Description
The Predecessor of the Chisholm Trail to Abilene, Kansas
Contemporary cattle-trail maps show the route to Abilene coming out of South Texas, crossing the Red River at Red River Station between Texas and Indian Territory and continuing northward from there to that famous cattle town. “Not entirely true”, write Gary and Margaret Kraisinger. In this book they show that another, more easterly route was used to trail Texas herds to Abilene, a pathway that does not appear on today’s Chisholm Trail maps. With the aid of archival maps and early cowboys’ recollections, the Kraisinger prove that the way to Abilene from 1867 through 1870 went by way of Fort Arbuckle in Indian Territory. The route seen on present-day cattle-trail maps via Red River Station did no materialize until later.
