Legacy
game and were hunted for their meat and hides — much like deer and buffalo — but were regarded as very wild. Initially referred to as “Texas cattle” and later Texas Longhorns, the animals reportedly populated a widespread area in 1836 when Texas won its independence from Mexico. These early Texas Longhorns
Income from Texas Longhorn meat and hides helped Texas recover from the Civil War.
continued to roam the state, almost completely without interference from humans, until the end of the Civil War. This likely strengthened their wild habits and instincts. Af- ter the war, many were rounded up and driven along various trails to Kansas City to be placed on rail cars and shipped east to slaughter. Skilled individuals were needed
to gather and move herds of Texas Longhorns to the shipping pens. Cowboys became prevalent in Tex- as culture as they corralled and drove cattle across the state, forg- ing famous cattle trails such as the Western, Chisholm, and Goodnight- Loving. A large cattle drive, con- taining several herds, could include as many as 15,000 animals and 200 cowboys. It is estimated that between 1867
and 1880, nearly 10 million cattle were driven north along the trails to market. This provided Texas with a large source of income in an oth- erwise poor post-war economy. It also supplied large parts of the U.S. and Europe with beef and hides and helped Texas recover from the Civil War. Texas Longhorn cattle were known to endure the drives well and even gain weight on the long trip north if the grass was plentiful. By 1895, the great northern trails
began closing, effectively ending the era of long cattle drives. Ranchers began using other types of cattle, particularly Herefords — a more popular beef cattle. The result was
70 The Cattleman December 2013
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