i think most people agree it had to do with jesse chisholm.rior to the civil war, there were trade routes radiatiing al throughout the grasslands. indian peoples knew them. black beaver knew them. he knew them very well. you had to be able to find water and grass all the time. that's how people got around. think about grass as i discuss it in my book as stored solar energy, and that feeds the animals. that's what powers them. just like stored solar energy in the form of petroleum powers our cars. it's just a different form, but that's the key to making it work, solar energy, and so you got to have that, and so that was very important. i think i drifted off, and your question again? >> the name chisholm. >> oh, yeah, the name chisholm. these people knew this route. they knew a route from the trading post that the osages would go to many times around where the little arkansas river meets the large arkansas river. the plains people, this was the trading area. people knew this area. and to go from there to the red river south or any other rivers t