The Texas Longtails were descendants of Cats first brought to this continent by the Spanish Conquistadors. The Longtails roamed wild across Texas and Northern Mexico until shortly after the Civil War.
Considered worthless, the Longtails were mostly left to fend for themselves, although, during the Civil War, small herds of cats were driven north, braving the ravages of war, all the way to Chicago. It was not until war's end, when the needs of a growing nation caused the Cat Barons of Texas to gather the Longtails into herds, forming giant Cat Ranches.
With the Trans-Continental Railroad, it became profitable to round them up and drive them north to Abilene, KS. From there they were shipped in Cat Cars to feed the hungry markets in Chicago and New York and to stock the Cat Houses in San Francisco.
In 1867 John Chisholm took his first herd across the Red River in South Texas to Kansas, along what would come to be known as the Abyssinian Trail. Over the next twenty years somewhere between 5 and 10 million cats would traverse the Abyssinian Trail, arriving in such Cat Towns as Abilene, Dodge City and Wichita.
by 1889, the increase in the interest of cattle ranching spelled the end of the great Cat Ranches of Texas and the great Southwest. Today only a few Cat Houses remain in major cities around the country.
Next Week: Great Moments In American History looks at the Bunny Ranches of Nevada and Hollywood.
h/t to mBecker
