>> THE ROMANTIC IMAGE OF THE OLD WEST, OF A LITTLE DRIVES AND TRAIL HANDS RIDING THE RANGE, HAS CAPTURED IMAGINATION FOR OVER A CENTURY.

THE MAIN ARTERY OF THAT DREAM RUNS RIGHT THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF OKLAHOMA.

THE CHISHOLM TRAIL IS THE MOST FAMOUS OF MANY TRAILS THAT BROUGHT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF HEAD OF CATTLE FROM TEXAS THROUGH OKLAHOMA TO THE RAILHEADS IN KANSAS.

THE GREAT TRAIL DRIVES ARE LONG GONE, REPLACED BY CATTLE TRUCKS ON THE ROAD TO AUCTION.

>> IT WAS A VERY LOFNG AGREEMENT LONG AGREEMENT, BUT THEY ALL SHOOK HANDS AND SAID, YES, LET'S MOVE FORWARD, AND OVERNIGHT, THIS INDUSTRY WAS BORN IN OKLAHOMA CITY.

>> THE DEMAND FOR BEEF IS GREATER THAN EVER AND CONTINUES TO DRIVE THE BILLION-DOLLAR ECONOMY OF OKLAHOMA'S "COW TOWN."

>> EVERY MONDAY AND TUESDAY, THOUSANDS OF HEAD OF CATTLE MOVE THROUGH THE AUCTION HOUSE AT THE OKLAHOMA NATIONAL STOCKYARDS.

CATTLE BUYERS COME FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, AND ON A TYPICAL DAY, THEY'LL SPEND UPWARDS OF $10 MILLION FOR BEEF ON THE HOOF.

THIS IS THE CURRENT FORM OF A BUSINESS THAT BEGAN BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR.

>> BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR, WE ALL WOULD HAVE HAD A PIG AND OUR CHICKENS AND PROBABLY OUR GARDEN AND OUR FAMILY WOULD HAVE TAKEN CARE OF OURSELVES, AND WHAT WE HAD WOULD HAVE BEEN WHAT WE HAD TO EAT.

THAT WAS JUST THE REALITY OF LIVING IN THE UNITED STATES AT THAT TIME.

AND DURING THE CIVIL WAR, BOTH ARMIES QUICKLY REALIZED BEEF WAS A VERY GOOD SOURCE OF FOOD, IT TRAVELED WELL, WHEN THEY SLAUGHTERED IT, IT FED A LOT OF SOLDIERS AND GAVE THEM A LOT OF ENERGY TO TIN FIGHTING, SO BEEF WAS KIND OF A NEW IN-VOGUE FOOD.

>> THE CIVIL WAR WAS SO DESTRUCTIVE.

WE THINK THAT JUST AMONG THE CHEROKEES, THEY LOST UP TO 400,000 HEAD OF CATTLE TO RUSTLERS OUT OF KANSAS AND ARKANSAS AND MISSOURI, WHERE THE OPPOSING ARMIES CONFISCATED THEM, USING IT TO SUPPORT THEIR ARMIES IN THE FIELD.

>> A LOT OF THOSE TEXAS COWBOYS WENT OFF TO FIGHT AND MANY OF THEM DIDN'T RETURN HOME.

DURING THOSE YEARS, CATTLE KEPT DOING WHAT CATTLE DO AND THERE GOT TO BE WAY TOO MANY OF THEM.

THEY ARE ONLY WORTH ABOUT A DOLLAR A HEAD, AND CERTAINLY ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS HAD WAY TOO MANY, SO GOOD LUCK EVEN SELLING THEM FOR A DOLLAR.

>> THERE'S A HUGE DEMAND FOR BEEF, BUT YOU HAVE TO GET THEM FROM TEXAS, WHERE THEY'RE RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE AT A COUPLE OF DOLLARS A HEAD, AND SO THE SLAUGHTERHOUSES, THEY CAN BRING 30, $40 A HEAD, AND SO ONCE THE WAR ENDED, THEY TAKE THE CATTLE THAT ARE LOOSE IN TEXAS AND START TO DRIVE THEM TO WHERE THE RAILROAD LINES ARE SO THEY CAN SHIP THEM OFF TO SLAUGHTERHOUSES.

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS THE BUILDING OF A TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD THAT GOES FROM EAST TO WEST AND THAT'S GOING THROUGH NEBRASKA, OTHER BRANCHES OF IT WOULD COME DOWN INTO KANSAS, AND IT WAS MOVING WESTWARD.

SOUTHERN GRASS IS NOT HIGH IN PROTEIN, SO YOU HAD AN ANIMAL THAT'S UNDERNOURISHED.

