We’d counted heads and come up two steers short. The more experienced riders rounded up the strays and quickly had the livestock huddled together. We burned daylight and then some. As second in command, Cookie decided to turn the chuck wagon around and set up camp. The Cattle Drive Committee: Trail Boss: Howard Weiss You notice right off that this entire organization is run with military efficiency and effectiveness. With one cook, a trail boss, a wrangler, two points, swings and flanks each, and three drags; at least a dozen personnel were required to drive a herd of 3,000 to 3,500 cattle from Texas. We waited impatiently for the rugged Marlboro Man cigarette commercial to end and our shows to begin. There, a hearty cowboy repast would be prepared and served at the Chuck Wagon. Extra horses were always brought on a cattle drive and each man switched horses at least twice a day. When time came to hit the trail, the ratio of horses and riders to the cattle was two to one. Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. © Gannett Co., Inc. 2021. With six states enacting laws in the first half of 1867 against trailing cattle north, Texas cattlemen realized the need for a new trail that would skirt the farm settleme… YES, that means two movies with just one ticket. My husband, Harvin was the trail boss and I was “Cookie”. The young cowboy was charged with containing all the horses safely in the remuda (especially at night) and keeping track of which horses belonged to each cowboy. USA January 28, 2015: Pioneer Plaza:: trail boss on his horse; open and free to the public landmark 73 piece cattle drive sculpture gifted by Trammel Crow to the city of Dallas The "cook" went ahead with the chuck wagon so he could set up and have a meal cooked for the cowboys, who were led by the "trail boss." A few turned around and went back through the front gate. The point man, also called the point rider or lead rider, is the cowboy who rides near the front of the herd—determining the direction, controlling the speed, and giving the cattle something to follow. What comes next now, in retrospect, seems inevitable. After hearing distressed bellows in a thicket, we parked and trekked into the woods. All these cowboys rode as many as three horses a day. My sisters and I would sit on the floor in front the black and white TV with bowls of cereal filled to overflowing. In the Old West, good triumphed over bad. Trail bosses choose the route and keep track of the cattle … Full on darkness approached and several of the livestock were still missing in action. The drive left Fort Worth March 5th and arrived in Miles City September 1. the cattle's on edge far off lightning flashes the trail boss won't hedge he barks out his orders, the cowboys take heed. Dodge City Daily Globe - Dodge City, KS ~ 705 Second Avenue, Dodge City, KS 67801 ~ Do Not Sell My Personal Information ~ Cookie Policy ~ Do Not Sell My Personal Information ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service ~ Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. In 1866 Cuero businessman Crocket Cardwell hired trail boss Thornton Chisholm, unknown relation to Jesse, and 30 cowboys to drive 1800 head of cattle from Dewitt County to St Joseph Missouri. That means one thing: where there are cattle ranches, there are cattle drives! Nigh onto midnight, the gates were finally closed for the day. Rawhide told the story of a group of trail drivers, endlessly driving a herd of cattle north from San Antonio, Texas to Sedalia, Missouri. The Chisholm Trail was the most important route for cattle drives leading north from the vicinity of Ft. Worth, Texas, across Indian Territory (Oklahoma) to the railhead at Abilene. Cowboys will serve a variety of functions mostly to help keep the herd together and heading in the right direction. Word of the cattle drive spread quickly in our community. The trip took seven months and during that time the men endured harsh weather conditions, Indian attacks and were generally unwanted guests by the people and townsfolk that lived near the trails. On a cattle drive, the herding positions were: The Trail Bosswho was in charge of the entire operation -- a large part of which involved keeping track of the brands of the cattle involved in the drive. The show starred Eric Fleming as the good shepherd, the wise and just Trail Boss Gil Favor. But his tyrannical behavior along the way causes a mutiny, led by his adopted son. The principal organizer of the drive was Walter Secrest, a Montana rancher. Several ran straight ahead. The herd was only sixty miles east of Austin where they had moved out of four days earlier. My husband, the Trail Boss and eternal optimist. 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