Skip to main content

Hauling! (03/14/24)

Bull Train TBT
The images features two bull trains traveling side by side.

In the days before railroads, supplies were moved by animal power. Bull trains transported goods, as seen in this week’s Throwback Thursday. Called bull trains because of the oxen-drawn wagons, heavy materials could be moved across land to more remote areas. This photograph shows the last bull train from Pierre to Rapid City. Records indicate that the photograph was taken at Ft. Meade, and the man on horseback was the wagon boss, “Tex” Himphill. Ten yokes of cattle made up each of the 10 teams, resulting in 100 oxen. Railroads proved more efficient, and the bull trains faded into history.