cowboys vs homesteaders

• homesteaders anger


  ranchers filed claims under the homestead act themselves for bits of land that had springs and waterholes - took all the attractive land
• homesteaders anger


  cowboys would claim land in their names and then hand the rights over to their employer
• homesteader anger


  ranchers bought land from the railroad company on check-board pattern and fenced it off which meant homesteaders couldn't have access to public land
• homesteaders anger


  wealthy ranchers took homesteaders to court over claims, knowing they couldn't afford lawyers and they would have to give up their claim
• homesteaders anger


  some ranchers intimidated homesteaders, eg by damaging their crops, threatening them or accusing them of rustling cattle. The punishment for rustling was severe and could cause homesteaders to give up their claims
• homesteaders anger


  as ranching relied on access to huge amounts of public gracing land, rancher used legal and illegal tactics to block public land that ranchers relied on
• ranchers anger


  homesteaders turned small parcels of land into private farms
• homesteaders anger


  cattle strayed onto homesteaders fields and ate their crops
• homesteaders anger


  ranchers said that cows had legal rights to roam and farmers were to blame id they hadn't fenced off their land
• both angry


  ranchers complained that homesteaders barbed wire fences caused harm to their animals as well as other devious acts
• these disagreements led to range war - put pressure on law enforcement
• cattle ranchers also complained about sheep herders - sheep ate all the grass and spread diseases such as sheep scab