H.R. No. 1087

	R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, The year 2017 marks the 150th anniversary of the
	Chisholm Trail, the major cattle-drive route from Texas to Kansas
	that was used from 1867 to 1884; and
	WHEREAS, In the mid-1800s, Texas was home to millions of
	longhorn cattle, many of them roaming freely on sparsely populated
	rangeland; there was a growing demand for beef in other parts of the
	United States, but Texans lacked an easy means of getting the cattle
	to market because rail routes between the Lone Star State and the
	eastern United States had yet to be established; early attempts to
	drive longhorns to Missouri and Kansas were halted when those
	states closed their borders to the cattle to prevent transmission
	of a deadly livestock disease, though the Texas cattle were later
	allowed to traverse a less-populated part of Kansas; and
	WHEREAS, In 1867, Illinois entrepreneur Joseph G. McCoy
	solved the dilemma by persuading the Kansas Pacific Railway to lay a
	spur to the small town of Abilene, Kansas, where he built a hotel,
	stockyard, office, and bank; he advertised the availability of the
	railhead throughout Texas, and O. W. Wheeler and his partners drove
	the first 2,400 steers to Abilene from San Antonio in 1867,
	traveling north through Texas and across the Indian Territory that
	later became the state of Oklahoma; and
	WHEREAS, Some 35,000 cattle were shipped through Abilene in
	the first year and the total doubled annually until 1871, reaching a
	peak of 600,000; the popular route from Texas was originally known
	by such names as the Kansas Trail, the Abilene Trail, or McCoy's
	Trail; the name Chisholm Trail was initially used only for the
	section north of the Red River, but it was soon applied to the
	entire path from the Rio Grande to Abilene and, later, to other
	towns in Kansas; and
	WHEREAS, Typically beginning in the early spring, the cattle
	drives traveled north along the trail, taking three to four months
	to reach Kansas; the herds moved at a pace of 10 to 12 miles a day,
	guided by a crew that was often made up of a dozen or more people,
	including a trail boss, cowboys, and a chuck wagon cook; a day on
	the trail could contain the excitement and danger of stampedes and
	river crossings as well as many hours of hard and dusty work that
	was a good deal less dramatic; and
	WHEREAS, The trail ultimately moved more than five million
	cattle and one million mustangs, playing a crucial role in reviving
	the Texas economy after the Civil War; the expansion of the
	railroads, the growing settlement of the Plains, and the
	establishment of new livestock quarantines brought an end to the
	cattle drives in the mid-1880s, but during its years of operation,
	the Chisholm Trail gained a special place in Western lore, and it
	remains a source of fascination today; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas
	Legislature hereby commemorate the 150th anniversary of the
	Chisholm Trail.
	Anderson of McLennan
	Straus Goldman Oliverson
	Allen Gonzales of Williamson Ortega
	Alonzo González of El Paso Paddie
	Alvarado Gooden Parker
	Anchia Guerra Paul
	Anderson of Dallas Guillen Perez
	Anderson of McLennan Gutierrez Phelan
	Arévalo Hefner Phillips
	Ashby Hernandez Pickett
	Bailes Herrero Price
	Bell Hinojosa Raney
	Bernal Holland Raymond
	Biedermann Howard Reynolds
	Blanco Huberty Rinaldi
	Bohac Hunter Roberts
	Bonnen of Brazoria Isaac Rodriguez of Bexar
	Bonnen of Galveston Israel Rodriguez of Travis
	Burkett Johnson of Dallas Romero, Jr.
	Burns Johnson of Harris Rose
	Burrows Kacal Sanford
	Button Keough Schaefer
	Cain King of Hemphill Schofield
	Canales King of Parker Schubert
	Capriglione King of Uvalde Shaheen
	Clardy Klick Sheffield
	Coleman Koop Shine
	Collier Krause Simmons
	Cook Kuempel Smithee
	Cortez Lambert Springer
	Cosper Landgraf Stephenson
	Craddick Lang Stickland
	Cyrier Larson Stucky
	Dale Laubenberg Swanson
	Darby Leach Thierry
	Davis of Dallas Longoria Thompson of Brazoria
	Davis of Harris Lozano Thompson of Harris
	Dean Lucio III Tinderholt
	Deshotel Martinez Turner
	Dukes Metcalf Uresti
	Dutton Meyer VanDeaver
	Elkins Miller Villalba
	Faircloth Minjarez Vo
	Fallon Moody Walle
	Farrar Morrison White
	Flynn Muñoz, Jr. Wilson
	Frank Murphy Workman
	Frullo Murr Wray
	Geren Neave Wu
	Gervin-Hawkins Nevárez Zedler
	Giddings Oliveira Zerwas
	______________________________
	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.R. No. 1087 was adopted by the House on March
	27, 2017, by a non-record vote.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House