Few people realize that ______.

People all over the world know what cowboys are. They are the most famous symbols of the Days of the Old West. This well-known period of American history lasted only 50 years and was gone by the end of the 19th century. Few people realize how short it really was, or why it ended. One reason it came to such an abrupt end was the invention of a new kind of fencing material called barbed wire.
     Who invented barbed wire? That’s not an easy question to answer. History books give Alphonso Dobb credit because he took out the first patent on it in 1867. But some historians don’t believe he really invented it. They say that a Swiss born Texan named John Gillinger came up with the idea first.
     Gillinger had a lot of trouble with his garden. Cattle broke through his fences and trampled it; children climbed over the fences and stole fruit off his trees. So he set out to build a fence neither of them could ignore. He took two strands of smooth wire and twisted them together. Every few inches he inserted between them dangerous barbs made out of sharp pieces of iron and small bits of broken glass.
     Gillinger’s barbed wire fence quickly earned a widespread reputation in Texas, and eventually al! across the West. Before the turn of the century over four hundred different designers for barbed wire were developed and marketed. But Gillinger’s idea was yet to be improved on.