The Long Drive

Between the millions of cattle in Texas and the railroads of the north, lay hundreds of miles of rough terrain.  It spanned Texas, Arkansas, Indian Country, Missouri and beyond.  In the winter of 1865-66,
cattle were rounded up, branded and readied for the long trip north.  Cowboy were hired, six men for every 1,000 head of cattle at $25-$40 a month.  Trail bosses were tough, expert horsemen with hair-trigger reflexes who could detect danger, administer discipline and still command respect from the men.  Trail bosses were paid $125 a month.

Beginning in March of 1866, ranchers, trail bosses, horse wranglers, cooks and cowhands began moving 200,000 head of cattle on the Long Drive.  To make a maximum price of $100,000 per 3,000 head, they had to get to the railroads.  That wasn't an easy task.

Stampedes were constant and cowboys sang lullabies to calm the herd, and themselves as well.  Heavy rains turned the prairies into deep mud.  River crossings could be raging death traps.  Dense woods made cattle unmanageable, bolting at the unknown terrain.

Indian tribes caused trouble too, as their lands were trampled, their grasslands devoured.  They raided supply wagons, stampeded cattle and captured head of cattle who scattered.  Some tribes charged per head for passage through their lands, either in money or in cattle.

James Cook, author of Fifty Years on the Old Frontier, tells of being a cowhand on the Long Drive:
"Each of us were allowed to take a pair of blankets and a sack containing a little extra clothing.  No more load than was considered necessary was allowed.  No tents or shelter of any sort...no provision was made for the care of men in case of accident...injured, wounded or sick, he was just 'out of luck'.  A quick recovery or death were the only alternatives."

Next time...The Long Drive continues
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Today in Pioneer History:  "On June 28, 1857,  Emerson Hough, one of the most successful writers of adventure novels of the romantic western genre, is born in Newton, Iowa.