creek Massacre | 1864 incident in which Colorado militia killed a cap of Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians |
| Chief Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse | fought Custer and his men in the Battle of Little Bighorn and won |
| Dawes Act | 1887 law which gave all Native American males 160 acres to farm and also set up schools to make Native American children more like other Americans |
| Ghost Dance | a ritual of the Sioux performed to bring back the buffalo and return the Native American tribes to their land; they wanted to live peacefully and joyously |
| Wounded Knee | 1890 confrontation between U.S. Calvary and Sioux that marked the end of the Indian resistancecowhand |
| cowhand | a hired person who looks after cattle |
| the Grange | a farmers' association organized in 1867. The Grange sponsors social activities, community service and political lobbying. |
| dangers of mining | poisonous gases; cave-ins, accidents |
| dangers of being a cowhand | cattle were stolen, lost or died from disease; blizzards, dust storms, blazing heat |
