Monday, August 22, 2011

Cattle drive to mark sesquicentennial

At age 61, Jim Gray realizes he is about to take on a job traditionally held by a 20-year-old. For three weeks in September, Gray — a longtime rancher and cowboy historian from Ellsworth and publisher of the Kansas Cowboy newspaper — will step back in time and become one of the herd drovers on a 200-mile cattle drive that will cross much of south-central Kansas. The drive is in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Kansas' statehood and acknowledges the contribution the cattle industry has played in the state's heritage. Beginning Sept. 5, a herd of longhorn cattle will be driven along the old Cox Trail from Caldwell to Ellsworth. The cowboys, cowgirls and their horses will sleep out under the stars. The drovers will suffer from saddle burns and aching muscles, embrace the weather and indulge in only a few 21st century amenities: portable toilets, cellphones, corporate sponsorships and motorized chuckwagons. Everything else is as authentic as it was in 1876, when the last herd was driven up the trail. Cost to ride along on the trip as a guest drover is $2,500 a week and almost all the spots are taken...more

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