Chisholm Trail
Beginning of paper
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 Tex ....
Middle of paper
.... cattle roamed the open range. At this time, people in the north
had money to buy beef and cattle which was in great demand. A cow that cost 4
to5 dollars a head in Texas was going for 40 to 50 dollars a head in the east.
Ranchers hired cowboys for the cattle drives north, realizing the great
opportunity for a large profit if they could reach the railroads in Abilene,
Kansas.
Joseph McCoy, a stock dealer from Springfield, Illinois, decided a new
trail was necessary west of t ....
------------------
Word count: 652
Page count: 3 (approximately 250 words per page)
