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Cattle Barons and Land Owners

John Chisum: The Cattle King of the Pecos and His Jinglebob Empire

A Texas contractor turned trail driver who built one of the largest cattle operations on the Pecos River.

Who was John Chisum?

John Simpson Chisum was born on August 15, 1824, in Hardeman County, Tennessee. In 1837 his family moved southwest to the newly independent Republic of Texas. Before he ever owned a large herd he worked as a building contractor and served as county clerk in Lamar County, Texas, which gave him a head for contracts and paperwork that later mattered in the cattle trade.

According to the Wikipedia biography, he entered the cattle business in 1854. Over the next three decades he became one of the best known cattlemen in the Southwest, remembered under the title Cattle King of the Pecos.

How did Chisum build a cattle empire on the Pecos?

Chisum was among the first to drive herds west from Texas into New Mexico Territory. He claimed grazing land along the Pecos River, where water was the key asset on an otherwise dry range, and he settled in Lincoln County. The operation is known by the name Jinglebob.

Accounts of the size of his herd vary, and the figures are reported rather than counted: one summary puts his Lincoln County ranch at over 100,000 head. Treat that as the upper end of what the stories claim. Even at a fraction of that number, his Pecos ranch was among the largest cattle holdings of its time, and it depended on an uninterrupted chain of water, grass and sales.

Chisum, Goodnight and Loving: the 1866 partnership

In 1866 and 1867 Chisum partnered with Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving to supply cattle to U.S. Army posts, to Santa Fe and to miners in Colorado Territory. This was the trail drive business at its most practical: government and mining camp demand paid for long drives from Texas, and a partnership spread the risk of each herd across three experienced names.

For Chisum the arrangement tied his Pecos grass to reliable buyers. It also tied his name to two of the most famous trail men in Texas history.

The Pecos War and the Lincoln County War

Growth on the Pecos brought conflict. The Pecos War of 1876 to 1877 pitted Chisum against smaller ranchers, the group known as the Seven Rivers Warriors and the Mescalero Apache. In one episode he led a siege of the Beckwith family's house but retreated at the urging of his cowboys.

He then stood on one side of the Lincoln County War of 1878 to 1881. Chisum opposed the Santa Fe Ring-linked business monopoly known as the House, run by Lawrence Murphy and James Dolan. The war caused several deaths. A $500 dispute between Chisum and Billy the Kid is part of the story as well, and in 1880 Chisum and others backed Pat Garrett's successful run for Lincoln County sheriff. Garrett later killed Billy the Kid in July 1881.

The Key to Chisum's Success

Chisum's rise rested on a few documented moves rather than luck. He started with contracting and county office, which taught him how public money moved, and he entered cattle with an eye toward large buyers instead of small local markets.

His record also shows the price of that scale. Range wars, legal fights and heavy debt followed him, and his holdings did not outlast him by long.

  • He moved early into New Mexico, claiming Pecos River land before competition filled it.
  • He sold to large, steady buyers: army posts, Santa Fe and Colorado mining camps.
  • He partnered with Goodnight and Loving in 1866 and 1867 to share the risk of long drives.
  • He took sides in the Lincoln County War, backing the opponents of the House monopoly and later supporting Pat Garrett for sheriff.
  • He never married, and his estate, reportedly about $500,000, passed to his brothers; all land and property was sold by 1899 to pay debts.
  • Conflicts with smaller ranchers and the Mescalero Apache were part of how his range expanded.

Death, estate and the end of the Jinglebob

Chisum died on December 22, 1884, in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, at age 60, from complications after surgery to remove a growth on his jaw. He was unmarried. His estate, reported at $500,000, passed to his brothers Pitzer and James, and by 1899 everything had been sold to pay debts.

His niece Sallie Lucy Chisum lived in the Roswell area until 1934, and her diary is valued by historians for its accounts of the Lincoln County War, Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett.

Honors, statues and screen portrayals

The museum honor roll lists Chisum in the Hall of Great Westerners, inducted in 1958. Statues of him and of Sallie Chisum stand in Artesia and Roswell, New Mexico. The 1970 film Chisum starred John Wayne, and James Coburn played him in Young Guns II in 1990. Those portrayals are fiction built on a real man.

For more reading, see the profile at Encyclopedia.com and the long feature from HistoryNet on the Pecos cattle king.

Chisum is often retold through film and legend, which can blur the working rancher behind the stories. The documented record shows a contractor, a trail driver and a landowner whose business ran on water, grass and contracts, and whose fortune did not outlast him by much.

Visit and learn more

The country Chisum ranched can be explored around Roswell and Artesia, New Mexico, where the statues stand. For related ranching history, browse ranching on farm.FM, or read a farm.FM story about trail drives and the Pecos.

Timeline

  1. 1824Born in Hardeman County, Tennessee
  2. 1837Family moves to the Republic of Texas
  3. 1854Enters the cattle business
  4. 1866-1867Partners with Goodnight and Loving on army, Santa Fe and Colorado supply
  5. 1876-1877Pecos War with smaller ranchers
  6. 1878-1881Lincoln County War period
  7. 1884Dies in Eureka Springs, Arkansas
  8. 1899All land and property sold to pay debts

Frequently asked questions

Who was John Chisum?

John Simpson Chisum (1824 to 1884) was a Texas-raised cattleman who drove herds into New Mexico Territory and ranched along the Pecos River, earning the nickname Cattle King of the Pecos.

How many cattle did John Chisum own?

One summary reports over 100,000 head on his Lincoln County ranch. That is a reported figure, not a counted one, so treat it as the high end.

What was John Chisum's role in the Lincoln County War?

He opposed the House monopoly of Lawrence Murphy and James Dolan, and in 1880 he helped back Pat Garrett's run for Lincoln County sheriff.

What happened to Chisum's ranch after his death?

He died unmarried in 1884. His estate went to his brothers, and by 1899 all land and property had been sold to pay debts.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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