The Real McCoy....Who was he?

Ever wondered where the phrase "The Real McCoy" came from? Joseph G. McCoy, cattle baron, cowboy and business man was the inspiration for that phrase-


Joseph Geiting McCoy-Cattle Baron

Born on a farm in Sangamon county, Illinois, on December 21, 1837. McCoy is often cited as the inspiration for the phrase "The Real McCoy" because of his reputation and reliability and because he referred to himself by that phrase. He was educated in local schools and spent a year in the academy of Knox College in Galesburg. After his marriage to Sarah Epler in 1861, he entered the mule and cattle raising business. At the close of the Civil War, McCoy expanded his enterprise by buying animals in large quantities and shipping them to major livestock centers. In 1867 he joined a firm that shipped as many as a thousand cattle a week.

McCoy viewed the livestock industry from a national perspective and recognized the need for better contacts between southwestern ranchers, midwestern feeders, and meat-packers. He resolved to build a stock depot west of farming sections on the Great Plains to which cowboys from Texas could drive Longhorn herds.

Joseph McCoy made good on his pledge to Texas ranchers that if they would drive their Longhorn cattle from Texas to Kansas that he would have them shipped by rail to other markets and that the ranchers would receive a good price for their stock.


In the 1860s, cattle ranchers in Texas faced difficulties getting their longhorn cattle to market. Kansas homesteaders objected to the cattle crossing their land because the cattle might carry ticks which could spread a disease called Texas Fever fatal to some types of cattle. The disease could make a Longhorn sick, but they were hardier stock than the northern cattle and Longhorns seldom died from the disease.

McCoy himself said of the disease:
"In 1868 a great number of cattle arrived in Kansas and the mid-west from Texas; appx. 40,000. With them came a tick born disease called “Spanish Fever”. The local shorthorn breeds were seriously affected and in some towns the loss of the cattle was almost 100%. The result was a great prejudice against Texas cattle in Eastern Kansas and Missouri."

McCoy expected that the railroads companies were interested in expanding their freight operations and he saw this as a good business opportunity. He succeeded in obtaining cooperation from the Kansas Pacific Railway provided he assumed all the financial risks. The cattle would be shipped from his proposed stockyards to Kansas City. He then made an agreement with the Hannibal and St. Joseph line, which provided a route to Quincy, Ill.; from there the cattle could be sent to Chicago.

McCoy purchased a 250-acre tract at the edge of a frontier village along the Union Pacific. There he built a pen to handle a thousand head of cattle, a hotel known as the Drover's Cottage, a bank, office, and livery stable This village became known as Abilene, Kansas - one of the first cow towns. McCoy's plan was for cattle to be driven to Abilene from Texas and taken from there by rail to bigger cities in The Midwest and The East.
 
Abilene sat near the end of the Chisholm Trail (named after Jesse Chisholm) established during the American Civil War for supplying the Confederate army. This trail ran to the west of the settled portion of Kansas, making it possible to use the trail without creating hostility from the Kansas homesteaders.

McCoy advertised extensively throughout Texas to encourage cattle owners to drive their cattle to market in Abilene. The first herds arrived in August 1867; an initial shipment to Chicago left Abilene in September. By the end of the year 35,000 head had been driven over the Chisholm Trail to Abilene, and in 1868 the number rose to 75,000 head; by 1870 the number doubled. By 1871 as many as 5,000 cowboys were being paid off during a single day, and Abilene became known as a rough town in the Old West. Due to their long legs and hard hoofs, Longhorns were ideal trail cattle, even gaining weight on their way to market. One story says that McCoy bragged before leaving Chicago that he would bring 200,000 head in 10 years and actually brought two million head in 4 years, leading to the phrase "It's the Real McCoy"

As Abilene's leading citizen, McCoy was elected mayor and served until 1873.

Rival railroad terminal towns, farther west and south, soon diverted trade from Abilene, and McCoy moved to the new cow towns. In 1872 he went to Wichita, Kans., where he became a promotion agent for American and Texas Refrigerator Car. By 1880 he was a commission dealer in livestock in Kansas City and had been employed by the U.S. Census Bureau to report on the livestock industry for the eleventh census. For a time he lived in Oklahoma and served as agent for the Cherokee Nation in collecting land revenues. In 1890 he was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for the U.S. Congress.

Joseph G McCoy died in Kansas City, Missouri on Oct. 19, 1915.






