Barbed Wire Fencing: The End of the American Cowboy
A lone tree stretches itself across the horizon. A tumbleweed brushes it before continuing its journey across the Texas landscape. Thousands of hooves kick up dust as they hurdle past. A group of hardy men on horses form a barrier around the animals and keep them all together in a single ocean of brown, sleek waves. The men drive the cattle into a fenced in area where a crowd of people have gathered. A man stands over the crowd, trying to yell above the noise about the wonders of his newest product. It’s 1876, the man is John Warne Gates, and he was working on ending the life of the American Cowboy.