mar 16, 1885 - The cowboy era ends. Increased settlement of Kansas leads to the closing of the cattle towns, and expanding railroad lines mean that ranchers no longer have to drive cattle to railheads. Huge blizzards that strike the plains in 1886 and 1887 kill off cattle by the thousands, proving that cattle can't be left to fend for themselves. Farmers claim increasing amounts of western land, and ranchers are forced to purchase and fence land for their cattle. Men who were once cowboys now become farmhands. (Timeline)