March 4 - 1868 : Founder of Chisholm Trail dies

My name is Hank and I am 14 years old. I just heard that Mr. Chisholm died, and that took me by surprise. Seems he died all of a sudden, from food poisoning. Just last year I helped take one of the first cattle drives from Texas to Kansas along the trail he set up, what became known as the Chisholm Trail.

Mr. Chisholm, he lived a very interesting life. From what I heard, he had a pa from Scotland and a Cherokee ma. He grew up in Arkansas, but in his 20s he moved farther west and started livin’ with his ma’s people. He started trading with all the different tribes in the area and the people who started movin’ in. Because he learned the different languages and was a fair trader, everyone trusted him. Even the US government started using him to work with all the different tribes.

His trading routes went farther and farther, until he started working out of Kansas. He set up a trading route from there to Texas that even the beginningest wagonner could drive – flat and wide, not too many hills and lots of waterholes. It was a great little trading route, but no one knew how good.

Turns out, after the Civil War ended in ’65 people on the East Coast were ready to stop living like they were at war and start living a more regular life – especially eating nicer food! And comin’ from Texas, I can tell you that nothing tastes better than beef! Texas didn’t have lots of veggies, but it had weeds and lots of critters that ate ‘em. But it had no railroads to take the cattle from where they were to where they were valuable.

There were railroads in Kansas, though, and that’s where Mr. Chisholm’s trading route came in real handy. It was hard enough to take that first herd – two thousand of the orneriest, wildest four legged critters God made. It took us most of three months to get Mr. Wheeler’s herd up there. Pa worked the chuck wagon and his coffee and biscuits got us through lots of dark mornings and late nights. I heard that after all was said and done, ‘bout 5,000,000 cattle took that trip to the railroad before they figured out how to get railroads in Texas!

Strange how something can start out one thing and end up another. They tell me that parts of the Chisholm Trail can still be seen 140 year later – seems like a person’s life can make quite a mark – like the dent 5 million head of cattle can put on the ground!

March 4 - 1868 : Founder of Chisholm Trail dies

Before Reading: How does food get to grocery stores today? How did it get to cities 100 years ago?

Check Comprehension: What was the Chisholm Trail used for? (It was a trail for cattle to go from Texas to Kansas and then by train to the East.) What was Chisholm’s main job? (He was a trader who worked with Native Americans and the US government.) How many cattle traveled the Chisholm Trail before trains were brought to Texas? (About 5 million head of cattle.)

Discussion Questions: How do you think life would have changed for people after the Civil War? (Answers will range from no more slaves to soldiers coming back from war – but this story will lead to economic change from war time rationing to peace time living.)