“Dodge City is bracing herself up for the cattle trade. Places of refreshment are being gorgeously arrayed in new coats of paint and other ornaments to beguile the festive cowboy.” So boasted the editor in the April 28, 1877, Dodge City Times, hoping to showcase his town as the newest market for Texas cattle.

Preparations were none too soon, as the first herd of 1,200 head of cattle owned by Powers, Buckley & Company arrived early in May. Mike Dalton was trail boss. Unfortunately for Dodge, the trail herd only stopped long enough to rest and resupply as Dalton was driving to Ellis, Kan., under orders from the owners.

D. W. Powers built his reputation freighting ox teams through to Colorado and the southwest in the late 1860s. He opened a bank at Ellsworth, Kan., in 1873, specifically to finance the cattle trade. Powers was a great supporter of the Kansas Pacific Railway, and was offering drovers secured financial backing on the reputation of the Powers name.

The editor of the Times continued his effort to sabotage the Ellis cattle trade by exaggerating the impact of the ill feelings of farmers toward cattlemen and the state quarantine law put into place in late 1876. Ellis was curiously placed five miles inside the quarantine boundary against the “through” cattle from Texas. The Times editor added that he “seriously doubted” Dalton’s ability to get the herd through to Ellis. Even if his statements were false, the Times was being circulated down the cattle trail to drovers on their way north, and every effort was made to sway cattlemen to do business in Dodge City.

In spite of the bad publicity, drovers continued to arrive on the range southwest of Ellis. Undeterred, Dodge City continued to send representatives down the trail in an effort to entice Texas herds to market their cattle before reaching far northern destinations. Although bound for Ogallala, Neb., “Big Jim” Ellison did check on his herds at Dodge City, giving the Times the opportunity to report his appearance in their June 9, 1877, issue. “Mr. James F. Ellison, the King among Texas cattlemen, arrived in the city this week.” Bill Butler and Dillard Fant, who were mentioned as having herds on the trail to Dodge, also favored Ogallala and were heavy traders of cattle in that town.

The editor of the Times continued his assault on Ellis in the June 2, 1877, edition, saying that the Powers, Buckley & Company trail herd piloted by Mike Dalton was able to reach Ellis after a drive hampered by severe conditions and that upon arrival, Dalton was captured by “Ellis County grangers.” The editor continued to say that the herd had ended up on “poor range and thirsty while on their way from Dodge.” A stampede had scattered the cattle, allowing local Russian immigrants to corral them and hold them for ransom.

When Dalton reached the Ellis area, he was shown a copy of the Times article, which prompted him to write a letter to the Hays City Sentinel in which he stated “(I) have seen a piece in the Dodge City Times headed ‘Come to Grief,’ etc. There is not one word of truth in the whole article.”

He had hoped to keep his name out of the papers, but couldn’t stomach the lies published by the Times. He also told of the trouble he had near Dodge City. “A man living near Dodge City entered a complaint against me and had me arrested for driving on to his farm. I paid a small fine and costs and drove on my way, rejoicing.”

Dalton went on to assure others that there was “plenty of water and feed west of Ness County,” and “if anyone wants to find a newspaper that can tell a column and one half of falsehoods and not one word of truth, send them to me and I will send them a copy of the Dodge City Times and refer them to that article in which my name appears.”

The June 29 Hays City Sentinel reinforced the idea that cattlemen preferred Ellis, writing, “Cattle on a thousand hills there are not, but if you wish to see thousands of cattle on a hill, go to Ellis.”

Three weeks later the Sentinel reported that the cattle herds filled the entire Smoky Hill River Valley west of the northbound cattle trail. Even so, Dodge City’s efforts were rewarded in forging a new cattle destination with nearly 23,000 head shipped by rail in 1877.

Over a quarter of the cattle shipped on Santa Fe Rail cars would not guarantee a cattle industry, but a little politicking certainly didn’t spoil the effort, even if the truth was sometimes lost in the rhetoric.

Dodge City was well on its way to becoming the great longhorn cattle center that it had set out to become as Texas cattlemen continued trailing to new markets 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.