Ancient buffalo trails, first worn into soft dirt by thousands of animals running single file to water at places such as Champion Creek six miles south, formed deep parallel tracks as herds abandoned routes that had become too deeply cut and opened new ones beside them. Trails to grazing lands spread outward from watering holes, while migratory routes extended from the Rio Grande to Canada, usually along high, level ground to avoid winter snowdrifts and summer muck. In Mitchell County, brothers J. Wright and John Mooar, businessmen and noted buffalo hunters, helped kill thousands of buffalo, including a white buffalo, from 1870 to 1877; hides were the chief product, though tongues, humps, and hams were also sold. Buffalo remained so numerous that in 1872 John Mooar witnessed a northward migration of millions that took more than six weeks to cross the Arkansas River. These trails also aided Indians following the herds to feeding grounds, and later guided explorers laying out roads and railroad engineers using their exact routes, making the buffalo trail important to transportation and settlement across the U.S.