The Chisholm Trail: A History of the World's Greatest Cattle Trail

by Sam P. Ridings

The Chisholm Trail is one of the most famous cattle trails of the Old West. It ran for eight hundred miles, from San Antonio, Texas to Abilene, Kansas, and was instrumental in creating the famous image of the cowboy. But how was this trail created? Who devised its route? And why were the cattle drives across states so important for the economy of the southwest? Sam P. Riding’s fascinating book The Chisholm A History of the World's Greatest Cattle Trail gives an in-depth overview of the route was created, who rode along it and how it eventually superseded by the emergence of the railways. Through the course of the book Ridings provides details on many of the famous figures who were associated with the trail including the route’s founder Jesse Chisholm, famous ranchers like Joseph G. McCoy and Charles Goodnight, gunslingers such as Billy the Kid, and of course men who attempted to keep the peace like Charles A. Siringo. Sam P. Ridings rode the trail many times throughout his life during the trail’s golden era and so was able to gather information from the cowboys who knew the route better than anyone else. This work is full of fascinating stories of incidents that occurred along the length of the trail, from gunfights to religious revivals, Native American raids to cattle stampedes, during the short but vibrant years that the trail was in full use. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of the southwest in the aftermath of the Civil War and how the image of the cowboy came into being. Sam P. Ridings was a frequent traveler on the Chisholm Trail and collected many of his stories from the men and women who had lived and worked on the trail during its golden years. His book The Chisholm A History of the World's Greatest Cattle Trail was first published in 1936. Ridings passed away in Kansas in 1942.

Genres: History, American History, Nonfiction, Book Club, Westerns

406 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 3, 2014

Reviews

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming collection of anecdotes that pays homage to the greatest cattle trail, this book really delivers on so many levels. If you have even a passing interest in the history of the American West, you will enjoy this book. I found the author to be very authentic and the narrative flowed well. Each chapter covered a different aspect of ranching and cattle in general. Overall, a very worthy effort and well worth the time spent.

[Jonathan Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hands down this frontier classic is one of the greatest books ever to be written about the world’s greatest cattle trail, the Chisholm Trail. The trail was approximately eight hundred miles long, running from San Antonio, Texas to Abilene, Kansas. It is a very comprehensive book about the cattle drives over the western frontier and the interesting characters associated with them. Such characters being Charles A. Siringo, Joseph G. McCoy, Charles Goodnight, and the various gunslingers and Indian chiefs.

After the end of the Civil War, multiple ranchers with cattle recognized that there was money to be made in moving cattle up north. Joseph G. McCoy had constructed shipping pens in Abilene, which happen to become known as the terminating point of the Chisholm Trail. When the trial was at its most active point, millions of mustang and cattle accompanied by their drivers took upon the two to three month trip across the western frontier. This book is the great story of the cattle and their drivers with them, who went through the struggles of Indian ambushes, stampedes and cattle rustlers.

If ever having the interest of our nation’s cattle history, I would always recommend this book for the tremendous story it has to offer about the Chisholm Trail.

[Richard Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book

This book is filled with so much information that I would read it slowly and look on Google for more information about the person or place. A great book for everyone to read about the Old West.

[Joseph schramm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent history of the Trail

If you are a fan of western history this book is for you. It not only covers the history of the Trail but those who took part.

[Dan Lirot · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best chronicles of the old west

Book was written by a authentic westener. Factual. I could feel like I was on the trail. The incidents...the tragedies were well told. I
learned alot.

[Vince Pillig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great history!

Well if you want to learn about the Chisholm Trail this is the book . Locations people Indians lands and treaties . Seems very accurate and well written . Was so interesting I had to read some chapters twice.

[Julie Richert-Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating little gem!
The author, having been most of his career some sort of attorney, brings a fierce insistence on facts, truth, accuracy and no-nonsense. However, rather than making the history dull, it adds a flair of authority to an otherwise overly romanticized time and place. I found myself quite caught up in his always hyper-precise descriptions and explanations of persons and events.
In addition to the history of the trail itself and the role it played in the genesis of the cattle industry, he includes noteworthy local ranchers, gunslingers, sheriffs, geographies, and the clashes of Indian resettlement. There is fantastic detail of what trail life was like: the habits and equipment of the cowboys, the Mexican herders, the early ranchers, the cattle types, the horses, the gradual reshaping of the plains as cattle replaced bison and as the railroads changed everything.
A profoundly entertaining resource.

[A.S. Ember · Rating 1 out of 5]

At its best, the author plants the reader by the crackling fire of a cowboy camp as the folks around it spin tall tales, humorous and engaging. At its worst, the author needlessly describes a lynching, implying justice done. In between is a lot of casual racism, dry topographical descriptions, and niche material only interesting to himself and his peers. Not poorly written, but certainly too long.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are interested in the real story of cowboys and cattle drives, this is the book. Ridings spent his young adulthood on the Chisholm Trail. He writes from his experiences and from interviews with other people associated with the Trail. It operated only about 30 years, but brought thousands of head of cattle from Texas to railheads in Kansas and Missouri. It crossed Indian lands in Oklahoma, and he has a very sympathetic description of their plight.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally published in 1936, the author writes of the first great cattle trail that stretched from San Antonio, Texas, to Kansas. Most of the work deals with the stretch through present day Oklahoma. Numerous personalities involving with the trail a discussed and there is a detailed journal of the route of the trail in Oklahoma but no map itself.

[JL · Rating 3 out of 5]

Keeping in mind this book was written in 1936 and is essentially a personal history of the author, it is quaint, at times very dull, and at other times quite illuminating of the times (1860s-1880s). However, this paperback edition is riddled with typographical/grammatical/editing errors that make for a challenging read.

[Greg Kalkwarf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very long book. Sometimes hard to follow -I should have had a map of the Trail alongside me so it would have been easier to place the locations (I kept referring to the Maps app on my phone - LOL). Lots of interesting stories - take them in one chapter at a time and allow yourself to travel back in time and relive what life was like on the Trail. Pretty amazing.

[James Mcentire · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great history of the Old West written by a competent author who was a contemporary of many of the events he writes about. Accounts of cowboys, trail drives, Indians, and outlaws. There is a lot of history in Oklahoma and Kansas, as well as some history in Texas. In retrospect, I wish I would have read the book with a map by my side.

[shari lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A complete finding of the facts regarding this storied trail

While a thorough compilation of the many things related to this fabled trail, it is quite tedious and not especially well writen.

[David F. Kerpics · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could almost get the feeling of being sweaty, covered with dust and saddlesore. A GREAT read for anyone with an interest in the history and settlement of the old West coil not put it down!

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

more detail than expected.

[James T. O'Donnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW, among the best books about the old west I have read. I read in the reviews some disparaging remarks, sad. This was written by the man who lived it, how better that can you get.

[Von Meow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read, love history. Boggles the mind a bit to think how rough everything used to be compared to how easy we have it. This book certainly shows that glaring difference.