1. Indian Territory Cattle Trails
Chapter 11

2. Transport cattle from Texas to railroad station in Kansas or Missouri so that cattle could be taken by train to large cities in the northeast
Purpose

3. Shawnee Trail eastern Indian Territory (late 1860s)
Major rail stop is Kansas City, MO
Shawnee Trail

5. Chisholm Trail central Indian Territory (early 1870s)
Major rail stops are Abilene and Wichita, KS
Chisholm Trail

7. Western Trail western Indian Territory (early 1880s)
Major rail stop is Dodge City, KS
Western Trail

9. A cattle rancher could earn $50 to $200 per head when selling the cattle at the rail stations.
Herds along the trails ranged from 2000 to 4000 head.
Profitable

10. Profitable for Indians
Taxes placed on cattle crossing through their reservations
Leasing of land for cattle to graze
Goods and services sold to the cattle drovers (cowboys)—hotels, hot baths, warm meals, items in general stores, saloons, prostitutes
Profitable for Indians

11. End of an Era Railroad construction further west and further south
Dawes Act giving Indians individual plots of land for farming
Use of barbed wire to help protect farmland
End of an Era