Illustration from Leslie's Illustrated Weekly, May 28, 1881. Click to enlarge. |
Last week, I wrote about an 1881 newspaper article about trailing cattle which mentioned Kerrville. The story included illustrations by L. W. MacDonald which were originally published in "Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper," in New York, on May 28, 1881. They're detailed illustrations of cowboys driving cattle, one showing the herd and cowboys on a road; the other, in a hill-crowded valley lined with trees.
Elsewhere in that issue I found another image by L. W. MacDonald which shows stampeding cattle racing away from a lightning strike.
"A flash of lightning and the crash of thunder sent many a herd of Longhorns stampeding to parts unknown," the same issue reported. "It also was dangerous for the cowboys who on horseback were the highest objects on the prairie, making them targets for lightning. This storm broke over a herd near Kerrville, Texas."
Not only does the illustrated story mention Kerrville – it tells the story of driving cattle north to markets in Kansas.
Here is an excerpt from the story about Kerrville and driving cattle in the 1881 newspaper:
Kerrville, where our illustrations were made, is situated on the Guadalupe River, some thirty miles from its source and seventy northwest of San Antonio. In the early Spring the town presents a singular appearance of business activity, for it is on one of the principal trails taken by the vast herds that are annually driven up from Texas to Kansas. Eight miles are a fair day's march. Sometimes the herd makes twelve or fourteen, but there is never any haste, for time is of less importance than the condition of the cattle and if they get worried and cease to gain flesh they are given a rest of a few days. Every day the foreman rides ahead to find water and choose the site of the night’s camp. The six drivers ride upon the flanks and rear of the herd. Towards evening the foreman is descried on the summit of a hill signaling the way to the night’s resting- place. Arrived at the spot selected, the cattle are rounded in at twilight, and then the men divided into reliefs for guard-mounting. The guards, two on duty at a time, round the sleeping herd, each making a half-circuit of the camp. Fires are lighted, supper cooked, and the men off duty roll themselves in their blankets and lie down on the grass to sleep until awakened to relieve the guard. Soon after daybreak, the camp is astir and the march is resumed.
Stampedes frequently occur, particularly in the early days of the journey, when the cattle are wild. The least thing will sometimes set them off, such as the striking of a match or the sudden motion of a cowboy throwing his blanket over his shoulders. A thunder-storm is almost certain to cause a stampede. The course usually taken on these occasions is to endeavor to head the stampede, and by shouts and gesticulations to turn the leading cattle so as to make them take a circular course. But this cannot always be done, especially on dark nights and rough ground; then large numbers are lost and make their way back to where they were raised. Texan cowboys excel in the art of using the lasso, or roping, as it is called there. They can throw the rope over the horns of a cow going at full speed with the greatest ease. The long-lashed whip generally associated with cattle-driving is seldom seen here; a short whip made of raw-hide, called a ‘quirt’ is used instead.
In a recent issue we spoke of the Texas cowboys, giving an illustration of one of their chief diversions when off duty. There is no better place to observe this peculiar product of fronter life than at Fort Worth. He goes there from his home on the plains to spend his money at the saloons, swagger in the streets, buy himself a new sombrero with silver cord and binding of bright-colored braid, and make merry with the girls in the variety theatre. He is apt to make himself obnoxious in a crowded town; but seen on his native heath, cantering over the plains on his swift mustang, swinging his lariat and shouting his whoop and halloo to the fleeing steers, he is a picturesque spectacle. He lives in a hut or a tent, sleeps in Summer rolled in his blanket in the open air, is the saddle from morning to night, settles his quarrels with his six-shooter, looks upon killing as a capital crime, and is altogether the most free and independent fellow to be found in this particularly free and independent country.
Why is this important to Kerrville history?
Trailing cattle from this area to markets in Kansas offered the first real infusion of cash and capital into our area. There was simply little or no cash here after the Civil War. Charles Schreiner and several partners profited from driving their own herds to market, and also profited from driving the herds of other ranchers to market.
With these profits, through his banking operations, Charles Schreiner greatly expanded the money supply here. When he loaned money to a rancher, merchant, or businessperson, he was investing in their operations. The same dollar in profit he’d earned from his cattle trailing operations could be invested several times in other local enterprises, while also earning interest. The result was increased economic activity in our region.
Even though Schreiner’s bank didn’t mint coins or print bills, it effectively expanded the money supply in our community by increasing the amount of spendable dollars through the loans it made.
This economic miracle all started with driving cattle – which were considered at first basically worthless here, as they ranged freely across our hills – to a place where they had actual value.
It changed the course of our local history.
Until next week, all the best.
Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native and a descendent of at least one cowboy who drove cattle to markets in Kansas. This column originally appeared in the Kerr County Lead May 15, 2025.
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