After the Civil War. The cattle business expanded rapidly and the rugged independent individuals who raised the cattle caught the interest of the entire nation. The reality behind the romantic image of cowhands and cattle raising was short lived
However first the cattle become too plentiful $35 a cow to $7. Soon barbed wire was invented to roam where they chose. In the 1880’s Kansas authorities refused to let Texas cattle across the border because of the dread Texas fever carried by the
long-horned cattle. The terrible winter of 1886-1887 killed thousands of cattle,and many ranchers and cowhands found themselves out of work. Some went to work for sheep ranchers; others entered different occupations. A few cowhands stayed on at the old ranches to struggle through the hard times and a few invested in small ranches of their own.