[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1056]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CELEBRATING THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF THE WESTERN CATTLE 
                                 TRAIL

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. RON ESTES

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 22, 2024

  Mr. ESTES. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the 150th anniversary of the 
founding of the Western Cattle Trail. The entrepreneurial cattlemen who 
blazed this new path across the frontier exemplified the American 
spirit of adventure and freedom.
  In the wake of the Civil War, longhorn cattle were running free in 
Texas, while cities and towns on the East Coast demanded more beef than 
ever to feed their growing populations. Young cowboys called drovers 
rode to gather the wild cattle and move them hundreds of miles across 
the wilderness to northern railroads to meet the demands. Their 
destinations were railhead towns such as Newton, Wichita, and Caldwell 
in my district.
  In 1874, these cowboys pioneered a new route. It became known as the 
Western Trail, located west of the existing Shawnee and Chisholm 
Trails. Cowboys on horseback moved longhorn cattle along the trail 
through Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, and north to 
Canada. Over the next several decades, millions of heads of cattle were 
herded up the trail by these enterprising young Americans.
  In addition to providing beef for a growing nation, the Western Trail 
played a crucial role in moving much-needed breeding stock to ranches 
in the northern plains and carrying essential meat supplies to Native 
American tribes across the west. The trail's significant impact on the 
national economy underscores the importance of cattle routes in the 
development and history of the United States.
  In November, the Western Cattle Trail Association, along with the 
International Chisholm Trail Association, will be commemorating the 
150th anniversary of the founding of the Western Trail. Historians, 
authors, artists, and friends of the Western Trail will gather in 
Kansas to honor and commemorate the cowboys who made those drives and 
overcame the dangers of the frontier to deliver their herds to the rest 
of the country. In so doing, these cowboys became recognized worldwide 
as symbols of American courage, strength, freedom, and independence. I 
proudly join those honoring them and this historic milestone in our 
history.

                          ____________________