USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Vast and undefined prairies and plains yielded to range management, farming, and ultimately, widespread settlement. As the use of barbed wire increased, wide open spaces became less wide, less open, and less spacious, and the days of the free roaming cowboy were numbered.

Detailed explanation-2: -Barbed wire and windmills brought about the closing of the once open range, ended the great trail driving era, and allowed ranchers to improve their land. By 1900, hundreds of windmills and thousands of miles of fences insured that ranchers could better use their grass, water and manpower.

Detailed explanation-3: -By the 1880s, the cattle boom was over. An increase in the number of cattle led to overgrazing and destruction of the fragile Plains grasses. Sheep ranchers competed for scarce water, and the sheep ate the grass so close to the ground that cattle could no longer feed on it.

Detailed explanation-4: -The final blow to the open range was the winter of 1886-87. It became known as the Great Die Up. It was an incredibly harsh winter with temperatures dropping to-55 degrees. Deep snow prevented the cattle from reaching the grass and around15% of open range herds died.