life on the long drive

• trail boss


  has sole responsibility for the herd, camps and speed with which the herd moves

  cowboys were managed by the trail boss

  paid $100 a month for the Chisolm Trail
• cowboys


  paid $25-30 on the Chisolm Trail

  the cowboys put the herd in a long line

  cowboys were at the front, sides and rear

  they travelled about 25-30 miles a day
• wrangler


  cared for the horses

  each cowboy changed horses a few times a day so that the horses were not worn out
• long drive = Texas to Abilene
• driving a herd of cows from Texas to Chisolm to 2-3 months
• herding on the Goodnight trail took around 6 months
• long drives involved 3000 cattle which needed 132 cowboys
• Half-wild Longhorn were easily spooked and could then stampede - the cowboys would then have to round up the cattle
• stampeding cattle could get lost, injured or killed
• the worst stampede's happened at night
• the cowboys would have to get the cattle to swim across rivers
• the cowboys would have to deal with wildlife like snakes and wild animals
• the cowboys would have to negotiate permissions to cross Indigenous peoples territory
• the cowboys would herd the cattle together at the end of each day and then sleep in the open, taking turns to guard the herd
• they had a chuck wagon, which transported food, water, equipment and a cook
• the grazed for a short while in the morning in preparation for the day ahead - then cowboys put the herds in a long line, cowboys at the front, side and rear - they travelled 15-20 miles per day
• it was a tough job
• at the end - the herd will be taken to a stockyard for buyers to inspect - once sold they would be moved into the railroad boxcars and they would get paid - their wages pay for new clothes, alcohol, women and they used the rest of the money to get back to Texas
• cowboys = crazy, dirty
• Abilene = 'Hell on wheels' - hell = cowboys, wheels = railroad