Swimming the Platte, portion of engraving by E. Boyd Smith....The dangers of the trail were not limited to stampedes. Many were killed at the very beginning of the drive at the Red River. There were four crossings: Rock River Crossing, Red River Station, Doans Crossing, and Ringgold. Rock River Crossing on the Shawnee Trail at the confluence of the Red River and the Washita fell into disuse for cattle as the trails moved westward. - Andy Adams described Doans Crossing: Red River, this boundary river on the northern border of Texas, was a terror to trail drivers. The majestic grandeur of the river was apparent on every hand, with its red bluff banks, the sediment of its red waters marking the timber along its course, while the driftwood, lodged in trees and high on the banks, indicated what might be expected when she became sportive or angry. The crossing had been in use only a year or two when we forded, yet five graves, one of which was less than ten days made, attested her disregard for human life. It can safely be asserted that at this and lower trail crossings on Red River, the lives of more trail men were lost by drowning than on all other rivers together.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 01:27:39 +0000
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