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Dawson Trail

Cattle trail from northern Texas to the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

Established by John Barkley Dawson in 1859 to supply beef to the gold miners in the Pike's Peak area of the Colorado Territory. The trail followed the Brazos Valley north to Doan's Crossing at the Red River into Indian Territory and on to Fort Dodge, and turning west up the Arkansas River into Colorado Territory. Portions of the Dawson Trail would eventually be absorbed into the Western Trail from Texas into Dodge City.[1]

Trail West to Fury: During the 1867 Miller cattle drive from Little Bend, Texas to Fort Adobe in the Arizona Territory, Bart Maverick reported to Brother Bret and Laura Miller that their competitor, Jessie Hayden, was driving his herd along the Dawson Trail to avoid the flooding of the Pecos River.[2]