The route ran from the
Comanche summer hunting grounds on the
Great Plains of northern Texas,
Oklahoma,
New Mexico,
Colorado, and
Kansas to the
Rio Grande river which formed the border of the United States and Mexico. In the 18th century, the Spanish had established a line of missions and
presidios to defend from what was then called
New Spain from the Comanche and other Indian tribes. Mexican independence from Spain in 1821 resulted in a decrease in the new country's capability to defend itself from Indian raids. At the same time, there was a growing demand for livestock, especially horses and mules, in the expanding United States. The Comanche took advantage of the situation by raiding hundreds of miles deep into Mexico for livestock which they marketed in the United States. By 1857 parts of the trail had been named and appeared on maps. The Comanche launched their raids on Mexico in autumn, riding south on nights with a full moon, called a Comanche Moon in Texas. Following water sources, the primary trail ran north from two starting points on the
Rio Grande River, one at
Boquillas and the other at
Presidio, with crossings of the river at both locations. The legs of the trail met at
Comanche Springs, near
Fort Stockton, Texas and
Las Moras Springs near
Fort Clark. The trail continued north to cross the
Pecos River in the vicinity of
Horsehead Crossing, bending northeast to the area of
Odessa and
Big Spring, Texas. From there the Comanche Trail ran east past the
Caprock Escarpment and on across the
Llano Estacado by two separate routes. One branch ran to the vicinity of
Lubbock and along the
Double Mountains (Texas) fork of the
Brazos River to near the present site of
Abernathy, to near
Littlefield, then via a series of springs to the
Pecos River near
Fort Sumner. A separate fork ran from
Big Spring, Texas to near
Plainview, Texas, rejoining the other route to the east of
Muleshoe. The Comanche Trail was noted as a beaten path as much as a mile wide. Much of the southeastern leg of the main trail runs through what is now
Big Bend National Park, leaving the park through
Persimmon Gap in the Santiago Mountains in the northern portion of the park.
U.S. Route 385 follows the same route through parts of the park. ==See also==