As the Civil War ended, Jesse Chisholm drove freight wagons south from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and the ruts he left became the Chisholm Trail. He never herded a cow, but within a few years the trail named for him carried millions of Texas Longhorns north to the Kansas railheads, where a $3 steer became a $40 steer bound for New York. This episode follows the trail from Jesse Chisholm's wagons to Joseph McCoy's cow town at Abilene, the twelve-man crews and 2,500-head herds, the hardships of the drive, the economics that made it worth the trouble, and the rise of Dodge City that ended it.

The cattle came from a Texas that had won its independence at San Jacinto and entered the Union through the war with Mexico; the land the herds crossed was being claimed under the Homestead Act as the nation moved west along routes like the Oregon Trail; and the drives ran through the same years as Reconstruction. Half a century later, the highway that replaced the trails became Route 66.

Key Takeaways

• Jesse Chisholm, of Scottish and Cherokee ancestry and fluent in fourteen native dialects, had run trading posts in Indian Territory since the 1830s. His freight trip south from Fort Leavenworth at the end of the war marked an old path used by Indians and the army, and the wagon ruts became the Chisholm Trail. He never herded cattle.

• After the war, beef demand in the East was sky high and local herds had been depleted. Texas had millions of Longhorns, descended from cattle the Spanish conquistadors brought and crossed with British stock by Stephen F. Austin's generation of Texans; they ran wild from the Red River to the Rio Grande.

• The trail ran from San Antonio to Abilene, Kansas, but it was not one continuous road. It was shaped like a tree, with feeder trails branching up from south-central Texas. Other railheads and cow towns included Wichita, Ellsworth, and Caldwell.

• In 1867 Joseph McCoy built a hotel, stockyard, office, and bank beside the Kansas Pacific line in the village of Abilene, making it one of the first cow towns in the United States.

• A trail crew of twelve, a trail boss, a cook, a wrangler tending the remuda of spare horses, drovers, and nighthawks on night watch, could handle about 2,500 head of cattle and 100 horses, moving roughly ten miles a day so the herds could graze and drink.

• The drives were hard: scarce water, tick-borne Texas fever that killed northern cattle, stampedes from half-wild Longhorns, wide rivers, storms, and outlaws. Thick boots against snakes, chaps against thorns, bandanas and broad hats against dust and sun were working equipment, not costume.

• By 1871 a thousand or more cowboys could be paid off at Abilene in a single day, about $90 for a trail boss and $30 for a drover. Cattle worth as little as $3 a head in Texas sold for $40 to $50 in the East, and close to half a million head reached New York City each year in the 1870s.

• An estimated 5.2 million cattle were driven north from Texas on all the major trails between 1866 and 1884, more than 2.4 million of them in the trail's peak years of 1867 to 1875, the same years the Homestead Act was filling the plains with farms.

• The Chisholm Trail faded after 1876, when a new market opened at Dodge City and drovers shifted to the Western Trail from Bandera, Texas. By 1884 it was obsolete. The song “Old Chisholm Trail,” published in 1910, kept the name in American culture.
  

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Questions & Answers (FAQ)

Q1: Who was Jesse Chisholm?

A trader of Scottish and Cherokee ancestry, fluent in fourteen native dialects, who had run trading posts in Indian Territory since the 1830s and traded with both sides during the Civil War. As the war ended he drove freight wagons south from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to reopen a post near present-day Oklahoma City. The ruts his wagons left along an older path became the Chisholm Trail. He never herded cattle.

Q2: Where did the Chisholm Trail run?

From San Antonio, Texas, to Abilene, Kansas, though it was never one continuous road. It was shaped like a tree, with feeder trails branching from south-central Texas. Other Kansas railheads and cow towns on the northern end included Wichita, Ellsworth, and Caldwell.

Q3: Why were cattle driven to Kansas?

After the Civil War, demand for beef in the East was sky high and local herds were depleted, while millions of Longhorns ran wild in Texas. A steer worth as little as $3 in Texas could sell for $40 to $50 in the East. The Kansas railheads were the closest point where cattle could be loaded onto trains bound for eastern markets.

Q4: What made Abilene the first cow town?

In 1867 Joseph McCoy built a hotel, stockyard, office, and bank beside the Kansas Pacific line in the village of Abilene, giving ranchers a place to sell cattle to market. By 1870 thousands of Longhorns were arriving there each day, and by 1871 a thousand or more cowboys could be paid off in a single day.

Q5: How big was a cattle drive?

A crew of about twelve, a trail boss, a cook, a wrangler tending the remuda of spare horses, drovers, and nighthawks on watch at night, could handle roughly 2,500 head of cattle and 100 horses. Herds moved about ten miles a day and were spaced miles apart so the cattle could graze and drink.

Q6: What was Texas fever?

A tick-borne disease carried by the Longhorns. The Texas cattle stood up to it well, but northern cattle that caught it often died, which made Texas herds unwelcome in settled farm country and pushed the trails and railheads west over time.

Q7: How many cattle went up the trails?

An estimated 5.2 million head were driven north from Texas on all the major trails between 1866 and 1884, more than 2.4 million of them during the Chisholm Trail's peak years, 1867 to 1875. In the 1870s close to half a million cattle a year arrived in New York City alone.

