Tale of the Chisholm Trail
By Ridge Felker
As the railroads moved in to Texas the “Cattle Boom” began. Texas became a major producer of longhorns. The problem was how is Texas going to get it’s cattle to the other major states? This question is how cattle drives were created. A cattle drive is one mass movement of cattle from the ranch to the place where the owner is going to sell the cattle. Cattle drives were long and arduous journey often dangerous. This paper will travel through the history of the Chisholm Trail. The major challenge facing cattle ranchers: how to get their cattle safely to their destination.
The Birth of The Chisholm Trail
When the Civil War ended, the state's only potential assets were its countless longhorns, for which no market was available.Missouri and Kansas had closed their borders to Texas cattle in the 1850s because of the deadly Texas fever they carried. But In the East was a growing demand for beef, and many men, among them Joseph G. McCoy of Illinois, sought ways of supplying it with Texas cattle. In the spring of 1867 he persuaded Kansas Pacific officials to lay a siding at the hamlet of Abilene, Kansas, on the edge of the quarantine area. He began building pens and loading facilities and sent word to Texas cowmen that a cattle market was available. That year he shipped 35,000 head.The number doubled each year until 1871, when 600,000 head glutted the market.The first herd to follow the future Chisholm Trail to Abilene belonged to O. W. Wheeler and his partners, who in 1867 bought 2,400 steers in San Antonio. They planned to winter them on the plains, then trail them on to California. At the North River in Indian Territory they saw wagon tracks and curious, followed them. The tracks were made by Scotch-Cherokee Jesse Chisholm, who in 1864 had begun hauling trade goods to Indian camps about 220 miles south of his post near modern Wichita. At first the route was commonly referred to by names like the Trail, the Kansas Trail, the Abilene Trail, or McCoy's Trail. Though it was originally applied only to the trail north of the Red River, Texas cowmen soon gave Chisholm's name to the entire trail from the Rio Grande to central Kansas. The earliest known references to the Chisholm Trail in print were in the Kansas Daily Commonwealth of May 27 and October 11, 1870. On April 28, 1874, the Denison, Texas, Daily News mentioned cattle going up "the famous Chisholm Trail."
The Route of the Chisholm Trail
The herds followed the old Shawnee Trail by way of San Antonio, Austin, and Waco, where the trails split. The Chisholm Trail continued on to Fort Worth, then passed east of Decatur to the crossing at Red River Station.As Wayne Gard observed, the trail was like a tree; the roots were the feeder trails from South Texas, the trunk was the main route from San Antonio across Indian Territory, and the branches were extensions to various railheads in Kansas. Between 1871(when Abilene stopped being a cattle market)and 1884 the trail could have ended at Ellsworth, Junction City, Newton, Wichita, or Caldwell.The cattle did not follow a clearly defined trail except at river crossings; when dozens of herds were moving north it was necessary to spread them out to find grass. The animals were allowed to graze along for ten or twelve miles a day and were never pushed except to reach water(cattle that ate and drank their fill were unlikely to stampede). When conditions were favorable longhorns actually gained weight on the trail. After trailing techniques were perfected, a trail boss, ten cowboys, a cook, and a horse wrangler could trail 2,500 cattle three months for sixty to seventy-five cents a head! This was far cheaper than shipping by rail.
Business Opportunities
The Chisholm Trail led to many new business opportunities. The Chisholm Trail led to the new profession of trailing contractor. A few large ranchers such as Capt. Richard King and Abel (Shanghai) Pierce delivered their own stock, but trailing contractors handled the vast majority of herds. Among them were John T. Lytle and his partners, who trailed about 600,000 head. Others were George W. Slaughter and sons, Snyder Brothers, Blocker Brothers, and Pryor Brothers. In 1884 Pryor Brothers contracted to deliver 45,000 head, sending them in fifteen separate herds for a net profit of $20,000.
After the Plains tribes were subdued and the buffalo decimated, ranches sprang up all over the Plains. Most were stocked with Texas longhorns and manned by Texas cowboys. Raising cattle on open range and free grass attracted investments from the East and abroad in partnerships, such as Charles Goodnight and Irish financier John Adair or ranching syndicates such as the Scottish Prairie Land and Cattle Company and the Matador Land and Cattle Company. Texas tried to outlaw alien(foreign)land ownership but failed. The XIT Ranch arose when the Texas legislature granted the Capitol Syndicate of Chicago three million acres for building a new Capitol.
The end and the beginning of a legacy
With the major challenge averted, and the fall of a great trail, the story of the Chisholm Trail ends. The Chisholm Trail brought great fortune to the ranchers of Texas and drew attention to Texas. The route of the trail brought prosperity to those along it. And the Chisholm Trail provided many new business opportunities and jobs, ex: Trailing contractor. The Chisholm Trail was finally closed by barbed wire and an 1885 Kansas quarantine law. By 1884, the trail’s last year, it was open only as far as Caldwell, in southern Kansas. In its brief existence it had been followed by more than five million cattle and a million mustangs, the greatest migration of livestock in world history.
