In 1867 an Illinois cattle shipper named Joseph G. McCoy arrived upon a plan to revitalize the cattle industry. This young man conceived the idea of opening an outlet for Texan cattle. Being impressed with the knowledge of the number of cattle in Texas and the difficulties of getting them to market by the routes and means then in use, and realizing the significant disparity between Texas values and Northern prices of cattle, he set himself to thinking and studying to hit upon some plan whereby these great extremes would be equalized. The goal was to establish at some accessible point a depot or market to which a Texan drover could bring his stock unmolested, and there, failing to find a buyer, he could go upon the public highways to any market in the country he wished. In short, it was to establish a market at which the Southern drover and Northern buyer would meet upon an equal footing and both be undisturbed by mobs or swindling thieves... Wild West Podcast presents Cattle Drives, Cowboys, and Cattle Towns: Part 2 Joseph G. McCoy and the Cattle Industry of the 1800s. Stay with us after this episode as we explore the plausibility of the cattle trade and ask the question, what would have happened to the westward expansion if the cattle trade industry had never existed? Join us next time as we explore the Making of the Cattle Trails. Subscribe to Wild West Podcast at: Apple Podcast
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