YOU BRING THEM UP TO THE RICH GRASS LANDS OF THE OSAGE.

>> AT FIRST, SMALL RANCHES BANDED TOGETHER AND BEGAN MOVING SMALL HERDS OF 500 HEAD OR MORE.

THEN, LARGE COMMERCIAL FIRMS BEGAN MOVING FIVE,000 HEAD OR MORE UP THE SHAWNEE TRAIL.

>> AND THEY WOULD COME UP TOWARDS WHAT WOULD BE NOW FORT WORTH, CROSSING INDIAN TERRITORY, AND AT VARIOUS POINTS BETWEEN THE RED RIVER AND AS FAR NORTH AS WHAT IS CURRENTLY PAUL VALLEY, THEY WOULD CUT ACROSS AND THEY WOULD MAKE THEIR WAY UP TOWARD FORT GIBSON AND ON INTO MISSOURI, AND SO THEY WERE TRAVELING IN REALLY TOUGH COUNTRY TO BE MOVING CATTLE.

>> THAT ROUTE WOULD SOON CHANGE BECAUSE OF DEVELOPMENT IN INDIAN TERRITORY AND A DISEASE CALLED TEXAS FEVER.

>> IT COMPLETELY WIPED OUT A NUMBER OF FARMS AND RANCHES HERDS.

TEXAS FEVER WAS A TICK-BORNE DISEASE AND WHAT THEY REALIZED THAT WHEN IT MIXED WITH THE KADLE IN MISSOURI AND KANSAS, IT WOULD CAUSE FEVERS AND DEATHS AMONG THE HERDS, AND SO THEY ESTABLISHED A QUARANTINE LINE TO KEEP THE TEXAS CATTLE FAR ENOUGH WEST THAT IT DIDN'T HURT THE DOMESTIC HERDS THAT WERE ALREADY IN PLACE.

>> IN 1867, AN ENTREPRENEUR FROM ILLINOIS WAS LOOKING FURTHER WEST FOR A NEW ROUTE NORTH.

HE FOUND AN INDIAN TRAIL USED BY JESSE CHISHOLM DURING THE CIVIL WAR FOR SUPPLYING THE CONFEDERATE ARMY.

AFTER BEING TURNED DOWN BY SEVERAL SMALL TOWNS ALONG THE LINE, HE CONVINCED THE PEOPLE OF ABILENE, KANSAS, TO BECOME THE RAILHEAD.

>> McCOY LEARNS THAT HE CAN ESTABLISH CATTLE PENS AT THE END OF RAIL IN KANSAS AND CONVINCED ALL THESE COWBOYS IN INDIAN TERRITORY AND TEXAS TO BRING THEIR CATTLE THERE, HE'LL BUY THEM, HE'LL MAKE MONEY AS THE MIDDLEMAN, AND IT'S A MARKET.

>> McCOY INVESTED IN HOTELS AND STOCKYARDS IN ABILENE AND HE ACTUALLY HIRED SALESMEN TO GO DOWN TO SOUTH TEXAS AND KIND OF TALK RANCHERS INTO USING THIS TRAIL.

HE HIRED CREWS TO MAKE THE TRAIL EASIER TO FIND.

HE HAD A HUGE FINANCIAL GAMBLE IF THAT PEOPLE WOULD START USING THIS NEW ROUTE TO THE MARKETS, AND IT PAID OFF FOR HIM.

CHISHOLM TRAIL BECAME THE MOST SUCCESSFUL CATTLE TRAIL IN THE UNITED STATES' HISTORY.

JESSE CHISHOLM IS A FASCINATING CHARACTER OF AMERICAN WEST.

>> JESSE CHISHOLM HAD TWO TRADING POSTS IN THE INDIAN TERRITORY.

ONE WAS TOWARDS THE SOUTHERN END OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY AND ONE WAS AT THE NORTHERN END, AND THE TRAIL BETWEEN THE TWO WAS JESSE'S TRADING TRAIL, AND SO IT WAS ALREADY A FAIRLY WELL ESTABLISHED TRADE ROUTE.

>> A NATIVE AMERICAN FROM THE DELAWARE TRIBE NAMED BLACK BEAVER ACTUALLY SHOWED JESSE WHERE THE TRAIL WAS, SO TO SAY THAT JESSE BLAZED THE TRAIL IS PROBABLY AN OVERSTATEMENT.

>> HE NEVER ROPED CATTLE OVER IT, BUT FROM HIS TRADING POST, FROM THE WEST SIDE OF OKLAHOMA CITY IS WHERE HE HAD HIS TRADING POST ON THE NORTH CANADIAN RIVER.

