1. The Old Chisholm Trail

2. The West at the Turn of the Century
Life After the Civil War
SS5H3 The student will describe how life changed in America at the turn of the century.
a. Describe the role of the cattle trails in the late 19th century; include the Black Cowboys of Texas, the Great Western Cattle Trail, and the Chisholm Trail.

3. What’s Going On?!?!?
After the Civil War, Texans were looking for ways to make a living.
In Texas there was little or no demand for the abundant cattle abandoned after the war.
Up North, however, demand for cattle
was very high.
Therefore, a supply and demand
relationship developed.

4. Discovery Video

5. The Chisholm Trail
In 1867, Joseph G McCoy established a cattle-shipping terminal in Abilene, Kansas.
He knew that $2.00 Longhorns in Texas were worth almost 10 times as much in the North,
He was the 1st to exploit the expanding
railroads to move the cattle to distant
markets.
* Did you know a dollar in 1860 was worth the equivalent of around $26.00 in today’s economy?

6. So what does McCoy have to do with the Chisholm Trail?
In order to reach McCoy’s shipping yard cattle drivers used Jesse Chisholm’s trail which extended from Wichita, Kansas across the Indian Territory (now known as Oklahoma) to the Red River.
Millions of Longhorn cattle travelled along the Chisholm Trail in only a few short years

7. Major Cattle Trails and Railroads

8. Various Names for the Chisholm Trail
The Abilene Trail
The Cattle Trail
The Eastern Trail
The Great Texas Cattle Trail
The Kansas Trail
McCoy’s Trail

9. End of an Era for the Chisholm Trail
By the late 1880’s, driving cattle north from Texas was no longer profitable and declined rapidly.
Almost as quickly as the route to Abilene was established, the era of open-range
cattle driving came to a close.

10. Oh, the Many Reasons
Reliance on the Chisholm Trail began to decline in the 1870’s for a number of reasons.
The construction of new rail lines to Texas
The development of barbed wire and the establishment of homestead laws that closed off the open range
A public demand for better grades of beef
An oversupply of Longhorns which overran the market
Texas fever quarantines in Kansas and
Missouri

11. The Great Western Cattle Trail
Another famous cattle trail used in the 1800’s for movement of cattle to markets in the East.
Ran west and roughly parallel to the Chisholm Trail.

12. Cattle Trails and Railroads
Began at Bandera, Texas and ended in Dodge City, Kansas

13. Also Known As: The Western Trail The Dodge City Trail
The Old Texas Trail

14. Sweet Beginnings
In 1874 Captain John T. Lytle and several cowboys set out with 3,500 head of Longhorn cattle to take advantage of the North’s desire for beef.
The trail they blazed would become
known as the Great Western Cattle
Trail.

15. If This Trail Could Talk
Over 7 million cattle and horses passed through Texas and Oklahoma to the railheads in Kansas and Nebraska.
The Great Western Cattle Trail is responsible for developing the cattle industry as far
north as Wyoming and Montana.

16. Life on the Trail
A typical head would move miles a day and included the trail boss, a wrangler, and a cook.
The distance between Westside Elementary School and Georgia Highlands College is miles.
The drive from South Texas to Kansas took about 2 months at a cost of $1000 in wages and provisions.
At the end of the trail, cattle sold for $20.00 to $35.00 per head.

17. Black Cowboys of Texas
1/3 of cowboys were either Mexican or African American.

18. Discovery Video

19. The Life of a Cowboy
Few cowboys lived up to the rough and rowdy, drinking and brawling image. popularized later in books, songs and movies.
Had to be dependable under harsh conditions.
Quick to act and knowledgeable about Longhorn instincts.

20. So You Think You Can Be a Cowboy, Huh?
Many dangers faced cattle drivers and cowboys:
Stampedes
Weather Thunderstorms, in particular, and blizzards
Crossing rivers
Prairie fires
Predatory animals

21. Still Think You Have the Stomach for It?
Menu
Breakfast
Bread or biscuits, coffee
Lunch
Chili or stew, bread, water or coffee
Supper
Steak with beans, potatoes with gravy, biscuits, water or coffee