By:  Moncrief, Haywood                                 S.R. No. 249

 1-1                                       1

 1-2                              SENATE RESOLUTION

 1-3           WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas takes pride

 1-4     in joining the Chisholm Trail Historical Preservation Society,

 1-5     Incorporated, in recognizing the 130th Anniversary of the

 1-6     Chisholm Trail; and

 1-7           WHEREAS, Communities from Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma are

 1-8     participating in the celebration of the 130th anniversary of

 1-9     the Chisholm Trail; to commemorate the early day trail and its

1-10     founder, a proclamation exchange is taking place March 1 through

1-11     March 8, 1997; and

1-12           WHEREAS, A group of cowboys known as the "Ghost Riders"

1-13     are scheduled to follow part of the original Chisholm Trail route;

1-14     four horsemen from Oklahoma will be traveling from Texas to Kansas,

1-15     and on March 1, 1997, at high noon, there will be a proclamation

1-16     exchange at the Texas/Red River and Oklahoma border; and

1-17           WHEREAS, Jesse Chisholm was born in Tennessee of Scotch

1-18     and Cherokee ancestry; he married Eliza Edwards in 1836 and became

1-19     a famous plainsman, Indian trader, guide, and interpreter; he

1-20     reportedly spoke 14 Indian languages and served as an interpreter

1-21     at numerous treaty councils in Texas, Indian Territory, and Kansas;

1-22     and

1-23           WHEREAS, After he established a trading post near present day

 2-1     Oklahoma City, his wagon tracks were followed northward in 1866 by

 2-2     Captain Henry Spekes and his herd of cattle; he was followed by

 2-3     other trail drivers, and eventually millions of Texas Longhorns were

 2-4     herded up the trail to various markets until the route was closed

 2-5     due to settlements and quarantines; and

 2-6           WHEREAS, From 1867 to 1877, more than three million head

 2-7     of cattle were herded through Oklahoma to Kansas railways and were

 2-8     then shipped to other parts of the country; and

 2-9           WHEREAS, The original trail from Wichita, Kansas, to

2-10     Council Grove, Oklahoma, was extended in both directions; the

2-11     Texas extension reached from the Rio Grande River through Cameron,

2-12     Kleberg, Karnes, Travis, Tarrant, and Montague counties; alternate

2-13     routes, cutoffs, and feeder trails all became known collectively

2-14     as the Chisholm Trail; and

2-15           WHEREAS, Jesse Chisholm died on March 4, 1868, and his grave

2-16     near Geary, Oklahoma, is a reminder of this important historic

2-17     period of Western American culture and of the courageous pioneers

2-18     and plainsmen who came before us; now, therefore, be it

2-19           RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas,

2-20     75th Legislature, hereby pay tribute to the Ghost Riders in their

2-21     commemoration of the birth of the Chisholm Trail and join with the

2-22     Chisholm Trail Historical Preservation Society, Incorporated, in

2-23     celebration of the trail's 130th anniversary; and, be it further

2-24           RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for

2-25     the proclamation exchange as a memento from the Texas Senate.

 3-1                                  ______________________________________

 3-2                                          President of the Senate

 3-3                                       I hereby certify that the above

 3-4                                  Resolution was adopted by the Senate

 3-5                                  on February 26, 1997.

 3-6                                  ______________________________________

 3-7                                          Secretary of the Senate

 3-8                                  ______________________________________

 3-9                                           Member, Texas Senate

3-10                                  ______________________________________

3-11                                           Member, Texas Senate