The Western Trail
THE WESTERN TRAIL is a novel set in 1875, in one of the most fascinating times in American history: the time of the great cattle drives. The Civil War (or the Late Unpleasantness, or the War Between the States, depending on your outlook) decimated the economy of the South and those states that had chosen to fight with the Confederacy. Texas was land poor and cattle poor. For years, cattle had been valued only for their hides and tallow, and were sold for half nothing. In the 1860s, however, the great drives to Kansas began. The coming of the railroad made it possible to ship cattle to beef-hungry Easterners. This changed the Texas economy, and made raising cattle profitable again. Many thousands of Spanish longhorns were grazing in the mesquite thickets of the Texas Hill Country, belonging to the first man who could slap a brand on them.
Among those ranchers is a man named Silas Oakley, owner of the Circle 7 Ranch. He's taken many a herd up the trails, beginning with the Chisholm Trail and moving farther and farther west, until now the herd always travels the Western Trail to Dodge City. The economy has been bad, and there's always the possibility that the drive will be made without much financial gain at the end. Longhorns are also losing favor, and Silas is considering buying some Hereford, or shorthorn, cattle for the next year. This year, however, a new element has been added to the drive: women!
Silas and Rebecca Oakley's older daughter, Keturah, has been away at finishing school, but due to the unwanted attentions of Fairington Randolph, a bent twig on a branch of a fine old family tree, they have brought her home. Not to be twarted of his prey so easily, Randolph follows Keturah to Texas, which helps Silas to make an unprecedented decision: to take his wife and daughters along on the cattle drive to Dodge.
In addition to Rebecca, Keturah, and Bea Oakley, Mrs. Jolene Jackson will be along on the drive, as well as a female ranch hand, Rodna, who signed on at the last minute.
Lee, the ranch foreman, is acting as segundo to Silas, who will be ramrodding the drive. The Oakley boys, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, will be riding, as will Lucky Diamond. Not atypically for the time, the Circle 7 Ranch hires any ranch hand who can prove his worth, and has Mexican vaqueros as well as former slaves riding the trail. Anyone who works this cattle drive will be expected to ride for the brand. For those who don't know western terminology, that means that a ranch hand or trail hand must be prepared to stand by his word, to fight to protect the herd and his fellow hands if necessary, and, in general, be a man of honor. Not everyone will live up to this standard, and that can cause friction, since it endangers everyone.
In addition to the cattle drive, life is already going on at full swing in Dodge City. This is a wide-open town, and has effectively separated itself into life North and South of the railroad tracks, with all that implies. There is a lot of business done with the buffalo hide hunters, who bring in wagonloads of hides to Front Street. The Longbranch Saloon is a thriving establishment, as are the Grand Hotel and Wright, Beverly and Co.. People like James Butler (Wild Bill) Hickok and Buffalo Bill Cody wander the streets. The Earps lived in Dodge City at this time in history. All of the ladies stayed north of the tracks, but south of the tracks, the "shady ladies" plyed a thriving trade. (However, this novel is NOT rated R, so think back to those old episodes of "Gunsmoke" and don't write any salacious scenes. Thank you!)
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