Gary Kraisinger, who enjoys studying antique maps and creating his own maps, drew over eighty maps for the Kraisingers’ first book, The Western, the Greatest Texas Cattle Trail.
Those maps consisted mostly of township maps, showing the section, range, and township and location of the Western Cattle Trail across western Kansas and southwestern Nebraska. Also published at the time of the book, were two poster-size maps showing the entire routes of the Western Cattle Trail—across western Kansas and across southwestern Nebraska.

Gary concentrates on an old map, measuring distance, in preparation to creating his own map.
All of his maps are hand-drawn and it takes hours to create one draft.
A blank onion-skin sheet lies in front of him waiting for his input.

After the publication of the 2004 book, friends asked Gary about a map of their state of Texas. “Surely, Gary, you can create a map for us?” It took one year, but in 2006, the “Map of Central Texas Showing the Location of the Western Cattle Trail,” was created by Gary and printed by the Mennonite Press. It shows feeder routes going into the trunk line of the Western Trail at San Antonio and Bandera. That trunk line continues on north to the Red River at Doan’s Crossing. At the same time, the couple published the “Map of North of Ogallala Showing the Location of the Western Cattle Trail.” This map shows the trunk line of the Western Trail going north out of Ogallala, Nebraska, and continuing north into Wyoming and Montana territories. A branch of the trail is also mapped through the Dakotas, going past the Black Hills and as far north as Fort Buford. Both of these 24 inch by 36 inch maps are available in our shop.

While researching for their second volume on the Western Cattle Trail, Gary and Margaret decided it was time to design a map for each of the four cattle trail systems that came north out of Texas. To see and understand the full picture about the cattle-trailing industry from its beginning to end, one needs to see the movement of the trails, from the earliest to the last. In other words, to understand the Western Trail, one needs to know about its predecessors. Most of the time, these different trail systems are put on one map, showing the trunk lines and branches side by side, causing a very congested map, not to mention a confusing display. (This was done on page 23 of the couple’s first book.) Each system deserves a map to show the entire trunk line and its branches. Therefore, in 2010, a four-map series was published:
#1 – The Shawnee Trail System (1846-1875);
#2 – The Goodnight Trail System (1866-1885);
#3 – The Eastern/Chisholm Trail System (1867-1889);
#4 – The Western Trail System (1874-1897).
These maps are 24 inches by 36 inches and are ready for framing. The four system maps will also appear in the forefront and back-end pages of the new book.

Once it was decided that the many years of research on the Western Cattle Trail really needed to be put in a book, Gary and Margaret committed to working on the project every possible moment. Each was still working full time and blocks of time was not easily attainable. Margaret likes to tell this story: Gary, at the onset of the project, commented, “Oh, this shouldn’t take long. All the research is done. We should be able to do this in a few months.” Seven years later, after eight drafts, the manuscript was finally presented to Mennonite Press of Newton for printing. The couple equate the planning of a book to that of building a house from the ground up. Every word, picture, and map had to be scrutinized. After the initial printing, three proofs were required—where the authors read the copy word by word. (And still there are typo errors in the final copy.)

Margaret and Gary Kraisinger stand in front of the large printer at Mennonite Press in Newton, Kansas.
After years of research, writing, and creating maps, the couple hold the first sheet of their book to come off the printer.
April, 2004

After the book was printed, it was sent off to the bindery. An embossed hardcover was created; the pages were folded, cut, and stitched; and a dustcover was added. A total of 5,000 books were ordered. Because of the size of the book (9″ by 12″), each book weighing four and one half pounds, the delivery of books in July came in on eleven pallets. Gary and Margaret were so excited to see the end product. Margaret also said, “We are never going to do that again!”

Gary and Margaret sit on top of the pallets that hold their new book, The Western, the Greatest Texas Cattle Trail, 1874-1886.
A ladder had to be used to reach the top of the stack. July, 2004 Mennonite Press, Inc., Newton, Kansas

Gary and Margaret were living in Dighton, Lane County, Kansas in 1967, both teaching school. Unbeknown to them, not far away was Route III of the Western Cattle Trail across western Kansas heading toward Ogallala, Nebraska, and beyond.

When a local rancher friend showed them a trail across his pasture, they became curious. What trail was this? He did not know. In those days, there were no personal computers, so questions were posed to old timers in the area. Some thought it might be a cattle trail from the south, but that was only a guess.

Dighton, KS nearly convered by longhorn on map by Gary of Kansas portion of Western Cattle Trail

Gary and Margaret started looking in books trying to find an answer. In most sources, a cattle trail called the Texas Trail or the Western came into Dodge City, but ended there. Even James Michener in his historic volume on Texas wrote of the cattle drives from Texas and showed the trail ending at Dodge City.  But Dighton was north of Dodge City!

Surely the Kansas State Historical Society would have the answer.  Upon asking the archivist of its historical library in Topeka, Gary and Margaret were told that they had nothing on any cattle trails north of Dodge. “Go back to western Kansas and research for the answer,” they were told.

After more digging, a few maps were found showing a Western Cattle Trail going across western Kansas. But—the trail was like a straight line from Dodge City, Kansas to Ogallala, Nebraska, as if someone had aligned the two towns with a ruler and then drew a line!  To Gary, who has a degree in geography and cartography, that was unrealistic. “I’ll draw my own map,” he said.

Over the next thirty years, the Kraisingers read everything they could find about the Western Trail through western Kansas. To their surprise, there was not just one route, but a total of five different routes going north out of Dodge City.

In 1997, when the couple started writing their book, they realized that the cattle trail which had gone by Dighton was part of the largest cattle-trailing system to ever come out of Texas. Over the Western Cattle Trail millions of longhorns were pushed to the northern ranges, rail terminals, and Indian reservations. The majority of these animals were trailed north of Dodge City and across western Kansas.