Added notes from The Handbook of Texas. Herds were never pushed except in emergencies (e. g, to find water). When trailing was perfected, 2500 cattle could be handled by a trail boss, a horse wrangler, a cook and ten cowboys.
In later drives, the ranchers turned the job over to contractors. Very large groups were broken into manageable herds of 2500-3000.

The Trail was defined only at river crossings, the herds were spread out over the prairie so that they could feed adequately. It was not unknown for cattle to gain weight during a drive.
Peak use of the Trail was only for about ten years.

Only anecdotal evidence exists of the song before 1900. Its first appearance is in Lomax, 1910, Cowboy Songs.