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Lizzie Johnson...Texas Cattle Queen

 

Lizzie Johnson Williams was a pioneer women of the old west..a "pioneer" in every sense of the word. She was smart; hardworking, a businesswoman and she loved the finer things!! And she was the first and only woman in Texas history to accompany her own herd of Texas longhorns up the Chisolm Trail.

Elizabeth E. Johnson was born in Missouri in 1843. Lizzie moved to Hays County, Texas where her father started the Johnson Institute in 1852. At sixteen she started to teacher at her fathers school. She moved to teach at other schools in Texas all the while saving her money. She was smart with her money and invested it in stocks. She purchased $2,500 worth of stock in the Evans, Snider, Bewell Cattle Co. of Chicago. She earned 100 percent dividends for three years straight and then sold her stock for $20,000.!!

On June 1, 1871, Lizzie invested her money in cattle and registered her own brand (CY) in the Travis County brand book along with her mark. She was an official cattle woman.

In the summer of 1879, at the age of thirty-six, she married Hezkiah G Williams. Hezkiah was a preacher and widower who had several children. After her marriage, Lizzie continued to teach and invest in cattle. Lizzie was a smart businesswoman, even after her marriage she continued to maintain control over her wealth and cattle business. A progressive thinker, she had her husband sign a paper agreeing that all of her property remained hers.

Hezkiah did not have the same "head" for business that his wife possessed. In 1881, on his own, he entered into the cattle business. Along with poor business skills, Hezkiah also liked to drink. Lizzie had to constantly help her husband out of financial trouble.

Lizzie and Hezkiah traveled up the Chisholm Trail to Kansas at least twice. They rode behind the herd in a buggy drawn by a team of horses. For several years she and her husband, after coming up the Chisholm Trail, spent the fall and winter months in St. Louis, where Lizzie made extra money by keeping books for other cattlemen. While in St. Louis, she also liked to "treat" herself to some finer things, like current dress fashions, fine clothes and jewels.

 Chisholm Trail

 

During the Civil War, Lizzie was able to grow her cattle herd by overseeing a process called "brushpopping". Since so many men were away at war and there were few fences to keep the cattle contained, the numbers of "unbranded" cattle in the brush of South Texas began to grow. At that time "unbranded" cattle were fair game- you found them - you kept them. Lizzie had her cowboys comb the thickets for cattle -"brushpopping" round them up and transport them to her growing ranch.

Hezkiah passed away in 1914 in El Paso. It is rumored that Lizzie purchased a $600 top-of-the-line coffin for her husband. When she signed the bill of payment, she wrote across it "I loved this old buzzard this much."

Lizzie eventually became somewhat of a recluse. She lived meagerly, wearing frugal dresses and just living on a diet of soup and crackers. On October 9, 1924 Lizzie Johnson Williams passed away at the age of 81. Her estate totaled $250,000. Family members found thousands of dollars in diamonds locked away in her basement and she had large holdings in Austin real estate.

Lizzie was a true "pioneer" of her time and a great inspiration to women of the old west..and today!

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Women of the 1800s on the Cattle Drive

The experiences of life on the Prairie by the true cowboys, are stories of danger, hardships and true character.

On these adventures were also the women. The tales that follow are their stories of life on the Cattle Drive. Excerpts from the book "The Cowgirls" by Joyce Gibson Roach


A Womens Perspective on The Cattle Drive



Mrs. Amanda Burks of Cotulla Texas, describes how cattle had to be rushed through stretches of timber in order to keep them from scattering, and how during electrical storms "lighting seemed to settle on the ground and creep along like something alive." She survived a hail storm during which she had to tie her horses to keep them from running away with her, and then found herself lost from the group. When she was with t he crew, Amanda often was left alone in camp at night while the men stood alert for stampede.

Amanda saw the great spectacle of fifteen herds lined out waiting to cross the Trinity River and of a stampede caused by Indians in which the Burks's herd was mixed with another.

While many women must have seen prairie fires, probably few ever saw one which started with their own two little hands. Amanda, thinking she would be helpful, decided to build a fire in a dry gully attached to the prairie on either side. It did not take long to set the entire countryside ablaze. Mrs. Burks was impressed that the cowboys did not fuss at her about the fire. In fact she noted that along the trail the men were attentive to her and made a point of hunting surprises of wild fruit and prairie chickens for her.

