The demand for a market for the excess cattle of Texas at the end of the Civil War was both urgent and widespread. There had been repeated attempts to find a market, and there is proof that Texas cattle were transported to Illinois in 1857. Forty thousand people were transported inland by train after being transported by water from Cairo, Illinois, to the mouth of the Red River in Louisiana eleven years later.The short path, which was wholly contained within the reservations of the Choctaw and Cherokee Indians, two civilized Indian tribes, made it absolutely practicable. The buffalo and the unconquered, nomadic tribes' homeland was further to the west, making this the sole way to the north. The Texas steer that had been sent to the north overwintered and developed flesh similar to that of its original land, developing into marketable meat. At this time, all eyes were on the newly formed Northwest, which was seen as the nation that would provide a suitable market for cattle. The largest annual drive occurred in 1884 when more than 300 herds of cattle, totaling close to 80,000, crossed the Red River. The push cost millions of dollars and required over 4,000 men and over 35,000 horses to be on the path.
Andy Adams was an American author of western literature who lived from May 3, 1859, to September 26, 1935. The son of Andrew Adams, who was of Irish origin, and Elizabeth Elliott, who was of Scottish descent, Andy Adams was born in Thorncreek Township, Whitley County, Indiana. He assisted with the cattle and horses on the family farm when he was a little boy. He moved to Texas in the early 1880s and lived there for ten years, spending a lot of that time moving cattle over the western routes. He attempted to become a merchant in 1890, but the endeavor was unsuccessful. He next tried his hand at gold mining in Colorado and Nevada. He relocated to Colorado Springs in 1894, where he remained until his death. His most popular work, The Log of a Cowboy, was published in 1903, when he was 43 years old and he starting to write. A Texas Matchmaker (1904), The Outlet (1905), Cattle Brands (1906), Reed Anthony, Cowman: An Autobiography (1907), Wells Brothers (1911), and The Ranch on the Beaver are some of his other books (1927).
