The 1870 - 1880 cattle drives on the Western and Texas Trails were full of gunfighters and lawlessness was common. The earlier cattle drives to the east were before the Civil War and did not have the gunfighters that came from the from the aftermath of the Civil War. According to his biography, the notorious gunfighter John Wesley Hardin joined a cattle drive in Gonzales, Texas and went to Dodge City Kansas along the Western Trail. The Indians in Oklahoma would charge a "cattle-toll" to the cattlemen in order to let them cross their lands. John Wesley Hardin killed his share of "Injuns" that were trying to charge a "unauthorized" cattle toll. He later backed down Wild Bill Hickok in Dodge City when Wild Bill told him to turn in his guns. I do not agree with some historians that called Hardin a pathological killer. John Wesley Hardin was a merely product of the times after the Civil War. Lawlessness and feuds were rampant in Texas after the conflict. Amazingly, I can still detect some animosity to this day when I talk to people in the areas involved in the feuds. Hardin and his brother were involved in illegal cattle operations in Brown and Comanche Counties after John Wesley's trip to Kansas. Hardin's family and some of his cousins moved to Comanche, Texas in 1873. His brother and his cousins are buried there. Deputy Sheriff Charley Webb was killed by J.W. Hardin in a gunbattle in Comanche in 1874 and is buried in Green Leaf Cemetery in Brownwood Texas. Hardin eventually served 15 years of a 25 year sentence in the Texas State Prison in Huntsville for the killing of Webb. The gunfight between Webb and Hardin was to really to settle a old score arising from the Sutton-Taylor Feud in Gonzales, Texas. Deputy Sheriff Webb was from Brown County and had no authority in Comanche County. Jerry Coffee -----Original Message----- From: Barbara Vaillancourt <Valcourt@dfn.com> To: Southern-Trails-L@rootsweb.com <Southern-Trails-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Sunday, May 20, 2001 10:52 PM Subject: Re: [SouthernTrails] Chisum Trail >Charles, There is a Chisum trail that run or ran through Roswell, New >Mexico. The City just put up a big statue of John Chisum. Barbara >----- Original Message ----- >From: Charles A. Wyly <wyly1@juno.com> >To: <Southern-Trails-L@rootsweb.com> >Sent: Sunday, May 20, 2001 10:21 PM >Subject: Re: [SouthernTrails] Chisum Trail > > >> Hi, Jim >> >> I think the info below is in Southern Trails or Txerath-L archives. >> >> I have found 4 jesse- John Chisolms- chisums. . One in an older >> generation was a John Chisolm, an U.S. Army officer from Tennessee.I want >> to find more on him, but he had a distinguished record. i do not know the >> connections- if any in Anglo or Indian ancestors. >> >> 1. Jesse or John Chisum of Broken bow, Oklahoma and there is a historic >> marker for him near Broken Bow saying he was a farmer- rancher who drove >> his and some neighbors cattle across Missouri to Illinois- the Chicago >> market and an early railhead- before Refrigeration but not much. This >> one is buried in Oklahoma. His mother was Cherokee. >> >> 2. Jesse Chisolm-- half Choctaw laid out the Chisolm Trail- one source >> said from Red River north. Another said from Yukon, Okla. to his Kansas >> store. He ox carted freight from Oklahoma City area to his store south of >> Abilene, kansas, centrally located as each new rail head opened. He also >> ox carted food and supplies to Indian Reservations to the north and West. >> There is no record of him driving any cows but his milk cow at his Store. >> >> >> The Texas Trail, sometimes called the Chisolm Trail through Waco was >> planned by an enterprising man who was planning the trail at one end and >> working with the Railroads to have a certain number of Catle to Abilene, >> Kansas by a given date. It should be the McCoy or Texas Trail. Texas >> Trail was on older maps- but I think evidence points to two trails >> through Waco- one from South Texas to the Oklahoma Chisolm Freight trail >> and one from East Texas across the low water crossing at Rock Creek near >> Gholson, then west to the Concho Valleythrough Bosque or Erath County >> with stocker cattle driven by #3 to dip and fatten before hitting the >> Goodnight - Loving Trail to Colorado and Wyoming pastures, Indians and >> Army posts. >> >> #3- John Chisum half Indian of Denton County and later the Concho >> Valleypast San Angelo. Now, this man is NOT the same man as the John or >> jesse Chisum of Broken Bow, Oklahoma, >> This man drove cattle from Denton