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May 11, 2023

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T H E

Paper YOUR WEEKLY

NEWS MAGAZINE

May 11, 2023

Volume 53 - No. 19

by lyle e davis Looking back on the history of our nation we find all kinds of little known, fascinating detail. The the Wild, Wild West, for example. We’ve all heard of cowboys, and how they would drive the herds along the more famous trails. And somewhere in that cowboy lore, the term “chuck wagon” came up,. Most of us know little about herd-

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ing cattle and the demands of the job; even more of us know little or nothing about“chuck wagon.” This article aims to rectify both situations. First, some background: At the end of the U.S. civil war in the 1860’s, a massive expansion of settlement moved westward across the North American continent. This expansion created a large market for

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beef. Beef that existed, on the hoof, in the southwest, primarily in Texas. It was lucrative for the ranchers who succeeded in these drives. A free range steer worth $4.00 in Texas would escalate in value to $40.00 dollars at the point of sale in Kansas or Missouri. Many a fortune was made during this period time while the average cowboy worked for around $40 a month. Enterprising cattlemen recognized the need to move herds of cattle to market without railroads. This meant driv-

ing herds overland. The trail drive days were born. The Chisholm Trail, Shawnee Trail, Western Trail and the Goodnight Loving Trail were some of the better known routes. Some cattlemen herded cattle in parts of the country that did not have railroads which would mean they needed to be fed on the road for months at a time. Before the railroad reached Texas, competition was

Chuckwagon See Page 2


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