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 In the State of Texas the Western Cowboy can be found home on
the range. But can you really find a true western cowboy in the
state of Texas? At one time you could find real cowboys in Texas
but that time was over one hundred years ago.

Up until the end of the war between the north and the south you
could find western cowboys still roaming the range. However the
end of this conflict brought many changes to the open range.

The railway was completed to areas of the country that
previously did not have a good system of transport. Cities were
rebuilt and new cities sprung up around the country. The hard
feelings between the north and the south never really
disappeared totally. Even today in some parts of the country
there are people who still harbor a dislike from the north or
the south.

In the later part of the 1860s a new invention devastated the
open range. A new type of wire with barbs attached started
showing up all over the United States of America. The
introduction of this wire began a new type of war in some
states. It was known as the range wars.

The barb wire actually pitted neighbor against neighbor, and
family members against family members. What was known a free
range land where cattle were moved from one location to another
was no more.

The cattle men now had to contend with land grabs by farmers and
those who wanted their own free range land. Large tracks of land
was being fenced off all over the states. As the cattlemen tried
to maintain their holdings they would hire bounty hunters to
tear out the fences as fast as they were being built. The
government made the problem even worse by offering to give free
land holdings to any person who was willing to settle the range
lands.

Many settlers were killed or removed from the land which they
had claimed. Some sold land back to the ranches, but most were
not that lucky. The development of the railway which was an
excellent mode of transportation to move cattle to the markets,
destroyed the need for the long cattle drives. The railway, and
the new barb wire fencing had literally wiped out the common
cowboy.

This took place over a very short time span of about ten years.
Some folks will say that home on the range cowboys have all but
disappeared.

There are a lot of large number of working ranches still today
with vast tracks of land but many of the best valleys and most
fertile land has been purchased by large corporations. The
cowboy of today has changed a lot from the cowboy of fifty years
ago. The days of driving a thousand head of cattle and horses
are long gone and remain only as a legend and a fond memory.

The modern cowboy looks like the western cowboy of the past.
Today's cowboy still uses his horse as did the western cowboy of
the State of Texas from bye gone times. But the way he manages
his land has changed as have the cattle drives.

If one takes a moment to stand on the range and listen carefully
you might hear the thunder of hoofs and the call of the western
cowboy off in the distance, and experience a glimpse of our
past.

About the author:
Tom Strayhorn is one of the few real cowboys left so why not
saddle up and come visit him at Cowboys-n-Campfires
 

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