Between the end of the Civil War in 1865 and the first Land Run in 1889, Indian Territory saw thousands of head of cattle cross its prairies and hills. The cattle industry flourished with a demand for beef following the war. To move the cattle to market meant getting Texas longhorns to the railheads in Kansas. Driving those cattle northward were young men still in their teens who were called “cow-boys.”

The first trail to develop followed the major road through Indian Territory. Known for years as the Texas Road, it became the Shawnee Cattle Trail during the decade of the 1870s. Starting as far south as San Antonio, cowboys drove the longhorns northward to the Three Forks area. Here the trail forked – one branch followed the Grand River toward Baxter Springs, Kan. The other followed the Arkansas River to Wichita.

Muskogee was a sight to be seen when the herds would blow into town after weeks on the long, dusty trail. Often these cattle were fattened here all during the summer, and then shipped to northern markets in the fall. The prairie grasslands of the Three Rivers area were well suited to fattening cattle headed for Kansas.

However, eastern Kansas was well settled with farmers who were alarmed when these Texas cattle brought a disease know as “Texas fever.” The cowboys were often met with armed resistance as they tried to enter Kansas farm country. The cattle trail was forced to move further west.

This brought about the development of the Chisholm Trail, which ran from central Texas to Abilene, Kan. Jesse Chisholm, a Cherokee trader and scout, had forged the trail for his supply wagons. Upwards of 200,000 cattle each year passed over this trail along a route taken by Oklahoma 81 today.

A third trail was called the Great Western Trail. It ran through the reservations of the Plains Indians in western Indian Territory toward Dodge City, Kan. So many cattle were driven along this trail that Dodge City earned the nickname “cow capital of the world.” The town was a wild place when the drovers arrived with a herd. Lawmen such as Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp earned their reputations for a quick draw of the gun in Dodge City.

By the mid 1880s, the cattle drives were dwindling for many reasons. More land was being fenced, herds were being developed in Indian Territory and further north, Kansas enacted quarantine laws that restricted access and finally the railheads moved south as rail lines were built into Texas.

The Cattle Trail Era lasted only about two decades, but it holds a strong place in American folklore. The cowboy became the symbol of the West and was romanticized by the media of the day. The fascination with the cowboy and the cattle drive continued for many years even after the last cattle drive had taken place.

Reach Jonita Mullins at jonita@netscape.com