Historical Fact

Open Range and Cattle Rustling

When the cattle industry began on the Great Plains, the factor that made it all possible was the open range. Land not granted to the railroads or to homesteaders remained free, and its use was available to everyone. That meant the grazing on the grasslands cost the cowboy or rancher nothing. It allowed cattle to roam like the buffalo before them for profit.

The invention of barbed wire and the encroachment of homesteaders wanting to fence in their farms was part of the end of open range. With the decimation of the buffalo herds and the relocation of plains’ Native Americans, many saw less need for open range. The killer storms and blizzards of the 1800’s were the death knell for the cattle industry in Kansas and other Great Plains’ states.

Another disadvantage of the open range was the problem of livestock rustlers. Unemployed gangs of cowboys and other ruffians took advantage of cattle herds or horses grazing far from ranches. This was a prevalent practice then, and it even occurs today as cattle prices fluctuate and rise. Pre-1900 might have meant a lynching if a rustler was caught.

The following sources will provide more information.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranch
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/barbed-wire/index.html
http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle_raiding