#[1]Texas Standard » Feed [2]Texas Standard » Comments Feed [3]Fact Check: Did Border Patrol apprehend more than 50 people from southern Africa in 2021? [4]Stigma persists around hunger in military as pandemic numbers remain high [5]alternate [6]alternate ____________________ [7]Texas Standard Texas Standard * * * * * * [8]All Our Stories * [9]TOPICS + [10]Agriculture & Animals + [11]Arts & Culture o [12]Books o [13]Bug Bites o [14]Film o [15]Food & Drink o [16]History o [17]Music o [18]Sounds of Texas # [19]Heel To Toe o [20]Sports o [21]Stories From Texas o [22]Texan Translation o [23]Typewriter Rodeo o [24]Weekend Trip Tips o [25]Where There’s Smoke + [26]Border & Immigration + [27]Business & Economy + [28]Coronavirus + [29]Crime & Justice + [30]Education + [31]En Español + [32]Energy & Environment + [33]Government & Politics o [34]Child Welfare o [35]PolitiFact Texas o [36]Week in Texas Politics + [37]Health & Science + [38]Housing + [39]Military and Veterans’ Affairs + [40]Partner Organizations o [41]Texas Newsroom + [42]Race & Identity + [43]Tech & Innovation + [44]Transportation * [45]FIND A SHOW + [46]Podcasts o [47]Stories from Texas o [48]Texas Standard o [49]Typewriter Rodeo + [50]Recent Shows + [51]Show Archives o [52]01/06/2022 o [53]01/05/2022 o [54]01/04/2022 o [55]01/03/2022 o [56]12/31/2021 + [57]Whole Shows * [58]About Us + [59]How to Listen + [60]FAQ + [61]Newsletter + [62]Contact Us * [63]All Our Stories * [64]TOPICS + [65]Agriculture & Animals + [66]Arts & Culture o [67]Books o [68]Bug Bites o [69]Film o [70]Food & Drink o [71]History o [72]Music o [73]Sounds of Texas # [74]Heel To Toe o [75]Sports o [76]Stories From Texas o [77]Texan Translation o [78]Typewriter Rodeo o [79]Weekend Trip Tips o [80]Where There’s Smoke + [81]Border & Immigration + [82]Business & Economy + [83]Coronavirus + [84]Crime & Justice + [85]Education + [86]En Español + [87]Energy & Environment + [88]Government & Politics o [89]Child Welfare o [90]PolitiFact Texas o [91]Week in Texas Politics + [92]Health & Science + [93]Housing + [94]Military and Veterans’ Affairs + [95]Partner Organizations o [96]Texas Newsroom + [97]Race & Identity + [98]Tech & Innovation + [99]Transportation * [100]FIND A SHOW + [101]Podcasts o [102]Stories from Texas o [103]Texas Standard o [104]Typewriter Rodeo + [105]Recent Shows + [106]Show Archives o [107]01/06/2022 o [108]01/05/2022 o [109]01/04/2022 o [110]01/03/2022 o [111]12/31/2021 + [112]Whole Shows * [113]About Us + [114]How to Listen + [115]FAQ + [116]Newsletter + [117]Contact Us * ____________________ Atrocious but efficient: How ranchers used barbed wire to make phone calls A barbed wire telephone call didn’t sound great but could quickly warn others about something such as a wildfire. IFRAME: [118]https://atx.audio/3JDl8az By W. F. StrongDecember 29, 2021 11:01 am[119]Agriculture & Animals, [120]Arts & Culture, [121]History, [122]Stories From Texas, [123]Texas Standard Original pixabay.com/pixel2013 Historian J. Evetts Haley wrote that, in its time, the old XIT Ranch up in the Texas Panhandle was “probably the largest fenced range in the world.” He recalled that its barbed wire enclosed over 3 million acres of land. At the north end alone, the fence ran for 162 miles. The unique enclosure helped keep in enormous cattle herds, keep out rustlers, and also gave rise to the creative use of a new technology: the telephone. I’ll come back to the XIT in a moment, but first, consider these smattering of reports from that era. In 1897, The Electrical Review, reported that “on a ranch in California, telephone communication had been established between the various camps . . . by means of barbed wire fences.” The article says the novel use of the phone was a great success and was being used in Texas as well. That same year, the New England Journal of Agriculture was impressed that two Kansas farmers, living a mile apart, had attached fine telephone instruments to the barbed wire fence that connects their places and established easy communication. From the Butte Intermountain in 1902 we see this notice: “Fort Benton’s latest development is a barbed wire telephone communication.” The article points out that people of the range were not all that happy with barbed wire, which they thought was an “evil” that had arrived with the railroad, but they had decided to look at the practical side of its existence and use it to create a telephone exchange that would connect all the ranches to Fort Benton. [124]More Like This: “You May All Go To Hell” And 9 More Great Texas Quotes On the XIT, given that the ranch covered over 4,500 square miles, there was interest in creating a communication system that would be more efficient than sending out fast riders to distant camps. “In the early 1900’s,” Haley reported, “a great many telephones were placed upon the ranch. Where possible, the top line of the fences was used as a telephone line, though the ‘service’ was atrocious.” It did allow for quick communication concerning emergencies such as a grass fire that required all cowboys immediately. There was even talk among technology geeks of the era that cowboys could carry phones wherever they went and clip on to the fence to report problems they encountered. Haley said that the old cowboys no doubt scoffed at the notion of carrying phones in their saddlebags to squawk about every escaped bull or rattlesnake bite they came across. The cowboys, always ingenious when it came to invention, perfected the barbed wire phone systems by adding insulators. They’d use old broken whiskey bottles and soda pop bottles – particularly the necks of them — to put under the wire to lift it off the fence and improve conductivity. This made the signal go further and clarified the voices they carried. The rudimentary phone systems of the ranches led to more creative thinking about rural