>> ONCE WE GET TO RED RIVER ADMINISTRATION AND CROSS THE RED RIVER, IT'S MORE OR LESS MODERN DAY HIGHWAY 81 THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TRAVELED UP THIS ROAD THROUGH DUNCAN, CHUCK SHAH, ENID, THAT PATHWAY.

>> ONCE YOU PASS THE RED RIVER, YOU ENTERED INDIAN TERRITORY, AND THERE WERE ALL SORTS OF WAYS THAT RANCHES HAD TO DEAL WITH NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES THAT WERE HERE.

OFTEN THEY WOULD PAY A TOLL TO CROSS TRIBAL LANDS AND THEY KNEW THAT THERE WAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET SUPPLIES ALONG THE WAY AS WELL AS OPEN COUNTRY TO BE ABLE TO DRIVE THE COWS AND REALLY LET THEM FEED AS THEY MAKE THEIR WAY NORTH SO THAT BY THE TIME YOU GOT TO THE MARKETS IN KANSAS, YOUR BEEF HAD TIME TO FATTEN UP OVER THE COURSE OF THE SPRING AFTER THEY WINTERED IN TEXAS.

>> A GROUP OF RANCHERS PAID PARKER FOR THE RIGHT TO MOVE CATTLE THROUGH COMANCHE LAND.

>> IT WAS ALONG THE CREEKS OF THE RIVER BANKS, SO IT WAS GOOD GRAZING LAND, OPEN PRAIRIE, ESPECIALLY ONCE IT GREENED UP.

>> THE JOURNEY IS ABOUT A THOUSAND MILES AND TOOK THEM ABOUT A HUNDRED DAYS, SO IT WAS QUITE THE FEAT TO MAKE IT TO ABILENE.

>> YOU WOULD TYPICALLY MAKE EIGHT TO 10 MILES ON A GOOD DAY, SO IF RAIN WOULD COME THROUGH AND CAUSE A LOT OF MUD, IT WOULD BOG DOWN THE CATTLE AS THEY MADE THEIR WAY NORTH OR BOG DOWN THE WAGONS, YOU'D HAVE TO SLOW DOWN A LITTLE BIT.

>> THE AVERAGE CHISHOLM TRAIL COWBOY WAS ABOUT 14.

THEY ACTUALLY HAVE REPORTED A JOURNAL DISBREES AND LETTERS FROM COWBOYS THAT ARE EIGHT OR NINE.

>> THERE WAS A LOT OF DIVERSITY IN THE COWBOYS.

YOU'D HAVE NEEIVE AMERICANS, AFRICAN-AMERICANS, ANGLOS, HISPANICS ALL MAKING THE DRIVE AND YOU'D HAVE A COWBOY FOR EVERY 200, 300, 400 HEAD OF CATTLE AND THEN THE FOREMAN IN CHARGE OF THE TRAIL DRIVE.

>> THE MOST IMPORTANT GUY ON THE CATTLE DRIVE WOULD BE THE COOK.

SOME CATTLE DRIVES WERE MADE OR BROKEN BECAUSE OF WHO THE COOK WAS.

THE COOKS VARIED.

A LOT OF THE COOKS SET UP SHOP AS BECOMING DRIVE COOKS OR ROUND-UP COOKS, AND SOME OF THE CATTLE RANCHES WOULD OFTEN ADVERTISE WHO THEIR COOKS WOULD BE BECAUSE COOKS WOULD MAKE A NAME FOR THEMSELVES AS FAR AS BEING SOMEONE WHO PREPARED THE FOOD GOOD.

BUT TYPICALLY YOU ATE LOTS OF BEANS, LOTS OF CURED BACON OR SALT PORK AND THEN YOU HAVE THE OCCASIONAL FRUIT TO HELP PREVENT THINGS LIKE SCURVY AND OTHER DISEASES THAT COME WITH POOR NUTRITION.

YOU MIGHT HAVE THE OCCASIONAL STEER THAT BREAKS A LEG OR INJURES ITSELF AND HAS TO BE PUT DOWN, AND, YOU KNOW, A GROUP OF COWBOYS COULD EAT A LOT OF BEEF, BUT THEY COULDN'T EAT A LOT OF BEEF REAL QUICK SO, IF THAT YOU PUT DOWN ON ANIMAL, THEY WOULD PULL ONE OF ITS CLOSED SESSION AND HANG IT UP UNDERNEATH THE CHUCK WAGON, THE COOLEST PLACE ON THE DRIVE, AND THEY JUST CUT OFF BEEF UNTIL IT SPOILED AND BOILED IT.

