12/18/07 History of Barb Wire

When most people think of a working ranch, they picture cattle, horses, brands, and I am sorry to say even four wheelers. But without one implement that has remained unchanged from the 1800's, ranching as we know it wouldn't exist. I'm Jeff Keane and I will be back after the break to explain. When the era of cattle drives came to a close a rancher needed to keep his herd from straying, protect waterholes, and insure that other animals and people stayed off his land. One mans idea would provide the solution, here is Susan with the story. A county fair was where Joseph Glidden observed a method of containing livestock by using a wooden rail filled with sharp nails. It got him thinking, so he constructed sharp metal barbs using a coffee bean grinder and placed them at intervals along a wire. "That would be one tough coffee grinder, Starbucks take note." And he had just created one tough " barb wire" fence. Mr. Glidden patented his discovery in 1874 and became known as the Father of Barbed Wire. Religious groups, free grazers and cattle drivers called his invention The Devils Rope for the injuries it caused and the boundaries it imposed. Slowly the barb wire enclosed cattle country. You know Susan ultimately barb wire is responsible for better cattle, you see enclosed pastures meant the rancher had to cut the size of his herd, grow his own feed and breed for an animal that would produce more beef on the hoof and all that from a good coffee grinder.