Editing Chisholm Trail (section)

==Challenges==
{{See also|Cattle drives in the United States}}
On the long trips—up to two months—cattlemen faced many difficulties. They had to cross major rivers such as the [[Arkansas River|Arkansas]] and the [[Red River of the South|Red]] and innumerable smaller creeks, as well as handle the topographic challenges of [[canyon]]s, [[badlands]], desolate plains, and low mountain ranges. Major drives typically started in the spring after the rains stimulated the growth of green grasses which the cattle would graze along the way. The spring drives, with those rains and higher water levels with the runoff, always meant more danger at the river crossings, which had few or no bridges suitable for large herds of cattle to cross. The half-wild Texas Longhorn cattle were contrary and prone to [[stampede]] with little provocation.

The days of longest sunlight, near mid-June, were also an important consideration in the timing of drives. In addition to natural dangers, the cowboys and drovers encountered rustlers and occasional conflicts with Native Americans. The cattle drives disrupted hunting and the cultivation of crops in the Indian Territory. Tribal members demanded that the trail bosses pay a [[tariff|toll]] of 10 cents per head to local tribes for the right to cross Indian lands (Oklahoma at that time was Indian Territory, governed from [[Fort Smith, Arkansas]]).

The only woman known to run her own cattle drive traveled from Texas to Wichita using the Chisholm Trail. [[Margaret Borland]] took her family, hired hands, and 2,500 Longhorns on the trail in 1873 in search of profit for her cattle, which were worth triple in Kansas over Texas prices. She died from what was called trail fever just after arriving in Wichita, after an otherwise successful journey.