The Western: The Greatest Texas Cattle Trail, 1874 - 1886

The Western: The Greatest Texas Cattle Trail, 1874 - 1886 by Gary Kraisinger. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780975482803.

Right after the Civil War, Texas cattlemen drove cattle north to feed the developing north and to stock the vast new ranches. The greatest of these cattle trails was a trail that came out of south Texas toward Dodge City, Kansas, on to Ogallala, Nebraska, and as far north as Canada. In twelve seasons it carried over six million longhorns. It became known, for the most part, as the Western. Now for the first time, based on stories and memories of homesteaders and cowboys and other documentation, the authors tell the history of the Trail and show through detailed maps the exact cattle routes of the Western Trail. The coffee-table size book is heavily footnoted, packed with delightful accounts from people who were there, and has some forty vintage photos. For those who enjoy reading about the true Old West and the industry that introduced an American icon, the cowboy, this is a must book to own.