County up the Oklahoma Chisolm Trail, >> confusing a lot of cowboys and secondary source writers . He also drove >> them across the High Plains to the Rio Grande then north during a wet >> spring or down the Goodnight- Loving Trail to Pecos then across to the >> Rio Grand and up to Colorado. These routes would allow cattle to fatten >> on the way, compared to East Texas piney woods. >> >> Some in Keller- Southlake- Saginaw area say an Indian or mixed woman >> cooked for this Chisum's chuck wagon and he left her and 2 sons Denton- >> Tarrant county acerage. They ran stores there until they died. Other >> reports say one branch of Goodnight- Loving Trail from Parker- Tarrant >> County down the Goodnight- Loving Trail. When the train came to Colorado >> City, trail drives ended there- Upper end of the Concho valley. .I talked >> to an 80 year old man in Meridian, Texas about 20 years ago who said he >> drove cattle with John Chisum of San Angel as a teenager. Does that >> time fit? Some of this trail crossed Erath County at one timefrom >> Weatherford,,Texas. and it makes sense they would have driven East Texas >> cattle from Waco across Bosque County through Cranfils Gap to Lampassas. >> then Concho pastures, depending on rain and new fences. >> >> Would have driven cattle from Waco up the rough country to Ranger- Strawn >> area, or would have driven them on thw west side of the Brazos and cut >> across Erath County up to the Brazos via the Bosque River- the latter is >> several miles shorter and easier travelling. Kuykendall land and Cattle >> of Clifton drove cattle on these trails and later used Diesels to carry >> East Texas cattle to Wyoming summer pastures , especially during a dry >> year in Central Texas. >> >> #3 was the one that Lonesome Dove Movie was copied after, not the Jesse >> Chisolm or the one from Broken Bow. Both #1 and #3 did work the Red River >> Valley drives at about the same time. Try telling all this to a Waco >> Chamber of Commerce worker- I did and don't confuse them with truth. >> >> Take care, Charles A. Wyly >> >> J. Frank Dobie and Walter Prescott Webb list all the above Chisums- >> Chisolms. Some books in Waco school libraries combine legends from >> secondary sources into 2- sometimes 1 man. >> >> >> >> >> On Sat, 19 May 2001 11:41:21 -0500 Jim <coach@Hillsboro.net> writes: >> > My Great Grandfather, Andrew Jackson Davis, passed along many tales >> > of >> > his days herding cattle north out of Texas on the old Chisum Trail. >> > "Jack" and his brother, George Washington Davis, were first rate >> > working >> > cowboys who made many trips driving cows up the Chisum to markets >> > further north. They lived in Navarro Co, Texas and later George >> > moved >> > with his family to the area around Tolar, Texas. There were many >> > obstacles to face along the trail in those days, including Indians. >> > Jack >> > Davis said that one night, while camped out in Indian territory, he >> > "rubbed chewing tobacco in his eyes" so he would not fall asleep >> > while >> > guarding the cattle. Another time he found a man hanging from a >> > tree. He >> > rode into the nearest town and went into the saloon to ask for the >> > sheriff, to report that "there is a man hanging outside town". Three >> > men >> > inside slowly turned and stared at him but said nothing. Jack >> > immediately figured that the hanging was none of his business and >> > slowly >> > backed out the door, got on his horse, and rode back to the safety >> > of >> > his friends at their camp. >> > He was also the "veterinarian" who was called on by any neighbors >> > who >> > had animals in need of medical attention. If a cow was "bloated" >> > from >> > eating too much clover, Jack knew just where to insert the knife to >> > "let >> > the air out". >> > When he got old he continued to wear his white hat and white >> > handlebar mustache. >> > Jim >> > >> > >> > ============================== >> > Visit Ancestry.com for a FREE 14-Day Trial and enjoy access to the >> > #1 >> > Source for Family History Online. Go to: >> > http://www.ancestry.com/subscribe/subscribetrial1y.asp?sourcecode=F11HB >> > >> >> >> ============================== >> Visit Ancestry.com for a FREE 14-Day Trial and enjoy access to the #1 >> Source for Family History Online. Go to: >> http://www.ancestry.com/subscribe/subscribetrial1y.asp?sourcecode=F11HB >> >> > > >============================== >Shop Ancestry - Everything you need to Discover, Preserve & Celebrate >your heritage! >http://shop.myfamily.com/ancestrycatalog >