Essay Archive - Chisholm Trail
Chisholm Trail
When the railroads moved west to the Great Plains, the "Cattle Boom"
began. Southern Texas became a major ranching area with the raising of longhorn
cattle from Mexico. Cattle was branded by the rawhides who guarded them on
horseback on the ranges.
Before the Civil War, small herds of Texas cattle were driven by the
cowboys to New Orleans, some as far west as California, and some to the north
over the Shawnee Trail. This trail passed through Dallas and near the Indian
Territory, ending in Sedalia, Missouri. In 1866, the Shawnee Trail presented
some major problems for the cattle drivers....
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