d find grass
             to eat, and the cowboys avoided the Indians, stampedes, cattle fever,
             and other hazards. From 1866 to 1888, over 4 million steers were driven
             from Texas to the northern processing towns.
             The railroad made the Long Drive possible, but it almost made it
             impossible as well. The same trains that brought meat into the eastern
             markets also brought settlers to the western plains. The new settlers
             began to grow crops and some began to raise sheep. These new farmers
             enclosed their land with Glidden's barbwire. The thousands of miles of
             barbwire separated the formerly open plains into small sections that
             were not conducive to the Long Drive. The terrible winter of 1886-1887
             also left thousands of cattle frozen and starved. Over expansion and
             over grazing likewise took their toll.
             The only way for the ranchers to avoid collapse was to make cattle
             raising a big business and avoid over production. Breeders learned to
             fence their property, store food for winter, import blooded bulls, and
             produce fewer but meatier animals. The ranchers also learned to
             organize. The Wyoming Stock-Growers' Association virtually controlled
             The Homestead Act of 1862 brought a new dawn for western farmers. The
             law provided that a settler could acquire as much as 160 acres of land
             by living on it for five years, improving it, and paying a small fee of
             about $30.00. As an alternative, land could also be purchased after
             only six months' residence at $1.25 per acre. Lands purchased by either
             way were exempt from attachment for debt.
             Before the Homestead Act, public land had been sold primarily for
             revenue; now it was to be given away in order to encourage settlement
             and a stimulus to the family farm-"the backbone of democracy." The new
             ...