>>Reporter: THEY WERE ON HORSEBACK, SO THEY DID NOT HAVE A LOT OF EQUIPMENT THAT WOULD HAVE WENT WITH THEM.

SOME OF THEM, A GOOD KNIFE OR A GOOD GUN PERHAPS WOULD HAVE BEEN A LUXURY ITEM AS WELL AND GOOD SADDLE, SADDLE BLANKET, AND YOUR HORSE, EVERYTHING HAD TO FIT ON YOUR PERSON OR ON THE CHUCK WAGON.

>> COWBOY LIFE WAS PROBABLY A LOT HARDER THAN WE THINK IT IS.

WAKE UP THE COWBOYS 4:00, 4:30 IN THE MORNING.

THEY'D HAVE BREAKFAST, AND AS SOON AS THEY COULD SEE START HERDING, THEY WOULD START MOVING.

THEY PRETTY THE CATTLE OUT SO THAT YOU HAVE A LINE HALF A MILE, MILE LONG, 1-1/2 MILES LONG, DEPENDING ON HOW MANY WERE IN THE HERD, AND THEY JUST SLOWLY MEANDER THEIR WAY NORTH AS THEY MADE IT THROUGH THE COURSE OF THE DAY.

THEY'D OFTEN BREAK FOR THEIR NOONTIME, SOME TIME MID AFTERNOON, TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF A BREAK, EAT THEIR DINNER, AND THEN KEEP DRIVING UNTIL NEARLY DISK.

SO YOU'D SPEND ALL DAY IN THE SADDLE WORKING CATTLE THE WHOLE TRIP.

GET TO BED LATE, GET UP AND START THE DAY ALL OVER AGAIN THE NEXT MORNING.

>> ONLY ABOUT 25% OF COWBOYS WENT MORE THAN ONCE SO, WHEN THEY GOT TO ABILENE, THAT WAS IT.

THOSE DANGERS AND ALL THOSE THINGS THAT COULD HAPPEN, THEY DIDN'T GO AGAIN.

ABOUT 5% WENT MORE THAN TWICE.

>> WHAT YOU WOULD DO IS YOU WOULD JUST SPEND TIME IN PREPARING THE HERD TO MOVE, AND THE MORE AND MORE THE COWBOYS WERE AROUND THEM, THE MORE THEY GREW ACCUSTOMED TO HAVING THE COWBOYS AND THE HORSES NEAR THEM.

SOMETIMES WHAT YOU WOULD DO IS YOU WOULD -- CATTLE WILL NATURALLY SELECT LEADERS AMONGST THEMSELVES, SO YOU WOULD END UP SOMETIMES WITH WHAT'S CALLED A LEAD STEER, AND SO YOU GET CATTLE THAT ARE THE ONES THAT WILL LEAD AS YOU'RE AT THE FRONT, YOU GET THE ONES THAT FOLLOW TOWARDS THE REAR, EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, THERE WAS A STEER THAT WAS SO GOOD, THEY WOULD TAKE THEM BACK TO TEXAS AND LET THEM SERVE'S LEAD STEERS ON THE NEXT DRIVE.

ONE OF THE FAMOUS ONES IS A STEER CALLED OLD BLUE.

SO HE MADE SEVERAL DRIVES.

>> THE TRAIL WAS FRAUGHT WITH DANGER ON EVERY SIDE.

THERE WERE INDIANS AND RATTLESNAKES, RUSTLERS HID ALONG THE WAY TRYING TO STEAL AS MANY HEAD AS THEY COULD AND THEY KILLED COWBOYS THAT GOT IN THE WAY, AND, OF COURSE, THERE WAS THE WEATHER.

>> CATTLE DRIVES START EARLY SPRING, AND EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE LEAVING TEXAS AND HEADING NORTH, ALL THE PERILS THAT COME WITH SPRING IN OKLAHOMA CAN BE HAZARDOUS TO THE COWBOYS.

SEVERE STORMS, YOU'D HAVE HAIL, WIND, TORNADOES, YOU CAN STILL HAVE WILDFIRES IN THE SPRING, AND, OF COURSE, WITH EVERY DOWNPOUR, YOU HAVE DELUGES THAT WILL SWELL THE RIVERS UP, AND A LOT OF THESE COWBOYS AREN'T PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN NEAR OR AROUND WATER, SO THEY'RE NOT SWIMMERS, AND SO RIVER CROSSINGS WERE REALLY A DANGEROUS PLACE FOR COWBOYS.

