Answer: The cowboys did this to get their cattle to market in larger cities such as Chicago.
Explanation:
The cowboys used the Chisholm Trail to get their cattle to market. They took their cattle to Abilene, Kansas. In Abilene, there was the Kansas Pacific Railway. The cattle were then shipped via train to larger cities such as Chicago and other Eastern cities.
The cattle were not worth a lot in Texas, since there were so many the price was a staggering 4$ per head compared to over 40$ in the East and North. This drove the cowboys to take the Chisholm Trail to the largest stockyard in Kansas.