phone systems in general. Dr. Don Anderson, who has his PhD in electrical engineering from Stanford and is a technological historian, told me that that barbed wire phone systems led to the analogical conclusion that “using whatever is already in place is smart planning.” So, when rural Texas wanted to extend phone service from town to town, the engineers came up with the idea that they could use the existing rural power lines, already installed by the Rural Electrification Act and run the phone signal right through the electric lines – just at a different frequency. That saved a lot of money and brought phone service along with electricity to rural areas. [125]More Like This: The Story Behind Texas’ Favorite Butter Still, many ranches liked their barbed wire systems and kept them, even though the voice quality wasn’t nearly as good. As late as the early 1970’s a dairy farmer I knew had a barbed wire phone running from his house a half mile to the barn. He said it was good for talking to his wife about what time supper was. But most of all he said, “It’s free. I don’t have to pay Ma Bell nothing for that phone, and I enjoy thinking that it’s a burr in their saddle.” Dr. Anderson told me it’s quite fascinating to consider that what started as a fence system on the XIT evolved really into what is the XIT Communications which serves that region today. XIT Communications provides phone service and high speed internet to rural communities in the footprint of the original ranch – and more. If you found the reporting above valuable, please consider making a donation to support it [126]here. Your gift helps pay for everything you find on [127]texasstandard.org and [128]KUT.org. Thanks for donating today. More from 12/29/2021 * [129]As COVID-19 cases reach record highs, this health expert warns against New Year’s gatherings [130]As COVID-19 cases reach record highs, this health expert warns against New Year’s gatherings * [131]Texas Standard for December 29, 2021 [132]Texas Standard for December 29, 2021 * [133]COVID continues to make air travel unpredictable, but carriers are in better shape than they were last year [134]COVID continues to make air travel unpredictable, but carriers are in better shape than they were last year * [135]A prison radio station eases the isolation felt by men on death row [136]A prison radio station eases the isolation felt by men on death row * [137]Austin restaurateur wants Texans to save the environment — by eating wild hogs [138]Austin restaurateur wants Texans to save the environment — by eating wild hogs * [139]Stigma persists around hunger in military as pandemic numbers remain high [140]Stigma persists around hunger in military as pandemic numbers remain high * [141]Fact Check: Did Border Patrol apprehend more than 50 people from southern Africa in 2021? [142]Fact Check: Did Border Patrol apprehend more than 50 people from southern Africa in 2021? Most viewed right now * [143]Ask a doctor: How to tell COVID-19 from cedar fever, and substitutes for an N95 mask * [144]New law requires Texas landlords to tell tenants if their property lies in a 100-year flood plain * [145]Tarrant County judge urges shots as hospitals are overwhelmed with unvaccinated COVID-19 patients * [146]Texas gas producers struggled to keep up during last weekend’s cold front * [147]This Austin native holds the door open to his neighborhood’s car club tradition * [148]Supreme Court to hear arguments on federal vaccine mandates NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE, YOU’RE ON TEXAS STANDARD TIME The Texas Standard is a partnership of [149]Texas Public Radio [150]KERA -- North Texas Public Broadcasting [151]KUT 90.5 Austin's NPR Station [152]Houston Public Media * ©2021 Texas Standard. A service of the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin | [153]Contact us References Visible links 1. https://www.texasstandard.org/feed/ 2. https://www.texasstandard.org/comments/feed/ 3. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/fact-check-did-border-patrol-apprehend-more-than-50-people-from-southern-africa-in-2021/ 4. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/stigma-persists-around-hunger-in-military-as-pandemic-numbers-remain-high/ 5. https://www.texasstandard.org/wp-json/oembed/1.0/embed?url=https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/atrocious-but-efficient-how-ranchers-used-barbed-wire-to-make-phone-calls/ 6. https://www.texasstandard.org/wp-json/oembed/1.0/embed?url=https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/atrocious-but-efficient-how-ranchers-used-barbed-wire-to-make-phone-calls/&format=xml 7. https://www.texasstandard.org/ 8. https://www.texasstandard.org/all-stories/ 9. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/atrocious-but-efficient-how-ranchers-used-barbed-wire-to-make-phone-calls/ 10. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/ag/ 11. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/arts-culture/ 12. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/books/ 13. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/bug-bites/ 14. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/film/ 15. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/food-drink/ 16. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/history/ 17. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/music/ 18. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/sound-ids/ 19. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/boots/ 20. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/sports/ 21. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/wfstrong/ 22. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/texan-translation/ 23. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/typewriter/ 24. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/trip-tips/ 25. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/barbecue/ 26. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/immigration/ 27. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/business/ 28. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/corona/ 29. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/crime/ 30. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/education/ 31. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/en-espanol/ 32. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/energy-environment/ 33. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/government-politics/ 34. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/child-welfare/ 35. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/politifact/ 36. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/week-in-politics/ 37. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/health-science/ 38. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/housing/ 39. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/military/ 40. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/partners/ 41. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/texas-station-collaborative/ 42. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/race-identity/ 43. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/tech-innovation/ 44. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/transportation/ 45. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/atrocious-but-efficient-how-ranchers-used-barbed-wire-to-make-phone-calls/ 46. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/atrocious-but-efficient-how-ranchers-used-barbed-wire-to-make-phone-calls/ 47. https://kutkutx.studio/category/stories-from-texas 48. https://kutkutx.studio/category/texas-standard 49. https://kutkutx.studio/category/typewriter-rodeo 50. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/atrocious-but-efficient-how-ranchers-used-barbed-wire-to-make-phone-calls/ 51. https://www.texasstandard.org/archive/ 52. https://www.texasstandard.org/shows/01-06-2022/ 53. https://www.texasstandard.org/shows/01-05-2022/ 54. https://www.texasstandard.org/shows/01-04-2022/ 55. https://www.texasstandard.org/shows/01-03-2022/ 56. https://www.texasstandard.org/shows/12-31-2021/ 57. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/show/ 58. https://www.texasstandard.org/about-the-team/ 59. https://www.texasstandard.org/listen/ 60. https://www.texasstandard.org/faq/ 61. https://www.texasstandard.org/sign-up-for-the-texas-standard-newsletter/ 62. https://www.texasstandard.org/contact-us/ 63. https://www.texasstandard.org/all-stories/ 64. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/atrocious-but-efficient-how-ranchers-used-barbed-wire-to-make-phone-calls/ 65. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/ag/ 66. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/arts-culture/ 67. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/books/ 68. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/bug-bites/ 69. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/film/ 70. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/food-drink/ 71. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/history/ 72. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/music/ 73. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/sound-ids/ 74. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/boots/ 75. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/sports/ 76. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/wfstrong/ 77. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/texan-translation/ 78. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/typewriter/ 79. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/trip-tips/ 80. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/barbecue/ 81. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/immigration/ 82. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/business/ 83. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/corona/ 84. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/crime/ 85. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/education/ 86. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/en-espanol/ 87. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/energy-environment/ 88. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/government-politics/ 89. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/child-welfare/ 90. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/politifact/ 91. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/week-in-politics/ 92. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/health-science/ 93. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/housing/ 94. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/military/ 95. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/partners/ 96. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/texas-station-collaborative/ 97. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/race-identity/ 98. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/tech-innovation/ 99. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/transportation/ 100. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/atrocious-but-efficient-how-ranchers-used-barbed-wire-to-make-phone-calls/ 101. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/atrocious-but-efficient-how-ranchers-used-barbed-wire-to-make-phone-calls/ 102. https://kutkutx.studio/category/stories-from-texas 103. https://kutkutx.studio/category/texas-standard 104. https://kutkutx.studio/category/typewriter-rodeo 105. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/atrocious-but-efficient-how-ranchers-used-barbed-wire-to-make-phone-calls/ 106. https://www.texasstandard.org/archive/ 107. https://www.texasstandard.org/shows/01-06-2022/ 108. https://www.texasstandard.org/shows/01-05-2022/ 109. https://www.texasstandard.org/shows/01-04-2022/ 110. https://www.texasstandard.org/shows/01-03-2022/ 111. https://www.texasstandard.org/shows/12-31-2021/ 112. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/show/ 113. https://www.texasstandard.org/about-the-team/ 114. https://www.texasstandard.org/listen/ 115. https://www.texasstandard.org/faq/ 116. https://www.texasstandard.org/sign-up-for-the-texas-standard-newsletter/ 117. https://www.texasstandard.org/contact-us/ 118. https://atx.audio/3JDl8az 119. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/ag/ 120. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/arts-culture/ 121. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/history/ 122. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/wfstrong/ 123. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/ts-original/ 124. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/you-may-all-go-to-hell-and-9-more-great-texas-quotes/ 125. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/the-story-behind-texas-favorite-butter/ 126. https://kut.secureallegiance.com/kut/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P=KUTOA&PAGETYPE=PLG&CHECK=aI6A0UTYM+PiQl+yqVkEd4HJipnY8PNT 127. https://texasstandard.org/ 128. https://www.kut.org/ 129. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/as-covid-19-cases-reach-record-highs-this-health-expert-warns-against-new-years-gatherings/ 130. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/as-covid-19-cases-reach-record-highs-this-health-expert-warns-against-new-years-gatherings/ 131. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/texas-standard-for-december-29-2021/ 132. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/texas-standard-for-december-29-2021/ 133. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/covid-continues-to-make-air-travel-unpredictable-but-carriers-are-in-better-shape-than-they-were-last-year/ 134. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/covid-continues-to-make-air-travel-unpredictable-but-carriers-are-in-better-shape-than-they-were-last-year/ 135. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/a-prison-radio-station-eases-the-isolation-felt-by-men-on-death-row/ 136. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/a-prison-radio-station-eases-the-isolation-felt-by-men-on-death-row/ 137. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/austin-restaurateur-wants-texans-to-save-the-environment-by-eating-wild-hogs/ 138. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/austin-restaurateur-wants-texans-to-save-the-environment-by-eating-wild-hogs/ 139. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/stigma-persists-around-hunger-in-military-as-pandemic-numbers-remain-high/ 140. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/stigma-persists-around-hunger-in-military-as-pandemic-numbers-remain-high/ 141. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/fact-check-did-border-patrol-apprehend-more-than-50-people-from-southern-africa-in-2021/ 142. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/fact-check-did-border-patrol-apprehend-more-than-50-people-from-southern-africa-in-2021/ 143. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/ask-a-doctor-how-to-tell-covid-19-from-cedar-fever-and-substitutes-for-an-n95-mask/ 144. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/new-law-requires-texas-landlords-to-tell-tenants-if-their-property-lies-in-a-100-year-flood-plain/ 145. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/tarrant-county-judge-urges-shots-as-hospitals-are-overwhelmed-with-unvaccinated-covid-19-patients/ 146. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/texas-gas-producers-struggled-to-keep-up-during-last-weekends-cold-front/ 147. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/this-austin-native-holds-the-door-open-to-his-neighborhoods-car-club-tradition/ 148. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/supreme-court-to-hear-arguments-on-federal-vaccine-mandates/ 149. https://www.tpr.org/ 150. http://www.kera.org/ 151. http://www.kut.org/ 152. https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/ 153. https://www.texasstandard.org/contact-us/ Hidden links: 155. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/atrocious-but-efficient-how-ranchers-used-barbed-wire-to-make-phone-calls/ 156. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/atrocious-but-efficient-how-ranchers-used-barbed-wire-to-make-phone-calls/ 157. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/atrocious-but-efficient-how-ranchers-used-barbed-wire-to-make-phone-calls/#mobilemenu 158. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/atrocious-but-efficient-how-ranchers-used-barbed-wire-to-make-phone-calls/#searchbox 159. https://twitter.com/@texasstandard 160. https://www.facebook.com/TexasStandard 161. https://www.instagram.com/texas_standard 162. https://www.texasstandard.org/contact-us 163. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/ask-a-doctor-how-to-tell-covid-19-from-cedar-fever-and-substitutes-for-an-n95-mask/ 164. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/new-law-requires-texas-landlords-to-tell-tenants-if-their-property-lies-in-a-100-year-flood-plain/ 165. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/tarrant-county-judge-urges-shots-as-hospitals-are-overwhelmed-with-unvaccinated-covid-19-patients/ 166. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/texas-gas-producers-struggled-to-keep-up-during-last-weekends-cold-front/ 167. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/this-austin-native-holds-the-door-open-to-his-neighborhoods-car-club-tradition/ 168. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/supreme-court-to-hear-arguments-on-federal-vaccine-mandates/ 169. https://www.texasstandard.org/contact-us