The Lesson of the Chisholm Trail

The other day I was thinking about the famous Chisholm Trail and what it meant to Texas. Most folks heard of it and know that it was used to drive cattle, but not much else. The cattle industry in Texas probably wasn't worth talking about until the Bison started to become extinct (an outrage for another discussion) and ranchers began to seriously cultivate cattle. An ex-river pilot named Richard King and his companion, Mifflin Kenedy went into the cattle business in Texas in1853 and in 1868, the pair slit up. King, of course, went on to found what was to become the largest cattle business in the world and for several years, business was good for the cattlemen who drove many herds up the Shawnee trail into Missouri for slaughter. Unfortunately, some Missourians found their herds were becoming infected with disease ("Texas Fever") from the Texas longhorns that seemed to carry the disease, but not be affected by it. Needless to say, battles raged to keep the Texas cattle out, so the cattle entrepreneurs began selling cattle in the New Orleans market for the new Confederacy. The next setback came with the fall of Vicksburg and once again, the Texas cattlemen saw their business halted.

Unable to sell to the Confederacy, the cattlemen saw their stocks expanding with no place to turn, until fate once again intervened in the form of Jesse Chisholm, who was the nephew of Sam Houston's Cherokee wife. An enterprising man, he set up a trot line of feed lots beginning at the Canada River (in Indian Territory) and ending at the railhead in Kansas. The newest customers became the fortune seekers of the California Gold Rush, who needed food for their journey. All in all, more than 1.5 million head were driven on the Chisholm Trail between 1867 and 1873.

I think this is an interesting story and reading about it gives one a feel for the life and times of Texans in those days. The lesson of the Chisholm Trail is one that I hope all Texans take the time to learn which shows just how courageous and resourceful Texans truly are. They didn't give up when they were shut down by the Missourians nor did they allow the union troops to stop their trade; they actually did make lemons from lemonade. From the first Texas colonists to the members of the Texas Nationalist Movement, Texans have proven their ability to stand tall on any field of battle and today more than ever, we must continue to be strong, courageous and vigilant.