Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-24

peded. Some were tied to trees and whipped.
Others were killed.
There is no doubt that the Kansas Changers,
both now and later, were really afraid of the
Spanish fever imported by Texas cattle, but
the men who used this fear as q pretext to
rob the drivers were generally ruff1ans who
owned no cattle themselves
J. NJ. Daugherty was one of the drivers who
In 66 took herd from Denton County crossed
the Red and headed for Sedalia, Mo- He was
then lad of about 20, fearless and resourceful
in emergency. Daugherty rode up the trail to.
spy out the land. At Fort Scott he met buyer
and made a bargain to deliver the herd there.
He returned to his outfit and moved north.
1t was short drive Of about week, but be-
fore he reached his journeys end bunch Of
Is or 20 outlaws jumped him.
nAUGHERTY was captured and tried by the
raiders for driving cattle into the country.
The excuse, usual, was that the ticks. would
infect the local cattle with Spanish fever. The
lad was found guilty. An argument was started
to whether he should be hanged. One of
the big Kansans said fatty that there would
be no hanging. He was a man dangerous with
a gun and he had his way.
Daugherty was freed and rejoined his outfit.
Such part of the herd as had been retrieved
was taken back to the line. But Daugherty was
too game to quit. He got guide and managed
to slip the herd through to Fort Scott, driving
py nlBAC ana nOilIlg up Dy Gay.
The Winter of 66-'67 was not cheerful one
for the Lone Star State stockmen. The North
had not welcomed the tnroad of Southern cat
tie
What was needed to facilitate the trade was
a point where buyer and seller could get to-
gether, one that could be reached by the drover
without the harasSing attentions Of disturbed
Indians and greedy outlaws, and one from
which the purchaser could ship to the market
where he expected to dispose of the longhorns.
Joseph c. Mccoy, an Illinois stock dealer,
. saw the need and took action to meet it. He
secuted over the ground and selected Abilene,
Kans, q desolate village on the Kansas Pacific,
$50 miles west of Kansas City, as the best site
available. Abilene was then only "a wide place
in the road"
Mccoy made arrangements with the railroad
for shipping any cattle that might reach abb
lene though the officials of the Kansas Pacific
showed considerable incredulity. They had no
vision of the tremendous volume Of trade that
would come to the tranScontinental railroads
from the drives of Texas cattle.
In the Spring q reliable man was sent out
to meet the herds and let the trail bosses
know that Abilene was on the map and that
buyers would be waiting there. They listened,
consulted together and DETECTED the point to-
ward Abilene
The year 1867 was one of great hardship
for those who went up the trail. Cholera was
sweeping the West. good many of the cow
boys on the drives caught it and some died.
The Usage tribe was unruly and ran on great
many cattle. There were heavy rains, accom-
panied by electric storms a condition which
always induced stampedes The cattle reached
the trails end in bad condition.
However, on September S, 1867, the first
shipment of 20 cars of cattle rolled out Of
Abilene the Kansas Pacific for Chicago.
The wheels of almost /, 900 cars loaded with
longhornS clicked out of the little trail town
that year. The Texas dogie was beginning to
come into its own.
The lessons of the past two years. however,
had been severe. Only $4,000 cattle went up
the trail Ia 1868. and most of these appeared