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Europe had few cattle drives but the Swiss in the 16th century operated one over the St. Gotthard pass to the markets in Bellinzona and Lugano and into Lombardy in northern Italy.  The drives ended by 1700 when sedentary dairy farming proved more profitable.

Europe had few cattle drives but the Swiss in the 16th century operated one over the St. Gotthard pass to the markets in Bellinzona and Lugano and into Lombardy in northern Italy.  The drives ended by 1700 when sedentary dairy farming proved more profitable.

   

   

Long-distance cattle driving was traditional in Mexico, California and Texas. The Spaniards had established the ranching industry in the New World, drove herds northward from Mexico beginning in the 1540s. In the 18th century and on into the 19th the small Spanish settlements in Texas derived most of their meager revenue from horses and cattle driven into Louisiana, though such trade was usually illegal. Meantime in the United States, herds were sometimes driven long distances. In 1790 the boy Davy Crockett helped drive "a large stock of cattle" 400 miles from Tennessee into Virginia; twenty years later he took a drove of horses from the Tennessee River into southern North Carolina.  Long-distance herding of hogs was also common. In 1815 Timothy Flint "encountered a drove of more than 1,000 cattle and swine" being driven from the interior of Ohio to Philadelphia. The stock in the states was gentle, often managed on foot. The history of trail driving involves horses as well as cattle.   

Long-distance cattle driving was traditional in Mexico, California and Texas. The Spaniards had established the ranching industry in the New World, drove herds northward from Mexico beginning in the 1540s. In the 18th century and on into the 19th the small Spanish settlements in Texas derived most of their meager revenue from horses and cattle driven into Louisiana, though such trade was usually illegal. Meantime in the United States, herds were sometimes driven long distances. In 1790 the boy Davy Crockett helped drive "a large stock of cattle" 400 miles from Tennessee into Virginia; twenty years later he took a drove of horses from the Tennessee River into southern North Carolina.  Long-distance herding of hogs was also common. In 1815 Timothy Flint "encountered a drove of more than 1,000 cattle and swine" being driven from the interior of Ohio to Philadelphia. The stock in the states was gentle, often managed on foot. The history of trail driving involves horses as well as cattle.  

   

==Texas==

==Texas==

Texans established trail driving as a regular occupation. Before they broke away from Mexico in 1836, they had a "Beef Trail" to New Orleans. In the 1840s they extended their markets northward into Missouri--Sedalia, Baxter Springs, Springfield, and Saint Louis becoming the principal markets. During the 1850s emigration and freighting from the Missouri River westward demanded great numbers of oxen, the firm of Russell, Majors and Waddell in 1858 utilizing 40,000 oxen. Texas longhorn steers by the thousands were broken for work oxen. Herds of longhorns were driven to Chicago, and one herd at least to New York.   

Texans established trail driving as a regular occupation. Before they broke away from Mexico in 1836, they had a "Beef Trail" to New Orleans. In the 1840s they extended their markets northward into Missouri--Sedalia, Baxter Springs, Springfield, and Saint Louis becoming the principal markets. During the 1850s emigration and freighting from the Missouri River westward demanded great numbers of oxen, the firm of Russell, Majors and Waddell in 1858 utilizing 40,000 oxen. Texas longhorn steers by the thousands were broken for work oxen. Herds of longhorns were driven to Chicago, and one herd at least to New York.   

In 1867 Joseph G. McCoy opened a regular market at Abilene, Kans. The great cattle trails, moving successively westward, were established and trail driving boomed. In 1867 the Goodnight-Loving Trail opened up New Mexico and Colorado to Texas cattle. By the tens of thousands they were soon driven into Arizona. In Texas itself cattle raising expanded rapidly as American tastes shifted from pork to beef. Caldwell, Dodge City, Ogallala, Cheyenne, and other towns became famous because of trail-driver patronage.   

In 1867 Joseph G. McCoy opened a regular market at Abilene, Kans. The great cattle trails, moving successively westward, were established and trail driving boomed. In 1867 the Goodnight-Loving Trail opened up New Mexico and Colorado to Texas cattle. By the tens of thousands they were soon driven into Arizona. In Texas itself cattle raising expanded rapidly as American tastes shifted from pork to beef. Caldwell, Dodge City, Ogallala, Cheyenne, and other towns became famous because of trail-driver patronage.   

==Chisholm Trail==

==Chisholm Trail==

The Chisholm Trail, starting in 1865, was the most important route for cattle drives leading north from the vicinity of Ft. Worth,Texas, across Indian Territory (Oklahoma) to the railhead at Abilene, Kansas.  It was about 220 miles and long generally followed the line of the ninety-eighth meridian, but never had an exact location, as different drives took somewhat different paths.  