>> AT THIS TIME, 150 YEARS AGO, WE WOULDN'T HAVE HAD AS MANY TREES, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN MOSTLY PRAIRIE, AND SO IF YOU CAN PICTURE A PERSON ON A HORSE, THEY WERE OFTEN THE TOLLEST THING FOR MILES AROUND, SO THE LIGHTNING STORMS, YOU'RE ON YOUR HORSE, AND GOOD LUCK.

>> ANY NUMBER OF THINGS COULD SET CATTLE OFF ON A STAMPEDE, AND THAT WAS DEFINITELY ONE OF THE COWBOYS' WORST NIGHTMARES.

YOU COULD LOSE ALL YOUR EQUIPMENT THAT YOU HAD TRAVELING WITH YOU, THEY COULD DAMAGE THE WAGONS, THEY COULD RUN OVER THE COWBOYS, YOU COULD GET CAUGHT UP IN STOMPS BY THE COW AS THEY BROKE AND RAN, AND THEN ONCE THE STAMPEDE WAS OVER, YOU HAD TO GO OUT AND TRY AND FIND THE MISSING CATTLE.

>> THE SCORPIONS TO THE PRAIRIE DOGS COULD TAKE YOU DOWN.

I MEAN, THERE WERE JUST NUMEROUS OBSTACLES TO MAKING IT TO ABILENE.

>> AFTER THREE MONTHS OF 16-HOUR DAYS IN THE SADDLE AND SLEEPING ON THE GROUND, THE HERD PULLED INTO THE SIDE OF THE TOWN.

ONCE THE HANDS HAD EVERY LAST COW LOADED INTO THE PENS, IT WAS PAYDAY.

>> YOU HAVE A BUNCH OF TEENAGERS THAT MAKE ROUGHLY A DOLLAR A DAY FOR THEIR TRIP, SO THEY'RE COMING INTO BIG MONEY WHEN THEY HIT TOWN, AND YOU HAVE TO THINK $30 A MONTH DOESN'T SOUND LIKE A LOT, BUT THE TYPICAL WORKER OR LABORER MAY BE MAKING 15 TO $20 A MONTH, SO THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY FOR THEM TEENAGERS, AND WITH THE TEENAGERS COMES ALL OF THE VICES THAT YOU WOULD ASSUME WOULD FOLLOW.

>> THERE WERE MANY DIVERSIONS TO SEPARATE THE NAIVE COWBOY FROM THEIR MONEY, LIKE LIQUOR, GAMBLING, AND SOILED DOVES OF EASY VIRTUE.

GUN FIGHTS WERE A DAILY OCCURRENCE.

FINALLY THE CITIZENS OF ABILENE SAID WE'VE HAD ENOUGH.

>> WHAT HAPPENS IN ABILENE IS THE SAME AS MANY OF THE CATTLE TOWNS, IS YOU BRING IN INDIVIDUALS TO START THE BUSINESSES TO SERVE THE COWBOYS AND THEN FAMILIES FOLLOWED SUIT AND BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, YOU HAVE A FULL-FLEDGED TOWN AND THEY JUST DON'T WANT TO HAVE THE KIND OF ACTIVITIES THAT THE COWBOYS LIKE ANYMORE.

>> THROUGH THE NEXT 20 YEARS, THE RAILROAD STARTED -- CONTINUED TO BE BUILT TO THE WEST, SO THE NEXT STOP WOULD BE ELLSWORTH, WHICH IS IN CENTRAL KANSAS, AND THEN FINALLY IN DODGE CITY, WHICH WAS THE END OF THE CHISHOLM TRAIL ERA.

>> YOU HAVE THE SHAWNEE TRAIL THAT ORIGINALLY RUNS THROUGH MISSOURI AND THEN THE CHISHOLM THAT BEGINS IN ABILENE AND MOVES FARTHER WEST TO ELLSWORTH AND THEN YOU END UP WITH THE GREAT WESTERN TRAIL THAT ENDS UP MOVING THROUGH THE TEXAS PANHANDLE, SO YOU SEE THIS CONTINUALLY PROGRESSION OF THE CATTLE TRAILS MOVING WEST UNTIL THEY'RE EVENTUALLY REPLACED WITH RAILROAD LINES THAT RUN FROM KANSAS TO TEXAS.

>> FROM ROUGHLY 1867 TO 1889, THE TRAIL WAS ACTIVE.

THE HEIGHT KIND OF RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THOSE YEARS WHEN WE WOULD HAVE HAD MILLIONS OF HEAD COMING UP.

1889, THE LAND RUNS GET STARTED, THE LAND STARTS BEING BROKEN APART.

