Student-Built Pages About Their Local Landmarks
Landmark Submitted by Nomads #2 from Pond Creek, Oklahoma
The Chisholm Trail
There were about 5 million cattle in Texas after the Civil War, but the market for them wasn't in Texas. It was in the North East, where the steer could be sold for $40, instead of $4 in Texas - as long as the cattleman could get the steer up there. The Texas Ranchers decided to start using Cowboys to drive their herds north to "cowtowns" on the railroad in Kansas. That's when the great cattle drives began, in 1866 and went on for 20 years. At the cowtowns of Abilene, Ellsworth, Wichita, and Dodge City, the steers were loaded onto trains and sent to the market where they would be sold. Cattle drives were hard work, and dangerous, too. Lightning and thunder could cause a stampede, there were flooded rivers to cross, and in dry times the water was scarce. Cowboys had to guard against Indians and rustlers, and they took their meals at the chuck wagon and slept under the stars. But at the end of the drive, they could cut loose. In Dodge City, one cowboy wrote, "glasses clinked, dice rattled... violins, flutes, and cornets sent wager strains of waltz and polka... As the night sped on, the saloons became clamorous with songs and laughter." The largest cattle drive on record took place in 1869, when 200 cowboys set out from Texas with 15,000 steers! I chose this for my report because the Chisolm Trail runs through our hometown.
Copyright 1998 Carolynn S. Mortensen