As the Texas ranchers returned after the Civil War, they soon realized that getting the stock to market was not the only obstacle they faced. In their absence, there had been some worrisome changes in the cattle themselves.

The herds had scattered; many had wandered far from the ranches. In addition, the Confederate army had taken many cattle to feed the troops—without compensating the ranchers. Other cattle had been taken in Indian raids. Meanwhile, calves had been born, grown to maturity, and given birth themselves during the four years the ranchers had been away. None of these cattle were branded, of course, so there was considerable confusion as to who owned which animals. In addition, many bulls had reverted to the "wild" pattern of savagely fighting for females. (Normally, ranchers castrated most bulls, to prevent such aggressive behavior.)

Before they...