Kansans had been complaining about Texas longhorns since the first herds hit Abilene in 1867, but the trail driving heyday kept booming, peaking in the 1880s.
Almost 350,000 Texas cattle reached Kansas in 1880.
Sure, Kansas established quarantine laws to prevent the spread of a tick-spread disease from coming up the Chisholm Trail. But there was still a market in Dodge City (1875-85) and Caldwell (1880-85).
Texas cowboys could follow the Chisholm Trail into present-day Oklahoma (then Indian Territory) and take the Dodge City cutoff to the Western Trail, aka the old Fort Griffin and Fort Dodge trail” As quarantine lines moved west, cattlemen recommended sticking to the Western Trail completely.
But ranches in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Dakota Territory also needed beef-to feed a growing population and to stock ranches. Texans herded cattle into Nebraska, Dakota Territory, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana.
Sure, railroads were crisscrossing much of the West by the 1880s. But Texas ranchers understood that outfitting a trail drive (say a cook, a horse wrangler, a trail boss and 10-12 cowboys) came a lot cheaper than paying the shipping prices railroads charged.
Denne historien er fra April 2022-utgaven av True West.
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Denne historien er fra April 2022-utgaven av True West.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Where Did the Loot Go? - This is one of those find the money stories. And it's one that has attracted treasure hunters for more than 150 years.
Whatever happened to the $97,000 from the Reno Gang's last heist? Up to a dozen members of the Reno Gang stopped a Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis train at a watering station in southern Indiana. The outlaws had prior intelligence about its main load: express car safes held about $97,000 in government bonds and notes. In the process of the job, one of the crew was killed and two others hurt. The gang made a clean getaway with the loot.
Hero of Horsepower - Los Angeles lawman William Hammel tamed one of the West's wildest towns with hard work and horseless carriages.
Los Angeles lawman William Hammel tamed one of the West's wildest towns with hard work and horseless carriages.
From the Basin to the Plains
Discover Wyoming on a road trip to Cody, Casper and Cheyenne.
COLLECTING AMERICAN OUTLAWS
Wilbur Zink has preserved the Younger Gang's history in more ways than one.
Spencer's West
After the Civil War, savvy frontiersmen chose the Spencer repeating carbine.
Firearms With a Storied Past
Rock Island gavels off high profits from historic firearms.
She Means Business!
An energetic and ambitious woman has come to Lincoln, New Mexico, to restore the town's legendary Ellis Store.
Ride that Train!
HERITAGE RAILROADS KEEP THE OLD WEST ALIVE ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
Saddle Up with a Western
Old West fiction and nonfiction are the perfect genres to fill your summer reading list.
RENEGADES OF THE RAILS
RAILROADS WERE OPEN SEASON FOR OKLAHOMA AND INDIAN TERRITORY OUTLAW GANGS.