SETTLERS, EVEN IF THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY COMING IN FOR THE LAND RUN, THE LAND RUN IS GOING INTO INDIVIDUAL HANDS, THE BARBED WIRE FENCES ARE GETTING PUT UP.

>> AS NEW SETTLERS MOVED INTO THE TERRITORY, THEY TYPICALLY WERE FARMERS, AND SO OFTEN THEY REFERRED TO THE SOD BUSTERS AND THEY WOULD PUT UP FENCES, THEY'D BREAK UP THE LAND, THEY'D PLANT, AND OFTEN YOU'D HAVE SOME CONFLICT BETWEEN CATTLE RANCHERS THAT WERE MAKING DRIVES AND THE FARMERS, ESPECIALLY IF THEY WERE GOING THROUGH THEIR FIELDS.

>> BARBED WIRE WAS THE DEATH KNELL FOR THE CHISHOLM TRAIL.

ONCE IT STARTED GOING UP AND YOU DIDN'T HAVE FREE RANGE, YOU HAD TO FIND ANOTHER ROUTE.

>> 1885, THE SANTA FE IS BUILT THROUGH CENTRAL OKLAHOMA.

OF COURSE THAT BECOMES A WAY FOR CATTLEMEN TO GET THEIR CATTLE TO MARKET RATHER THAN DRIVING, TAKING THE RISK OF A TRAIL, WHY NOT JUST TAKE THEM TO YOUR LOCAL RAILHEAD AND SELL DIRECTLY TO THE AGENTS AND HAVE THEM SHIPPED TO MARKET.

>> SO WHAT YOU SEE AS A RESULT OF THE DRIVE IS REALLY THE SPREAD OF HERDS.

NOT JUST INTO OKLAHOMA, BUT ALL THE WAY UP THROUGH THE NORTHERN STATES AND TERRITORIES AND INTO CANADA.

TEXAS BEEF EVENTUALLY SUPPLIED MANY OF THE GREAT HERDS WE TALKED ABOUT FOR SOME OF THE GREAT RANCHES HERE IN OKLAHOMA, BUT AS FAR NORTH AS MONTANA, WYOMING, IDAHO AND UP INTO CANADA.

>> WE STILL HAVE CATTLE RANCHES IN OKLAHOMA BECAUSE THERE STILL IS A NEED FOR BEEF, AND IN 1909, THE END OF IT, THAT DEMANDS COMES FROM CHICAGO TO OKLAHOMA CITY WITH THE PACKING PLANTS.

>> IN 1909, OKLAHOMA CITY OFFICIALS BORROWED THE ONLY CAR IN TOWN TO DRIVE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE WILSON PACKING COMPANY FROM CITY HALL TO WHAT WOULD LATER BECOME THE OKLAHOMA NATIONAL STOCKYARDS.

>> THE STORY IS IT TOOK THEM TWO DAYS TO GET IN THIS LONE AUTOMOBILE TO HERE, AND THAT'S FASCINATING TO ME TO THINK BACK ABOUT THAT RIVER MUST HAVE BEEN ROARING AND THEY HAD TO CUT THROUGH SANDSTORM THICKETS AND THEY GOT BOGGED DOWN IN QUICKSAND, BUT THEY MADE IT, AND ONCE THE GENTLEMEN ARRIVED HERE, THEY REALLY LIKED WHAT THEY SAW, BUT THERE WERE SOME CAVEATS THAT CAME WITH THAT DEAL.

THEY DEMANDED 350,000 GALLONS OF WATER A DAY FOR FIVE YEARS.

THEY ALSO DEMANDED A CASH PAY-OUT OF $300,000, 150,000 THE DAY THAT THEY OPENED THEIR DOLLARS AND WITH THE REMAINDER BEING PAID UPON EITHER SIX MONTHS OR A YEAR AFTER THEY OPENED, WHICH AS A CASH PAY-OUT, YOU THINK ABOUT THAT TO THIS DAY, WOW, AND THEY ALSO WANTED SOME TAX RELIEF OVER THE COURSE OF FIVE YEARS.

IN ADDITION, THE CITY HAD TO BRING WATER TO THIS AREA AND TROLLEY SERVICE, AND SO ALL OF THESE VERY LONG AGREEMENT, BUT THEY ALL SHOOK HANDS AND SAID, YES, LET'S MOVE FORWARD, AND OVERNIGHT, THIS INDUSTRY WAS BORN IN OKLAHOMA CITY.

>> S & S IS A PACKING PLANT OUT OF CHICAGO, WHAT WOULD EVENTUALLY BECOME WILSON PACKING, COMES TO OKLAHOMA CITY IN 1909.