Q8: Why did the Chisholm Trail end?

A new cattle market opened at Dodge City, Kansas, in 1876, and drovers shifted to the Western Trail out of Bandera, Texas. By 1884 the Chisholm Trail, also called the Eastern Trail or the Abilene Cattle Trail, was obsolete. The name survived in the cowboy song “Old Chisholm Trail,” published in 1910.

Jesse Chisholm's Wagons

As the Civil War ended, Jesse Chisholm loaded wagons at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and traveled south to re-establish a trading post at Council Grove near present-day Oklahoma City. Chisholm was a man of Scottish and Cherokee ancestry. Fluent in fourteen native dialects, he had operated trading posts in Indian Territory since the 1830s. During the Civil War, Chisholm traded with Union and Confederate troops. His freight trip at the end of the war marked and improved an existing path that had been used by Indians and the military. The wagon ruts became known as the Chisholm Trail. While Jesse Chisholm never herded cattle, the trail named for him would become one of the most important routes for satisfying the great American appetite for beef.

A Nation Hungry for Beef

After the Civil War, demand for beef in the eastern half of the United States was sky high. Local cattle supplies, however, had been dramatically depleted due to the war. One place in America rich in cattle was Texas, with its signature breed, the Texas Longhorn.

The Texas Longhorn

The Longhorns derived from the cattle brought to the Americas by Spanish conquistadors. Stephen F. Austin and other early Texans bred them with British cattle. It was only around the time of the Civil War that the state's most revered breed was known as Longhorns. Before then they were known as Texas or Spanish cattle. Millions of them roamed wild on the Texan plains, from the Red River to the Rio Grande.

Kansas Railheads and the Cow Towns

In the late 1860s, cattle ranchers seized the opportunity to make large amounts of money by transporting cattle to markets in the East by way of Kansas railheads, specifically in Abilene, Kansas, where the trail “ended” during its peak years. Other cow towns and trail ends included Wichita, Ellsworth, and Caldwell, Kansas. The Chisholm Trail ran from San Antonio, Texas, to Abilene, Kansas. It was not an unbroken, continuous route. Rather it was like a tree, with many smaller trails branching from south-central Texas.

Joseph McCoy Builds Abilene

In 1867, Joseph McCoy saw an opportunity to expand the freight business by building a hub along the Kansas Pacific rail line where ranchers could sell their cattle to market. In the village of Abilene, Kansas, he built a hotel, stockyard, office, and bank. It was one of the first “cow towns” in the United States.

The Trail Crew

Trail bands included an experienced crew of twelve: a trail boss or leader; a cook; a wrangler, who took care of the remuda, the herd of spare horses for the cowboys, who typically changed mounts several times a day; and drovers, the cowboys who moved the cattle along the trail. Nighthawks took turns watching the herd after the cattle stopped for the night. That sized band could typically handle a herd of about 2,500 head of cattle, along with about 100 horses. Herds would walk approximately ten miles a day and were spaced out evenly, miles apart, so that the cattle could spend proper time eating and drinking.

Hardships on the Drive

Cattle drives brought great difficulties to everyone moving the cattle. Drinking water was often scarce. Ticks fomented Texas fever; while the Longhorns stood up well, infected cattle in the North often died from it. The Longhorns, only recently pulled from the wild, could quickly form stampedes. Wide rivers and storms deterred progress. Desperados, bandits, thieves, and outlaws loomed over the trails.

A Cowboy's Kit and a Cowboy's Day

Thick boots were necessary to protect the cowboys from rattlesnakes and other snakebites. Chaps protected them from razor-like thorns among the prairie bushes. Bandanas and broad-brimmed hats shielded the men from dust and blazing sun. Drives were long and tedious. Cowboys spent days in their saddles and typically slept on the ground with the same saddle serving as a pillow. They ate simple meals from chuck wagons and entertained themselves with harmonicas, playing cards, and roping practice.

Abilene at Its Peak

By 1870, thousands of Texas Longhorn cattle were arriving each day from the Chisholm Trail at the shipping center at Abilene. By 1871, a thousand cowboys or more were being paid off during a single day at Abilene: typically $90 for a trail boss and $30 for a drover.

Five Million Head: The Economics

On all the major trails combined, an estimated 5.2 million head of cattle were driven north from Texas during the years 1866 to 1884; more than 2.4 million of these were driven north during the trail's primary years of use, from 1867 to 1875. In Texas, beef cattle could sell for as little as $3 a head. Easterners would pay up to $40 to $50 a head. In New York City alone, close to a half million cattle arrived annually during the 1870s. Most were butchered for use in the city's markets.

Dodge City and the Western Trail

The Chisholm Trail faded after 1876, when a new cattle market opened up in Dodge City, Kansas. Cattle drivers started to take the Western Trail, which originated in Bandera, Texas, about sixty miles northwest of San Antonio. By 1884 the Chisholm Trail, also known as the Eastern Trail or the Abilene Cattle Trail, was obsolete.

The Old Chisholm Trail

But the Chisholm name became widely popular in American culture with the famous cowboy song called “Old Chisholm Trail,” which gained significant recognition when published in 1910. For the rest of the story of the West, see Homesteaders Go West and the full HISTORY250 series.