The transition of open prairie to enclosures of barbed wire was actually a social revolution among the early-day settlers and ranchers. To some, it was a threat to job security, to others it was the only solution to continued living on the Great Plains. To most, it meant a complete change of traditions, daily work and the acceptance of a new way of life.
From the 1500s to 1800, livestock enclosures consisted of rail fences where timber existed, rock walls where stone was available, brush, cactus or hedge fences and ditches. The shortage of raw materials and the amount of labor required in construction limited these fences to small enclosures around homesteads and ranches.
To raise and harvest crops required the complete control of livestock and large poultry. The old Spanish method of “transhumance,” handed down from the old world countries, prevailed allowing farms to produce food crops. Since most of the early-day farming was limited to small plots along river bottoms and creek areas, the outlying hills and plains were ideal on which to graze the various community herds and flocks.
Transhumance is defined as, “the periodic removal of all livestock except draft and milk animals from farming areas during the planting, growing and harvesting of food crops. Basically, this meant the period of time from April 1 to October 1 each year.
To accomplish this an entire annual schedule for the community had to be planned at the first of each year, dates for roundups and livestock removal set and rules made to enforce these events.
In early Mexico, the ruling counsel responsible for transhumance duties was the Mexican Mesta, hearing all complaints, making all decisions and deciding all laws. Also the Mesta attended all tax assessments, brand regulations, stray stock treatment, roundup and trail drive rules and set damages caused by livestock
Carrying out transhumance duties required that all cattle, horses, mules and burros were properly branded before removal then carried to the hills and grasslands for summer graze. All sheep and goats were identified and driven to brushy areas for summer graze. All swine and turkeys were identified as to ownership and driven to low lying bog areas for the summer season
The older men and young boys, incapable of strenuous labor tended the herds and guarded them from bandits and predators. After the fall crops were harvested in the communities, the livestock were returned to graze the crop residue. At this time the surplus animals were sold for income or butchered as needed for food.
To prevent damages to crops, continual around-the-clock vigilance was almost a necessity to ensure a crop could be harvested. A rigid schedule kept by all family members was necessary to comply with transhumance rules in order to prevent damage to growing crops. To those who existed for centuries under these conditions, the advent of barbed wire fencing seemed like a miracle.
