The End of the Cattle Drives

How the Railroads Ended the Cattle Drives The coming of the railroads caused a revolution in the cattle industry. As the rails stretched across the plains, the reason for cattle drives – to get the cattle to distant railheads for shipment – faded away. The passing of the cattle drive was beneficial to the better breeds of cattle that were being introduced into the Texas herds, because they were not as suited to the long drives as were the longhorns. A trail drive on the Matador Range of Texas, around 1910. Even long after the era of the great cattle drives, short drives like this one to the railhead at Lubbock, Texas, remained a part of cowboy life. Photographed by Irwin E. Smith. Looking down from a high point on Matador longhorns grazing. Shoe Bar Ranch, Texas, 1912

The height of the Cattle Drive Era in Texas was from about 1867 to 1884. Compare the maps of Railroads in the United States. Using these maps, what conclusions can you come up with to explain one of the major causes of the end of Cattle Drives? What cities in Texas would ranchers in South Texas and the Panhandle be driving their cattle to in the 1890 map? 1890

The Coming of Barbed Wire Barbed came into widespread use during the late 1870s. With the use of barbed wire came the end of driving cattle through Texas and the Midwest. Throughout history, people have used available materials to build fences. In the west the most common building materials were stone or wood. One example of the rail fences used before barbed wire was invented. These fences were not widely used in the Plains where the vast expanse of land and the lack of trees made the rail fence less than practical. Smooth wire fences were used in the 1870s but they didn’t stop the cattle. Barbed wire fences could be laid much easier across broader areas of land. They also use a lot less wood than the rail fences. Rock fence popular in the Hill Country Joseph Glidden was an Illinois farmer first credited with the invention of barbed wire. He first patented the “devil’s rope” in November of 1874 to keep stray dogs out of his wife’s flower garden.

The Fence Wars The cattlemen who were determined to improve the quality of their herds soon strung miles of barbed wire. In fact, they often fenced not only land that they owned or leased, but also public land that was supposed to be open to all. In their desperate grab for range land, some cattle raisers even fenced off small farms and ranches belonging to others. In some places, fences blocked public roads. Farmers fenced their land to keep the cattle out of their crops and away from their precious water sources. Meanwhile, ranchers who still believed in free grasslands were infuriated to find fences blocking their access to pasturage and water for their animals. Fence-cutting became common, in some areas reaching the dimensions of a full-scale war. In 1883, in land stretching across three Texas counties, 75 miles of fence was destroyed in a single night. In some areas, tempers ran so hot that gunfire erupted and lives were lost. Texas politicians tried to ignore the problem, but finally in January 1884, Gov. John Ireland and the Texas Legislature made fence-cutting a felony punishable by one to five years in prison. Fences across public lands were ordered removed within six months. The Fence Wars had ended.

Windmills and Water Improvement of beef herds began in earnest when windmills came to West Central Texas. The transcontinental railroads first brought windmills to the Texas plains to provide water for their engines and crews in the early 1870s. When ranchers were able to fence and cross-fence their lands into different pastures, they were able to control breeding, the first requirement for improving herd quality. With a well and a windmill in each pasture, they no longer needed direct access to a stream to provide water for their cattle. Ranchers could have separate summer and winter pastures, bull pastures, and pastures restricted to blooded stock. With the protection of the land with wire and exploitation of the underground water supply with windmills, more high-quality animals were imported. By the 1890s, shorthorns and Herefords were dominant.

How Windmills Work Many people see windmills spinning in the distance, but how do they work? The windmill head is a gear box that strokes a rod in the well to pump water with a windmill cylinder. Each time the wheel turns, the gears move the rod up and down to pump the water from the bottom of the well to the surface where the livestock can benefit from it. The tail on the windmill keeps the wheel positioned into the wind so that it gets the proper power to pump water. The water is then poured into a cistern (holding tank) that makes the water available for use.

Credits Most of the information in this presentation was taken from the article listed below: Ramos, Mary G. Selections from “Railroads, Windmills and Barbed Wire.” Texas Almanac. http://www.texasalmanac.com/history/highlights/railroads/. (These selections are part of one chapter of a larger history of West Central Texas published in the 1990–1991 Texas Almanac. It explains how the convergence of railroads, windmills, and barbed wire in that region in the late 1800s forever changed the face of the Texas prairies and plains, as well as the complexion of the West Texas cattle industry.)