Final answer:
Cowboys moved cattle to cow towns on the Long Drive, which was a key part of westward expansion, bringing cattle from Texas to railheads in places like Kansas using trails such as the Chisholm Trail. This practice was vital for the early Western economy but declined as the railroad expanded and meatpacking industries grew.
Step-by-step explanation:
The cattle drives were a significant component of the westward expansion in the United States. Cowboys moved cattle to cow towns on the Long Drive, which involved herding cattle across vast distances to railheads where the cattle would be loaded onto trains and shipped to markets in the East.
These drives often started in Texas and ended in railheads such as those in Kansas, making use of famous trails like the Chisholm Trail. The Long Drive was a challenging journey, fraught with dangers and hardships, and was instrumental in shaping the early economics and culture of the West. By the late 1870s, due to inventions like barbed wire and the expansion of the railroad, large ranches and meatpacking plants began to emerge, which marked the decline of long cattle drives.