Through a gap in the hills called the Brady Mountains passed the western cattle trail, also known as the Dodge City Trail, Fort Griffin Trail, or the Beef Trail. Said to have originated in 1876, it was the last of the old-time Texas cattle trails, because those east of there had been closed by farmers. Large numbers of cattle were driven up this trail from 1876 to 1886, with over 200,000 head in 1881 alone. The trail started near Brownsville and came up to San Antonio, then ran northwest through or near Uvalde and Kerrville. Skirting the Nueces River, it crossed the divide, crossed the headwaters of the South Llano River, forded the San Saba River at Pegleg Crossing, went downriver about six miles, and then turned north. Near Brady, feeder trails joined it from Fort McKavett and points west, and from San Saba to the east. After leaving Cow Gap, it went northwest, crossed the Colorado at Beef Crossing in Waldrip's Bend, and continued to Coleman, Baird, Fort Griffin, and Vernon, crossing the Red River at Doan's Crossing. It then ran northward through Indian country to Dodge City, Kansas, and later into Wyoming and Montana. This trail was of great worth to the territories it traversed.