Trail drives involved herding cattle from a range directly to market; from a range to a railhead for rail transport to market; or from one range to another for better grazing. A drive from Texas to railheads at Abilene or Dodge City, Kansas, took two to three months. A drive of Longhorns from Texas to supply ranches on the northern range took as long as six months. Old cowboys who took part in the great trail drives of the 1860s, '70s, and '80s would talk about the experience for the rest of their lives. Perhaps 12 to 15 hands, including trail boss, horse wrangler, cook, and cowboys as young as teenagers, drove herds of up to 2,000 head. Living in the saddle, they endured bone-weary hardships, dust, and danger.
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