Las Gorras Blancas (the White Caps) was a clandestine organization that staged guerilla-style warfare in northern New Mexico from February 1889 until the summer of 1891. Their activities were a response to the restrictive fencing of the Las Vegas Land Grant commons by large, wealthy landowners who made it impossible for smaller ones to graze their livestock. The Gorras Blancas also protested railroad companies for refusing to pay standard rates for hauling railroad ties. Members of the group cut the barbed-wire fences of Anglo farms and ranches, burned houses, and prevented teams from hauling rail ties. Operating at night under the cover of darkness, members rode on horseback wearing white caps drawn over their faces as an intimidation tactic.