'Big Die-off' wiped out many Texas-NM cattlemen

Back during the early 1880s, much of West Texas, the state Panhandle and outlying areas extending all the way across the state, and much of New Mexico, began to be overcrowded as well as overstocked. Grass, for whatever reason, seemed to be going out of business, disappearing, sagebrush taking its place. And more than a few cattlemen decided that this might be a good time to find a different occupation. And winter wasn't any easier. Cattle during this time of year --by instinct and need -- seemed to drift southward, on occasion for a hundred miles or so, usually seeking shelter in canyons and valleys, or simply dying somewhere along the way. Therefore, in order to keep the cattle from drifting such great distances, barbed-wire fences commenced arising. While most ranchers hesitated to string the wire, they also knew they had little or no choice. In 1882, the Panhandle Stock Association followed up with a barrier extending from the New Mexico line all the way to the Canadian River breaks in Hutchinson County, Texas. By 1885, these barbed-wire fences. generally known as "Drift Fences," extended from the Texas Panhandle across New Mexico and into Indian territory (Oklahoma). One result of all this was an effective barrier, one keeping northern cattle from drifting south onto the southern ranges. But starting late in December 1885, a series of wild blizzards ripped through northern Texas and most of New Mexico, driving vast herds of cattle and other livestock south until they struck the drift fences. So all these cattle huddled themselves against the fence line. But in the process, they often froze or smothered to death...read more