The Chisholm Trail, starting in 1865, was the most important route for cattle drives leading north from the vicinity of Ft. Worth,Texas, across Indian Territory (Oklahoma) to the railhead at Abilene, Kansas.  It was about 220 miles and long generally followed the line of the ninety-eighth meridian, but never had an exact location, as different drives took somewhat different paths.  

Trail driving virtually ended in 1895. Barbed wire, railroads, and farmers ended it.  

Trail driving virtually ended in 1895. Barbed wire, railroads, and farmers ended it.  

===Australia===

===Australia===

Australia is noted for long drives.  Patsy Durack, for instance, left Queensland for the Kimberleys in Western Australia in 1885 with 8,000 cattle, arriving with only half that number some two years and two months later, completing a drive of some 3,000 miles.  Indeed, long cattle drives continued well into the latter half of the twentieth century.<ref> Jim Hoy, "The Americanisation of the Outback: Cowboys and Stockmen," ''Journal of Australian Studies.'' (2000) pp 205+ [http://www.questia.com/read/5001171889?title=The%20Americanisation%20of%20the%20Outback%3a%20Cowboys%20and%20Stockmen online edition]</ref>

Australia is noted for long drives.  Patsy Durack, for instance, left Queensland for the Kimberleys in Western Australia in 1885 with 8,000 cattle, arriving with only half that number some two years and two months later, completing a drive of some 3,000 miles.  Indeed, long cattle drives continued well into the latter half of the twentieth century.<ref> Jim Hoy, "The Americanisation of the Outback: Cowboys and Stockmen," ''Journal of Australian Studies.'' (2000) pp 205+ [http://www.questia.com/read/5001171889?title=The%20Americanisation%20of%20the%20Outback%3a%20Cowboys%20and%20Stockmen online edition]</ref>

==Image and memory==

==Image and memory==

During three swift decades it had moved over ten million cattle and one million range horses, stamped the entire West with its character, given economic and personality prestige to Texas, made the longhorn historic, glorified the cowboy over the globe, and endowed America with its most romantic tradition relating to any occupation.   

During three swift decades it had moved over ten million cattle and one million range horses, stamped the entire West with its character, given economic and personality prestige to Texas, made the longhorn historic, glorified the cowboy over the globe, and endowed America with its most romantic tradition relating to any occupation.   

The best known cowboy writers include [[Theodore Roosevelt]], who lost his inheritance ranching in the Dakotas in the 1880s,  [[Will Rogers]], the leading humorist of the 1920s, and Indiana-born Andy Adams (1859-1935), who spent the 1880s and 1890s in the cattle industry and mining in the Great Plains and Southwest. When an 1898 play's portrayal of Texans outraged Adams, he started writing plays, short stories, and novels drawn from his own experiences. His ''The Log of a Cowboy'' (1903) became a classic novel about the cattle business, especially the cattle drive.  It described a fictional drive of the Circle Dot herd from Texas to Montana in 1882, and became a leading  source on cowboy life; historians retraced his path in the 1960s, confirming his basic accuracy.  His writing is acclaimed and criticized for their fidelity to truth and their lack of literary qualities.<ref>See [http://books.google.com/books?id=1Ho4AAAAIAAJ&dq=The+Log+of+a+Cowboy&pg=PP1&ots=JNb77NHCKz&sig=HNrd_DpLlSKAdGWsCqwNum2Z0EQ&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result  ''The Log of a Cowboy'' (1903) full text] </ref>

The best known cowboy writers include [[Theodore Roosevelt]], who lost his inheritance ranching in the Dakotas in the 1880s,  [[Will Rogers]], the leading humorist of the 1920s, and Indiana-born Andy Adams (1859-1935), who spent the 1880s and 1890s in the cattle industry and mining in the Great Plains and Southwest. When an 1898 play's portrayal of Texans outraged Adams, he started writing plays, short stories, and novels drawn from his own experiences. His ''The Log of a Cowboy'' (1903) became a classic novel about the cattle business, especially the cattle drive.  It described a fictional drive of the Circle Dot herd from Texas to Montana in 1882, and became a leading  source on cowboy life; historians retraced his path in the 1960s, confirming his basic accuracy.  His writing is acclaimed and criticized for their fidelity to truth and their lack of literary qualities.<ref>See [http://books.google.com/books?id=1Ho4AAAAIAAJ&dq=The+Log+of+a+Cowboy&pg=PP1&ots=JNb77NHCKz&sig=HNrd_DpLlSKAdGWsCqwNum2Z0EQ&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result  ''The Log of a Cowboy'' (1903) full text] </ref>

