Editing Sterling County, Texas (section)

===Fence Cutting Wars===

The county suffered droughts in 1883 and 1886–87. The former ignited fence-cutting wars in the county, and the latter of which bankrupted the Half Circle S ranch. [[Fence Cutting War]]s in Texas lasted for close to five years, 1883–1888. As open range areas gave way to farming homesteaders who fenced their land, cattlemen found it more difficult to feed their herds. In some cases, large land owners also fenced public land as their property. As water and grass became increasingly scarce during droughts, homesteaders and ranch-hands began cutting through fences. Newspapers condemned the fence cutters, and property owners employed their own armed security forces. [[John Ireland (politician)|Texas Governor John Ireland]] prodded a special assembly to order the fence cutters to cease. In response, the legislature made fence-cutting and pasture-burning crimes punishable with prison time, while at the same time regulating the building of fences. While the practice abated, sporadic incidents of related violence continued through 1888.<ref>{{cite book|last=Green|first=James R|title=Grass-Roots Socialism: Radical Movements in the Southwest 1895-1943|url=https://archive.org/details/grassrootssocial004134|url-access=registration|year=1978|publisher=Louisiana State University Press|isbn=978-0-8071-0773-7|page=[https://archive.org/details/grassrootssocial004134/page/2 2]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=N.R. Stegall to Ireland, March 31, 1884|url=http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/governors/west/ireland-fence.html|publisher=Texas State Library and Archives Commission|access-date=December 14, 2010}}</ref>