Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1894-09-17
l'FRALDRY ON kTHE PLAINS.
The Social Bearing' of Cattle Branding in
the Western States.


The Social Bearing of Cattle Branding in
the Western States.
Alice MacGowen in McClure's
Magazine: The subject of the brand
dis overs itself sooner or later. in one
way or another, in most of the affairs
oil cattle-country life. The unac-
companlcd children OF lonely and
remote ranches play at roping and
branding each other. The wife of
the kindly, liberal hearted cattle man
will early be given her own brand;
often his little girls as we'll.
These brands may begin in little
bunch of COWS or few brood mares;
but with no demands upon the lin
crease" they soon grow to very re-
spectacle herds of cattle or punches
of horses.
1t sounds wonderfully picturesque
and Western to hear IL dainty little
hlheIy-pound woman, speaking OF
some tcminc or artistic luxury re-
mark: "Wcll, | can have it if can
sell oil some beef this fall" or to
have II bright girl, discussing the
relative desirabilIty of course at an
art school or an Eastern pleasure
trip, assure YOU that she can easily
meet the expense OF whichever she
decides upon by selling her 1890 crop
of colts, which are, now 1 years old
and Just broken.
You would not suppose that the
small, blind, insullciently-clad deity
OF the bow and culver would ever
neglect his classic weapon to concern
himself with SO gross and barbarous
utensil as branding iron. Yet such
things have been.
| have heard the tale how that,
away back in the'1U's, there appaa ed
talong with the rest of her family,
in one of the iar-out piai1 counties
of the Texas cattle country, fair
one by the romantic and me lflOus
name of LilyheI Plunkctt.
For the capriCiCus and uncertain
favor OF this, the only marriageable
young lady in the district all the
susceptible and unattached cowboys
tot which class the population almost
wholly cCnsistcd) strove together
eagerly and without ceasing, MAYER.
licking right and left everything they
NcbiN' ihl bilCtl OIl, Will IL Illll-
nlng brand l.. /. l.. until, when the
tcnderroot she had all along been en-
gagged to came out and married her,
she brought him great herds of l., |.
L. cattle. with which they gayly set
up Il ranch beneath the noses OF the
forlorn celibate community.
Also, there was Buck Redmond,
who, when he had quarreled with his
sweetheart (o,d brakes daughter,
known facetiOuSly as "the duck",,
proceeded to singe upon the hide of
an incidental maverick his burning
resentment of the scorns, gibes, and
indgnlJies she had heaped upon him
In The heat of her anger and the i'm
munity of her SEX
= was ii delicate example of cow
hoy repartee, the retort bunOlic, to
catch up this un ortunate third
party, brand it al over its HELPLESS
bovine side in great sprawling let
tc:S, u l. G X, and turn the lpering
bon mot loose where it could not fail
of meeting the eyes of the uel fair
one.
The performance served its purpose
of deadly alIront, the Drake boys
holding for some time that the obi.
CATION was upon them to kill some.
body about it, as no fluid less cxpcn.
sive than hearts blood could properly
wash out such an insult. And
think they did shoot to death-bc-
fore any thing like reconciliation
could be brought about-the calf.
Dr Kilrnnr'l H1nn-r