Hey Delmonico

[GunClick Rick]

Was there ever times when more than one chuck wagon and or cookie would be used?Just watchin The Cowboys and got to wonderin??? Some of them drives had to be huge..

[Forty Rod]

Used to be joint drives with more than one outfit.  Each one would send a wagon along and the cowboys would eat where ever it was closest...or at whichever one had the best cook.

I suppose a big outfit like King or Goodnight might have had more than one, maybe several.

[St. George]

Indeed.

The big drives had the chuckwagons and cooks from different outfits  along - just as they had their reps and cowhands - and depending upon where they found themselves at a mealtime - they ate there and kept things moving.

It's mentioned in a couple of the histories of the Goodnight Trail and the King Ranch - and I think in Teddy Blue Abbott's 'We Pointed Them North'.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

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[Delmonico]

OK based on what I've read, a long trail drive such as one from Texas to Kansas had one chuckwagon per herd.  They found out real quick to keep the herds down to maybe 2000 at most.  If needed send a second crew and herd.  The trail crew most often had around 11 men, 8 trail drivers which were 2 point, 4 swing and 2 drag, add a cook, a horse wrangler and the trail boss that's 11.  One cook and chuck wagon could handle that pretty well. 

They tried to keep a distance of several miles between herds.  However these herds sometimes got mixed in a stampeed or at a flooded crossing.  Then with a larger group of men to feed two or more wagons would gather together.

The same on round-ups, each outfit was expected to send hands and the wagon.  Depending on terain, they might make one large camp with each cook doing the type of food they did best or the wagons might be more spread out and you were expected to eat at the wagon you were in the area of. 

[GunClick Rick]

The King Ranch is still pretty big outfit out Oregon way i am thinking..Seems when i was there about 7 years ago,i heard folks tal about them,my cousins inlaws are ropers,pro i think..