After the cavil 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. Frist the cattle became too plentiful and the price of beef fell from about $35a cow to $7. Soon barbed wire was invented to control grazing lands and water. Tha cattle were no longerr as free to roam where they chose. In the 1880's Kansas authorities refused to let Taxas cattle across the border because of the dread Taxas fever carried by the long-horned cattle. The terrible winter of 1886-1887 killed thousands of cattle, and many ranchers and cowhands found them selves out of work. Some went to work for sheep ranchers; others entered differrnt occupations. A few coehands stayed on at a few invested in small ranches of their own.