By Ridge Felker
As the railroads moved in to Texas the “Cattle Boom” began. Texas became a major producer of longhorns. The problem was how is Texas going to get it’s cattle to the other major states? This question is how cattle drives were created. A cattle drive is one mass movement of cattle from the ranch to the place where the owner is going to sell the cattle. Cattle drives were long and arduous journey often dangerous. This paper will travel through the history of the Chisholm Trail. The major challenge facing cattle ranchers: how to get their cattle safely to their destination.
The Birth of The Chisholm Trail
When the Civil War ended, the state's only potential assets were its countless longhorns, for which no market was available.Missouri and Kansas had closed their borders to Texas cattle in the 1850s because of the deadly Texas fever they carried. But In the East was a growing demand for beef, and many men, among them Joseph G. McCoy of Illinois, sought ways of supplying it with Texas cattle. In the spring of 1867 he persuaded Kansas Pacific officials to lay a siding at the hamlet of Abilene, Kansas, on the edge of the quarantine area. He began building pens and loading facilities and sent word to Texas cowmen that a cattle market was available. That year he shipped 35,000 head.The number doubled each year until 1871, when 600,000 head glutted the market.The first herd to follow the future Chisholm Trail to Abilene belonged to O. W. Wheeler and his partners, who in 1867 bought 2,400 steers in San Antonio. They planned to winter them on the plains, then trail them on to California. At the North River in Indian Territory they saw wagon tracks and curious, followed them. The tracks were made by Scotch-Cherokee Jesse Chisholm, who in 1864 had begun hauling trade goods to Indian camps about 220 miles south of his post near modern Wichita. At first the route was commonly referred to by names like the Trail, the Kansas Trail, the Abilene Trail, or McCoy's Trail. Though it was originally applied only to the trail north of the Red River, Texas cowmen soon gave Chisholm's name to the entire trail from the Rio Grande to central Kansas. The earliest known references to the Chisholm Trail in print were in the Kansas Daily Commonwealth of May 27 and October 11, 1870. On April 28, 1874, the Denison, Texas, Daily News mentioned cattle going up "the famous Chisholm Trail."
The Route of the Chisholm Trail
The herds followed the old Shawnee Trail by way of San Antonio, Austin, and Waco, where the trails split. The Chisholm Trail continued on to Fort Worth, then passed east of Decatur to the crossing at Red River Station.As Wayne Gard observed, the trail was like a tree; the roots were the feeder trails from South Texas, the trunk was the main route from San Antonio across Indian Territory, and the branches were extensions to various railheads in Kansas. Between 1871(when Abilene stopped being a cattle market)and 1884 the trail could have ended at Ellsworth, Junction City, Newton, Wichita, or Caldwell.The cattle did not follow a clearly defined trail except at river crossings; when dozens of herds were moving north it was necessary to spread them out to find grass. The animals were allowed to graze along for ten or twelve miles a day and were never pushed except to reach water(cattle that ate and drank their fill were unlikely to stampede). When conditions were favorable longhorns actually gained weight on the trail. After trailing techniques were perfected, a trail boss, ten cowboys, a cook, and a horse wrangler could trail 2,500 cattle three months for sixty to seventy-five cents a head! This was far cheaper than shipping by rail.
Business Opportunities
The Chisholm Trail led to many new business opportunities. The Chisholm Trail led to the new profession of trailing contractor. A few large ranchers such as Capt. Richard King and Abel (Shanghai) Pierce delivered their own stock, but trailing contractors handled the vast majority of herds. Among them were John T. Lytle and his partners, who trailed about 600,000 head. Others were George W. Slaughter and sons, Snyder Brothers, Blocker Brothers, and Pryor Brothers. In 1884 Pryor Brothers contracted to deliver 45,000 head, sending them in fifteen separate herds for a net profit of $20,000.
After the Plains tribes were subdued and the buffalo decimated, ranches sprang up all over the Plains. Most were stocked with Texas longhorns and manned by Texas cowboys. Raising cattle on open range and free grass attracted investments from the East and abroad in partnerships, such as Charles Goodnight and Irish financier John Adair or ranching syndicates such as the Scottish Prairie Land and Cattle Company and the Matador Land and Cattle Company. Texas tried to outlaw alien(foreign)land ownership but failed. The XIT Ranch arose when the Texas legislature granted the Capitol Syndicate of Chicago three million acres for building a new Capitol.
The end and the beginning of a legacy
With the major challenge averted, and the fall of a great trail, the story of the Chisholm Trail ends. The Chisholm Trail brought great fortune to the ranchers of Texas and drew attention to Texas. The route of the trail brought prosperity to those along it. And the Chisholm Trail provided many new business opportunities and jobs, ex: Trailing contractor. The Chisholm Trail was finally closed by barbed wire and an 1885 Kansas quarantine law. By 1884, the trail’s last year, it was open only as far as Caldwell, in southern Kansas. In its brief existence it had been followed by more than five million cattle and a million mustangs, the greatest migration of livestock in world history.