Mrs. Burks knew what it was to suffer through winter on the plains, but of each of her hardships she said that it helped break the monotony. Some felt sorry for Amanda but her reply was:

"....what women, youthful and full spirit and the love of living, needs sympathy because of availing herself of the opportunity of being with her husband while at his chosen work in the great out-of-door world."




In 1871, Harriet Cluck gathered her three children up along with George, her husband and one thousand head of cattle, headed north from Texas up the Chisholm Trail. The family packed their belongings in an old hack, but Mrs. Cluck kept her spy glass and shotgun always with her.

The journey went smoothly until the herd hit the Red River. The river was flooded and Mrs. Cluck handed her children over to trusted riders while she climbed on behind her husband on his horse to make the crossing.

Mrs. Cluck made it a point to scan the horizon for trouble and one day she found it-rustlers. Helping to load the shotguns, Mrs. Cluck bolstered the courage of younger cowboys by calling out, "If any of you boys are afraid to fight, come here and drive the hack and give me your guns and horse." When the rustlers approached the herd and asked for a tribute, George Cluck replied, "I have sixteen as good fighters under me as ever crossed the Red River and they are all crack shots. When you get ready, open the ball, but us Texans will dance the first set."

No doubt Harriet felt the same way.


I hope you have enjoyed these stories- please check back for more of these amazing stories of Women on the Prairie.




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the Western Horseman the safest most durable Quality
American made leather horse tack.......

Buckaroo John Brand

Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand
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Joseph G McCoy- The Real McCoy

Ever wondered where the phrase "The Real McCoy" came from? Joseph G. McCoy, cattle baron, cowboy and business man was the inspiration for that phrase-

Joseph Geiting McCoy-Cattle Baron

Born on a farm in Sangamon county, Illinois, on December 21, 1837. McCoy is often cited as the inspiration for the phrase "The Real McCoy" because of his reputation and reliability and because he referred to himself by that phrase. He was educated in local schools and spent a year in the academy of Knox College in Galesburg. After his marriage to Sarah Epler in 1861, he entered the mule and cattle raising business. At the close of the Civil War, McCoy expanded his enterprise by buying animals in large quantities and shipping them to major livestock centers. In 1867 he joined a firm that shipped as many as a thousand cattle a week.

McCoy viewed the livestock industry from a national perspective and recognized the need for better contacts between southwestern ranchers, midwestern feeders, and meat-packers. He resolved to build a stock depot west of farming sections on the Great Plains to which cowboys from Texas could drive Longhorn herds.

Joseph McCoy made good on his pledge to Texas ranchers that if they would drive their Longhorn cattle from Texas to Kansas that he would have them shipped by rail to other markets and that the ranchers would receive a good price for their stock.

In the 1860s, cattle ranchers in Texas faced difficulties getting their longhorn cattle to market. Kansas homesteaders objected to the cattle crossing their land because the cattle might carry ticks which could spread a disease called Texas Fever fatal to some types of cattle. The disease could make a Longhorn sick, but they were hardier stock than the northern cattle and Longhorns seldom died from the disease.

McCoy himself said of the disease:
"In 1868 a great number of cattle arrived in Kansas and the mid-west from Texas; appx. 40,000. With them came a tick born disease called “Spanish Fever”. The local shorthorn breeds were seriously affected and in some towns the loss of the cattle was almost 100%. The result was a great prejudice against Texas cattle in Eastern Kansas and Missouri."

McCoy expected that the railroads companies were interested in expanding their freight operations and he saw this as a good business opportunity. He succeeded in obtaining cooperation from the Kansas Pacific Railway provided he assumed all the financial risks. The cattle would be shipped from his proposed stockyards to Kansas City. He then made an agreement with the Hannibal and St. Joseph line, which provided a route to Quincy, Ill.; from there the cattle could be sent to Chicago.

McCoy purchased a 250-acre tract at the edge of a frontier village along the Union Pacific. There he built a pen to handle a thousand head of cattle, a hotel known as the Drover's Cottage, a bank, office, and livery stable This village became known as Abilene, Kansas - one of the first cow towns. McCoy's plan was for cattle to be driven to Abilene from Texas and taken from there by rail to bigger cities in The Midwest and The East.

Abilene sat near the end of the Chisholm Trail (named after Jesse Chisholm) established during the American Civil War for supplying the Confederate army. This trail ran to the west of the settled portion of Kansas, making it possible to use the trail without creating hostility from the Kansas homesteaders.

