Westward Migration may be one of the “get rich quick” schemes but the chances of getting rich in the west was challenging. You either got real lucky or you were smart enough to know what to do and where to go. Different groups set out to the west for this scheme but usually the first to get there got the best spots. Miners, farmers, cattle ranchers, and all alike set out for fortune. Not all were successful.

Miners would set out in search of precious metals in the mountains of California. For the unlucky ones, they had to pass through deserts which meant no water and if there is water, it would only go downhill instead of going to a bigger water source. When miners found the precious metals, since there was no transportation, it was hard to transport big amounts of it so miners made bigger profits when trains could get the mountainous regions.

Farmers had a good deal in the beginning but went off bad. The government gave land to farmers and if they took care of that land after five years then it was theirs to do what they please. When they reached the land that was granted to them, they had little or no money for a home or farm equipment so loans were to be made. Their homes were made out of dried mud. Equipment was expensive and was only meant for one type of crop depending on the equipment. So if the demand for a certain crop went down and a farmer grew that crop, they must spend money on new farm equipment for a new crop.

Cattle ranchers had got a portion of their own land too but cattle need to keep moving to different areas for grazing. But since the decline of buffalo, a lot of plains were empty that were great for grazing. But before that, cattle for squeezed together in their small areas where grazing was impossible due to so many cattle. So ranchers had their battles over better grazing areas to increase their population to increase their profits.

So what might be called the best “get rich quick” schemes, it may not be the wisest. The people who came first had the best chance of making profit while people who came too late took loans and went broke. It was a risk worth not taking but those who did risk it, chances are they went broke.