tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822452633282744192.post5984674979564404590..comments2024-03-25T12:21:56.752-05:00Comments on Sweethearts Of The West: This Means War: the Devil’s Rope Comes to TexasCaroline Clemmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14914658854159456335noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822452633282744192.post-75007112923883331442015-11-15T15:17:56.728-06:002015-11-15T15:17:56.728-06:00Thank you for that very informative article and I ...Thank you for that very informative article and I would be for the fencing. Erecting those barb wire fences kept out a herd of cattle coming through and kept in what belonged as well protected the grass for the owner's herd. I think it was the dispute over property boundaries and not having clear lines of public lands open to grazing that brought on the fence wars. Land ownership was constantly fluctuating during the settlement era. Of course, unethical men which I think numbered a few would forge on ahead no matter what for what they believed was best for their stock. The law and the Rangers as you showed came to the rescue on the part of law-abiding settlers. Thank you.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07340941303085515433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822452633282744192.post-83756672681237611832015-11-13T09:19:29.356-06:002015-11-13T09:19:29.356-06:00The wide open spaces certainly began disappearing ...The wide open spaces certainly began disappearing with more and more people buying land and making it privately owned. You would've thought settlers and cowboys would have seen this coming. Conflict was inevitable--and so was fencing. People just don't seem to take to change very well...and Texans can be a mighty stubborn lot. <br />So many different kinds of barbed wire. It certainly was a creative solution to large areas that needed fencing.<br />I really enjoyed your article, Kathleen, as always.Sarah J. McNealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17749991094677728042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822452633282744192.post-32852328602029006632015-11-12T16:39:19.499-06:002015-11-12T16:39:19.499-06:00Yes, ma'am, you have told it like it was. I lo...Yes, ma'am, you have told it like it was. I loved the movie Open Range with Kevin Costner and Robert Duvall...bloody, violent, all Texas.<br />There are two sides to every story, and to this day I don't know which side I'd choose. If I have an enormous ranch and didn't want others to encroach on it, I'd build a barbed wire fence. Yes, I know I'm probably in the minority, but I believe in protecting what is mine. Thanks for the reminder of the violent range wars back then.<br />As an aside, there was an enormous ranch, I think, in North Dakota. To keep their property safe, they brought herds down to the High Plains of Texas where there were no barbed wire fences..yeah, come on down and use our land. But in that huge area, the State of Texas opened the area to settlers and called it The Last Free Land in Texas. But when they all got out there, they had to deal with this N. Dakota (or wherever) cattle company who thought they owned the land. Those settlers quickly turned to growing cotton on what was once cattle ranges. <br />Excuse the errors I might have about this, but it's close to being correct.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16272417114895975742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822452633282744192.post-11596835549749467712015-11-12T16:23:52.572-06:002015-11-12T16:23:52.572-06:00I think I would have been against it too. Great po...I think I would have been against it too. Great post thank you. Mary Prestonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02201076939557413255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822452633282744192.post-67552162385871602612015-11-12T12:22:48.822-06:002015-11-12T12:22:48.822-06:00Oh, duh. I forgot to answer the question. I think ...Oh, duh. I forgot to answer the question. I think I'd be against it. First off, it hurts. Second, apparently a massive cause for violence back then.Tanya Hansonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08580821680629254085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822452633282744192.post-55359977667198422172015-11-12T12:22:00.725-06:002015-11-12T12:22:00.725-06:00Great info, Kathleen! Thanks. Somehow barbed wire ...Great info, Kathleen! Thanks. Somehow barbed wire seems so mean, and across open range, really bad. I remember reading about the horrific blizzards of the 1880's and how thousands of cows were just piled up against the fences, trying to find safety. Sob. Good post. xo Tanya Hansonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08580821680629254085noreply@blogger.com