Western Cowboy

In the State of Texas the Western Cowboy canas fast as they were being built. The government
be found home on the range. But can you reallymade the problem even worse by offering to
find a true western cowboy in the state ofgive free land holdings to any person who was
Texas? At one time you could find real cowboyswilling to settle the range lands.
in Texas but that time was over one hundredMany settlers were killed or removed from the
years ago.land which they had claimed. Some sold land back
Up until the end of the war between the northto the ranches, but most were not that lucky.
and the south you could find western cowboysThe development of the railway which was an
still roaming the range. However the end of thisexcellent mode of transportation to move cattle
conflict brought many changes to the open range.to the markets, destroyed the need for the long
The railway was completed to areas of thecattle drives. The railway, and the new barb wire
country that previously did not have a goodfencing had literally wiped out the common
system of transport. Cities were rebuilt and newcowboy.
cities sprung up around the country. The hardThis took place over a very short time span of
feelings between the north and the south neverabout ten years. Some folks will say that home
really disappeared totally. Even today in someon the range cowboys have all but disappeared.
parts of the country there are people who stillThere are a lot of large number of working
harbor a dislike from the north or the south.ranches still today with vast tracks of land but
In the later part of the 1860s a new inventionmany of the best valleys and most fertile land
devastated the open range. A new type of wirehas been purchased by large corporations. The
with barbs attached started showing up all overcowboy of today has changed a lot from the
the United States of America. The introduction ofcowboy of fifty years ago. The days of driving a
this wire began a new type of war in somethousand head of cattle and horses are long gone
states. It was known as the range wars.and remain only as a legend and a fond memory.
The barb wire actually pitted neighbor againstThe modern cowboy looks like the western
neighbor, and family members against familycowboy of the past. Today's cowboy still uses his
members. What was known a free range landhorse as did the western cowboy of the State of
where cattle were moved from one location toTexas from bye gone times. But the way he
another was no more.manages his land has changed as have the cattle
The cattle men now had to contend with landdrives.
grabs by farmers and those who wanted theirIf one takes a moment to stand on the range
own free range land. Large tracks of land wasand listen carefully you might hear the thunder of
being fenced off all over the states. As thehoofs and the call of the western cowboy off in
cattlemen tried to maintain their holdings theythe distance, and experience a glimpse of our
would hire bounty hunters to tear out the fencespast.