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Of
all things "truly western," probably the brand, applied with a hot iron to the
hide, is one of the most authentic. I will not argue with those who say it is
barbaric, painful or cruel as we live in a modern world where death, cruelties
and barbaric things are published daily.
One thing cannot be argued, a
healed brand is still the most visible, positive identifying process yet found.
As examples of marking livestock, both legal and illegal, here are a few true
stories with a bit of Trew flavor.
Just how old are livestock brands? No
one is sure but murals have been found in Egyptian tombs showing the branding
of livestock. Early settlements dating from Moorish times required that in order
to plant, raise and harvest crops, a practice called "transhumance" had to be
carried out. This called for periodic removal of all livestock and large poultry
from the cropping areas during the growing and harvesting seasons.
The
laws of the time, in order to prevent theft or mysterious loss of livestock, dictated
all animals must be branded before being moved. Brands or painted markings were
the only options available at the time to identify domestic stock or flocks. |
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A
tale of questionable authenticity, about the Oklahoma Territory Strip along the
Cimarron River, tells of a band of horse thieves who stole only choice ranch horses
in the Texas Panhandle, led them
to a hidden ranch in the strip, where an old man altered the ranch brands with
heated wire bent into the desired design. He only burned the hair and not the
hide so the brands did not scab or peel. The stolen stock were quickly driven
to Colorado and Missouri and sold before the hair regrew.
John
Chisum, the famous rancher of the Pecos River Country, once caught and convicted
a group of cattle rustlers who were changing one of the many brands he adopted
when he bought and sold vast herds of cattle
across Texas and New Mexico. The group had been acquitted
by court once for theft because of "reasonable doubt." Evidently they were extremely
clever in the alterations.
Mr. Chisum set a trap by roping a number of
odd marked steers and having his cowboys cut a small slit in the lower folds of
the brisket and insert a silver coin into the slot which quickly healed over.
Later, they caught the gang of thieves with some of the identifiable steers. With
the law present as witnesses, the cowboys roped the steers and removed the coins
as evidence. The thieves were sent to prison for long terms.
That brings
up the old classic tale of the rancher who registered the brand I C. Rustlers
merely added a U making the brand I C U. The rancher then re-registered his brand
as I C U 2.
Interestingly, I give a program about brands and have learned
I can take the bare letter J without the top bar on the letter, and make every
letter in the alphabet and numbers from 0 to 9. With patience, holding the iron
at different angles, slants and touch-up, it can be done. Try it if you don't
believe me.
See Texas Ranching
©
Delbert Trew
"It's All Trew" August
3 , 2010 Column
Delbert Trew is a freelance writer and retired rancher. He
can be reached at 806-779-3164, by mail at Box A, Alanreed, TX 79002, or by e-mail
at trewblue@centramedia.net. For books see DelbertTrew.com. His column appears
weekly. | |
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