Chisholm Trail :: essays research papers

Chisholm booster cableWhen the railroads moved west to the Great Plains, the "Cattle Boom"began. Southern Texas became a major ranching area with the raising of longhorn kine from Mexico. Cattle was branded by the rawhides who guarded them onhorseback on the ranges.Before the civic War, small herds of Texas cattle were driven by the affrightboys to New Orleans, about as far west as California, and some to the northover the Shawnee Trail. This trail passed through Dallas and near the IndianTerritory, ending in Sedalia, Missouri. In 1866, the Shawnee Trail presentedsome major problems for the cattle drivers Farmers along the route did not liketheir fields being trampled. They also objected to the spread of tick fever.Longhorns carried the ticks but were immune to the fever. A few farmers were soangry, they armed themselves with shotguns to convince the cattle ranchers tofind another trail north.There was a large increase icattle by the end of the Civil War. Over1,000,000 cat tle roamed the open range. At this time, people in the northhad money to buy beef and cattle which was in great demand. A cow that cost 4to5 dollars a head in Texas was going for 40 to 50 dollars a head in the east.Ranchers hired cowboys for the cattle drives north, realizing the great prospect for a large profit if they could reach the railroads in Abilene,Kansas.Joseph McCoy, a stock dealer from Springfield, Illinois, decided a newtrail was necessary west of the farms. In 1867, he chose a route that wouldreach Abilene and the railroads with the least amount of problems. This routewas to become well-known as the Chisholm Trail.Jesse Chisholm was a half-breed, a Scotch Cherokee Indian trader, who in1866 drove a wagon through the Indian territory, known now as Oklahoma, to theWichita, Kansas, where he had a trading post. Cattlemen use the same trail inthe years to come, following Chisholms wagon ruts to Abilene, Kansas, and therailroads. The trail began below San Antonio, Texas, and stretched north forabout 1,000 miles. The main course then passed through Austin, Fort Worth, TheIndian Territory, and Wichita to Abilene. Side trails supply into the ChisholmTrail. The cattle fed on grass along the trail.Cattlemen moved about 1,500,000 cattle over the trail during a threeyear span. The biggest year was in 1871, when 5,000 cowboys drove over 700,000head of cattle along the trail from Texas to Abilene. The Chisholm Trail wasthe most popular route because of the good terrain.