===Cowboy culture===

===Cowboy culture===

The cowboy's distinctive working gear, most of it borrowed from the Mexican vaquero, captured the public imagination.  His high-crowned sombrero, high-heeled boots, leather chaps, six-shooter, lariat, and spurs were functional and necessary in the field, and fascinating on the movie screen.  Increasingly the public identified the cowboy with courage and devotion to duty, for he tended cattle wherever he had to go, whether in bogs of quicksand; swift, flooding rivers; or seemingly inaccessible brush. He rode with lightning and blizzard, ate hot summer sand, and was burned by the sun.  [[Theodore Roosevelt]] conceptualized the herder as a stage of civilization distinct from the sedentary farmer--a classic theme well expressed in the 1944 film "Oklahoma!"  Roosevelt argued that the manhood typified by the cowboy--and outdoor activity and sports generally--was essential if American men were to avoid the softness and rot produced by an easy lifer in the city.  The cow towns along the trail were notorious for providing liquor to the cowboys; they usually were not allowed to drink on the trail itself. <ref> Raymond B. Wrabley,  Jr., "Drunk Driving or Dry Run? Cowboys and Alcohol on the Cattle Trail." ''Kansas History'' 2007 30(1): 36-51. Issn: 0149-9114 in [[Ebsco]] </ref>  

The cowboy's distinctive working gear, most of it borrowed from the Mexican vaquero, captured the public imagination.  His high-crowned sombrero, high-heeled boots, leather chaps, six-shooter, lariat, and spurs were functional and necessary in the field, and fascinating on the movie screen.  Increasingly the public identified the cowboy with courage and devotion to duty, for he tended cattle wherever he had to go, whether in bogs of quicksand; swift, flooding rivers; or seemingly inaccessible brush. He rode with lightning and blizzard, ate hot summer sand, and was burned by the sun.  [[Theodore Roosevelt]] conceptualized the herder as a stage of civilization distinct from the sedentary farmer--a classic theme well expressed in the 1944 film "Oklahoma!"  Roosevelt argued that the manhood typified by the cowboy--and outdoor activity and sports generally--was essential if American men were to avoid the softness and rot produced by an easy lifer in the city.  The cow towns along the trail were notorious for providing liquor to the cowboys; they usually were not allowed to drink on the trail itself. <ref> Raymond B. Wrabley,  Jr., "Drunk Driving or Dry Run? Cowboys and Alcohol on the Cattle Trail." ''Kansas History'' 2007 30(1): 36-51. Issn: 0149-9114 in [[Ebsco]] </ref>  

* Webb, Walter P. ''The Great Plains''  (1931)

* Webb, Walter P. ''The Great Plains''  (1931)

** [http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/instruct/isern/seminar/WEBBguide.htm Study Guide]

** [http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/instruct/isern/seminar/WEBBguide.htm Study Guide]

===Image and memory===

===Image and memory===

* Carlson,  Paul Howard, ed. ''The Cowboy Way: An Exploration of History and Culture'' (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Cowboy-Way-Exploration-History-Culture/dp/0896724255/ref=sid_dp_dp excerpt and text search]

* Carlson,  Paul Howard, ed. ''The Cowboy Way: An Exploration of History and Culture'' (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Cowboy-Way-Exploration-History-Culture/dp/0896724255/ref=sid_dp_dp excerpt and text search]

* Tompkins, Jane. ''West of Everything: The Inner Life of Westerns.'' (1992). 245 pp.

* Tompkins, Jane. ''West of Everything: The Inner Life of Westerns.'' (1992). 245 pp.

*  Walker, Don D. ''Clio's Cowboys: Studies in the Historiography of the Cattle Trade.'' (1981). 210 pp.

*  Walker, Don D. ''Clio's Cowboys: Studies in the Historiography of the Cattle Trade.'' (1981). 210 pp.

===Primary Sources===

===Primary Sources===

* Adams, Andy.  ''The Log of a Cowboy: A Narrative of the Old Trail Days'' (1903) [http://books.google.com/books?id=1Ho4AAAAIAAJ&dq=The+Log+of+a+Cowboy&pg=PP1&ots=JNb77NHCKz&sig=HNrd_DpLlSKAdGWsCqwNum2Z0EQ&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result  full text online]

* Adams, Andy.  ''The Log of a Cowboy: A Narrative of the Old Trail Days'' (1903) [http://books.google.com/books?id=1Ho4AAAAIAAJ&dq=The+Log+of+a+Cowboy&pg=PP1&ots=JNb77NHCKz&sig=HNrd_DpLlSKAdGWsCqwNum2Z0EQ&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result  full text online]