The most famous cattle trail in western history, the Chisholm, was established when an innovative cattle market was created at Abilene in 1867. Abilene was so successful that the stockyards couldn’t handle all the cattle that were daily arriving. Other towns began to open markets for shipping and trading cattle, and new trails developed. The Kansas Pacific Railroad supported the development and built yards at other locations along their route. Cattle were shipped from Junction City, Solomon, Salina, Brookville, Ellsworth, Wilson, Russell and so on down the line.

Ellsworth drew most of the trade, as cattle initially were driven directly west from Abilene on, or at least near the Smoky Hill Trail. Some cattle turned west before they reached Abilene, driving on the open prairies of the Santa Fe Trail. At the Little Arkansas River, south of presentday Windom, they could turn northwest toward Ellsworth or drift in a great arc to the northwest until they reached Ellsworth’s cattle range.

Other herds drove to the Arkansas River from a trading post west of Wichita (today’s Clearwater). The plan was to stay far enough west to miss Wichita. The route over open prairie led to Wichita’s rival, Park City. That route was known as the Park City Cutoff. From Park City, drovers could drive on to Abilene, but the intention was for them to travel west along the Arkansas River to a little place called Queen Valley (also known as Queen City, at the mouth of Cow Creek south of present-day Hutchinson). From there, they could drift in a northwesterly direction toward the various Kansas Pacific loading pens.

There were many options. The trail boss might choose to continue driving west to a popular Arkansas River crossing at Raymond. From there, the herd could “follow the north star” directly to Ellsworth or Brookville. By 1871, the Kansas Pacific designated Ellsworth as the preferred cattle shipping depot, but the Santa Fe Railroad offered competition, building new stockyards directly on the Chisholm Trail at Newton. Many of the herds that followed the Arkansas River route still went to Abilene or were diverted to Newton. By 1872, the Santa Fe reached Wichita, building another new set of stockyards.

To combat the drain on their business, the Kansas Pacific set out to move the trail as far west of the Santa Fe’s Wichita market as they felt would be convenient for the drover coming out of Texas. The new trail, established in 1873, turned away from the Chisholm’s northeasterly course on a track north from Sewell’s Ranch, Pond Creek, Indian Territory (Oklahoma).

The Kansas Pacific published a “Guide Map” and a pocket guide book to help drovers find the route referred to as the Ellsworth Cattle Trail or Cox’s Trail. William M. Cox was the general livestock agent for the K. P., and personally guided the survey of the trail. The guide book advised drovers that Cox’s Trail was the only route to be taken if they wanted to avoid trouble with settlers near Wichita. It was a notso- subtle way of keeping the herds away from the Wichita market.

Knowing cattle owners often arrived ahead of their herds, the Ellsworth Reporter featured the Kansas Pacific Railway’s table of distances from the pocket guide book in an early edition of the paper. The table listed campsites along “The Great Texas Cattle Trail” from the Red River on the north Texas border to Ellsworth.

The guide book advised drovers to drive northwest to Raymond. Experienced guides were posted on the trail to keep drovers moving toward Ellsworth.

By the first of May, 28 herds of cattle, ranging from two to 10,000 head per herd, were reported on the way north. The Cox Trail could be described as one long herd of cattle stretching from Indian Territory to Ellsworth. The largest single herd numbered 10,000 head and another outfit held 8,000. Several drovers brought herds of 6,000 head up the trail.

Ellsworth became known widely as “The Longhorn Metropolis.” The May 29, 1873, edition of the Ellsworth Reporter reported that 100,000 longhorns had arrived on the Ellsworth range. On June 5, the number was placed at 125,000 thousand, and a week later, it was increased to 143,500. By July 10, the Reporter documented over 170,000 head grazing the surrounding prairie.

The great influx of cattle also brought a considerable gain in the transient population of the new cattle town. Cowboys filled the barrooms, gambling halls and dance pavilions to the brim. Gamblers, soiled doves, adventurers and just plain tourists flocked to Ellsworth to contribute to the excitement. Not only sporting resorts, but hardware, clothing and grocery stores experienced enormous patronage as the celebration continued around the clock. Most businesses “threw away the key” because they never closed.

When the streets weren’t filled with cattle on their way to the Kansas Pacific stockyards, they were witness to the wild carnival that played out on the streets. Excepting the usual winter slump, cattlemen made Ellsworth their headquarters until 1875, when homestead settlement finally forced drovers to shift their “Longhorn Parade” to new trails and new cattle towns yet to be discovered, on The Way West.

“The Cowboy” Jim Gray can be reached at 220 21st Rd., Geneseo, KS 67444, (785) 531-2058 or kansascowboy@kans.com.