McCoy advertised extensively throughout Texas to encourage cattle owners to drive their cattle to market in Abilene. The first herds arrived in August 1867; an initial shipment to Chicago left Abilene in September. By the end of the year 35,000 head had been driven over the Chisholm Trail to Abilene, and in 1868 the number rose to 75,000 head; by 1870 the number doubled. By 1871 as many as 5,000 cowboys were being paid off during a single day, and Abilene became known as a rough town in the Old West. Due to their long legs and hard hoofs, Longhorns were ideal trail cattle, even gaining weight on their way to market. One story says that McCoy bragged before leaving Chicago that he would bring 200,000 head in 10 years and actually brought two million head in 4 years, leading to the phrase "It's the Real McCoy"

As Abilene's leading citizen, McCoy was elected mayor and served until 1873.

Rival railroad terminal towns, farther west and south, soon diverted trade from Abilene, and McCoy moved to the new cow towns. In 1872 he went to Wichita, Kans., where he became a promotion agent for American and Texas Refrigerator Car. By 1880 he was a commission dealer in livestock in Kansas City and had been employed by the U.S. Census Bureau to report on the livestock industry for the eleventh census. For a time he lived in Oklahoma and served as agent for the Cherokee Nation in collecting land revenues. In 1890 he was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for the U.S. Congress.

Joseph G McCoy died in Kansas City, Missouri on Oct. 19, 1915.

The Abilene Trail:

In 1867 Joseph G. McCoy, of Illinois, settled at Abilene to engage in the cattle trade, and he developed the Abilene Trail which connected with the already established north end of the Chisholm Trail near Wichita, Kansas. The path then ran northward to Abilene, Kansas, which was situated along the line of the Union Pacific Railroad, where the cattle could be shipped back east in a more expeditious manner.

The road from the mouth of the Little Arkansas River to Abilene was not direct but circuitous. In order to straighten up this trail, bring the cattle more directly to Abilene and shorten the distance, as well as counteracting would-be competing points for the cattle trade, an engineer corps was sent out under the charge of Civil Engineer T. F. Hersey.

He, with compass, flag men and numerous laborers began to survey the route. The laborers utilized spades and shovels for throwing up mounds of dirt to mark the road located by the engineers.

The trail ran almost due south from Abilene to the crossing of the Arkansas River and connected with the old Chisholm Trail. All along the way the new route provided for good water, abundant grass and suitable camping points.

The exact combined route of the Chisholm and Abilene Trails had a number of offshoots from Texas to Kansas, so providing an exact location is nearly impossible. However, it crossed the Red River a little east of Henrietta, Texas, before continuing north across Indian Territory to Caldwell, Kansas, past Wichita and Newton, Kansas before it arrived in Abilene.

The first herd to follow the route belonged to O. W. Wheeler and his partners, who in 1867 bought 2,400 steers in San Antonio. At first the route was merely referred to as the Trail, the Kansas Trail, the Abilene Trail, or McCoy's Trail. In the end; however, the entire route from the Rio Grande River to Abilene would be referred to by most cowboys as the Chisholm Trail.
In 1867 about 35,000 head of cattle were driven from Texas to Abilene over this trail; in 1868 about 75,000; in 1870 about 300,000; and in 1871 about 700,000, being the largest number ever received from Texas in any one year. However, by 1872 the area around Abilene was quickly being settled, grazing lands were getting scarcer, and the area residents began to object to the pasturing of great herds of cattle in the vicinity. Due to these reasons as well as the fear of "tick fever" and the unruly conduct of the cowboys, the city of Abilene officially told the Texas cattleman they were no longer welcome in their town. The shipping points then moved to Wichita and Ellsworth.

From 1867 to 1871 about 10,000 cars of live stock were shipped out of Abilene, and in 1872 about 80,000 head of cattle were shipped from Wichita. The settlement of the Arkansas and the Ninnescah River Valleys rendered it impractical to reach Wichita shipping yards after 1873, and the loading of cattle was transferred to points on the railroad farther west, halting finally at Dodge City, where 1887 saw the end of the use of the famous Abilene Cattle Trail.


Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving
the Western Horseman the safest most durable Quality
American made leather horse tack.......

Buckaroo John Brand

Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand
Visit Our Unique Store Today
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