SUDDENLY, THE BACKING HOUSES ARE NOT JUST IN CHICAGO OR KANSAS CITY, THEY'RE IN OKLAHOMA CITY.

>> RAILROAD BROUGHT CATTLE IN HERE IN THE EARLY DAYS, WHICH WAS ABOUT ALL THE WAY THEY HAD TO COME, HAUL THEM IN A WAGON, BACK TO THE STOCKYARD.

PEOPLE OUT AROUND DROVE THEIR CATTLE IN HERE.

>> EVERY NOW AND AGAIN, YOU'LL COME ACROSS A PICTURE OF THE OLD TRUCKS LINED UP, WHERE YOU HAD JUST A SINGLE CAB PICK-UP WITH RAILS IN THE BED OF IT AND THERE WILL BE ONE LONE BIG FAT STEER THAT'S IN IT.

>> THEY LINED UP 24 HOURS A DAY, UNLOADING.

WE'D GO TO LUNCH, THEY'D BE LINED UP.

>> RAILROAD AROUND THE YARD, THEY LOADED CATTLE RIGHT DOWN ON THE YARDS OVER HERE, RIGHT ON THE TRAIN.

THEY COULD LOAD 22 CARS AT ONE TIME, ALL AROUND THE YARD, AND BACK THEN, YOU COULD LOAD AROUND 42,000 POUNDS OF CATTLE ON ONE OF THOSE RAILCARS.

>> SOME OF THE PACKING HOUSES WITH THEIR BUYERS, WITH THE CATTLE THEY PURCHASED, WOULD LOAD THEM BACK ON THE DRAINS AND THEN THOSE CATTLE WERE DELIVERED TO THEIR PACKING HOUSES, SO THE TRACKS ARE STILL EXISTENT OUT HERE, YOU CAN STILL SEE THEM, AND THE RAIL BED WHERE THE CATTLE WOULD OFF-LOAD AND GO DOWN TO THE PENS.

IT RUNS A PERFECT HORSESHOE AROUND THE SIDE OF THE FACILITY, AND IT'S JUST FASCINATING TO SEE ALL OF THAT BEING HERE.

>> KENNETH MADDING WAS A MUCH YOUNGER MAN WHEN HE FIRST GAME TO WORK AT THE STOCKYARDS.

>> I GOT HERE ABOUT 5:00 IN THE MORNING WHEN I GOT HERE IN AUGUST OF '44, AND WHEN I COME OUT HERE THAT DAY TO JUST LOOK AROUND, IT WAS SOMETHING TO SEE, CATTLE LINED UP, CATTLE EVERYWHERE.

WHEN I COME ALONG, THEY HAD LOTS OF LITTLE PACKING HOUSES HERE IN OKLAHOMA CITY.

PROBABLY SIX OR SEVEN OR EIGHT LITTLE PACKING HOUSES, ALL OF THEM BROUGHT THEIR CATTLE RIGHT OUT HERE, MOSTLY, RIGHT OUT OF THE YARD.

>> THIS IS WHAT A CATTLE DRIVE LOOKS LIKE TODAY.

EVERY MONDAY AND TUESDAY, THOUSANDS OF HEAD OF CATTLE ARRIVE BY SEMI FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.

>> THEY ARE SORTED, ALL OF THE SORTING PENS, STAGING PENS, IF YOU WILL, ALL HAVE FEED AND WATER.

(AUCTIONEER'S CHATTER) >> IN THE AUCTION HOUSE, A LOT OF CUSTOMERS LIKE TO COME AND SEE THEIR CATTLE SOLD, GET SOLD.

THEY MAY WORK ALL YEAR FOR THAT ONE PAYCHECK THAT, IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE, THOSE CATTLE ARE SOLD AND THEN THEY HAVE THEIR CHECK.

THEY SPENT ALL YEAR GETTING THOSE CATTLE TO THAT POINT, BUT THESE BUYERS CAN HAVE AS MANY AS 25, 30, 40 ORDERS, DEPENDING ON WHO THEY DO BUSINESS WITH, SO -- AND AT THE BLINK OF AN EYE, THAT FLASH OF A CARD, A LITTLE TUG ON THE EAR, IT'S ALMOST LIKE WATCHING BASEBALL, BUT IT'S A CATTLE AUCTION, THEY'RE SO FAST AND THE AUCTIONEER CAN WORK THAT STACCATO UP HIGH ENOUGH AND, BAM, THEY'RE SOLD THAT QUICK.

IT'S AMAZING TO WATCH.

>> THEY RUN THEM IN THERE FOR PEOPLE SOME SOMEBODY IS WORKING FOR THAT COMMISSION SAID, MAN, THERE'S GUYS THAT'S OUT THERE THAT COME EVERY WEEK, MOST OF THEM ARE BUYING FOR SOMEBODY ELSE.

>> WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT THIS WOULD EXIST FOR 108 YEARS.

WE'RE IN OUR 108th YEAR OF BUSINESS.

WE'RE ON TRACK TO HELL 400,000 HEAD OF CATTLE THIS YEAR.

THERE HAVE BEEN MILLIONS OF CATTLE SOLD THROUGH HERE.

>> WE'VE HAD OVER 20,000 CATTLE HERE IN A DAY SEVERAL TIMES, AT THE AUCTION, WE SOLD CATTLE ONE MONDAY, WE SOLD ALMOST 24 HOURS, JUST LIKE ABOUT 15 OR 20 MINUTES, SELLING 24 HOURS.

NOW THAT'S LOTS OF CATTLE.

>> ON A MONDAY, SO WE HAD 10,000 HEAD OF CATTLE.

IF YOU FIGURE OVER THE COURSE OF THE DAY, THAT AVERAGE ANIMAL, EVEN WITH SMALLER ANIMALS ARE GOING TO BE A LITTLE BIT CHEAPER VERSUS A LARGER ANIMAL IS A LITTLE MORE EXPENSIVE IF THE AVERAGE ANIMAL IS $100,000, ON A 10,000 HEAD DAY, THAT'S $10 MILLION THAT JUST CAME THROUGH IN 24 HOURS IN ONE INDUSTRY, AND I THINK FOLKS WOULD BE HARD-PRESSED TO FIND ANOTHER INDUSTRY IN OKLAHOMA, SHORT OF OIL AND GAS, PROBABLY WRECKERS THAT KIND OF MONEY IS GENERATE IN THAT SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME.

>> THERE IS A STRONG SENSE OF PRIDE IN THE RANCHERS THAT HAVE SPENT THEIR LIVES RAISING CATTLE AND PUTTING MEAT ON THE TABLE.

>> TO HELP A COW DELIVER A CALF AT 2:00 IN THE MORNING ON A REALLY COLD NIGHT IS REALLY SPECIAL.

A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T GET TO EXPERIENCE THAT, AND NOT THAT WE HAVE ALL OF OUR COWBOYS NAMED OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BUT IT'S THE ADMINISTEREDSHIP AND THE PRIDE THAT YOU CAKE IN PROVIDING A SUSTAINABLE FOOD SOURCE OF PROTEIN FOR A HUNGRY WORLD THAT YOU CAN'T REPLACE THAT.

IT'S HUMBLING.

>> THE CHISHOLM TRAIL REPRESENTS THE TIME PERIOD.

TOO OFTEN IN MOVIES, WE LIKE TO SIMPLIFY.

THE CHISHOLM TRAIL HAS BECOME ALMOST MYTHICAL.

IT HAS BECOME THE LEGEND OF COWBOYS AND COWBOY CULTURE WHEN ACTUALLY THE RANCH CULTURE IS REALLY MORE ACCURATE FROM A HISTORICAL POINT OF VIEW.

>> JESSE McCOY GETTING HIS CATTLE TO ABILENE AND LOAD THEM ON RAILCARS WAS SO REVOLUTIONARY AND SUCH A STEP TOWARDS CREATING THIS WONDERFUL FOOD SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE EVEN TODAY.

>> IN THE INTERIM WOULD HAVE BEEN THIS ROMANTIC ERA OF THE COWBOYS AND THE LONGHORN STEERS AND DODGE CITY AND WICHITA AND ABILENE AND BOARDING THE CIMARRON RIVER AND SURVIVING THE QUICKSAND AND THE STAMPEDES AND THE LIGHTNING, THE USE OF MUSIC TO SOOTHE THE CATTLE, OUT OF THAT COMES COUNTRY MUSIC.

OUT OF THE ROPING SKILLS NEEDED BY A COWBOY COMES RODEO.

>> CATTLE DRIVE HAS BEEN ROMANTICIZED OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN AMERICAN CULTURE, THROUGH BOOKS, MOVIES, AND TELEVISION.

IN AMERICAN HISTORY, IT LASTED JUST 30 YEARS.

A SLIVER IN TIME THAT BECAME AN EVERLASTING FIXTURE IN THE IMAGINATIONS OF THOSE WHO YEARN FOR THE FREEDOM OF THE AMERICAN WEST.

THAT DREAM IS A REALITY THAT CONTINUES AS THE DEMAND FOR BEEF BRINGS RANCHERS AND THEIR STOCK TO OKLAHOMA'S COW TOWN.

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