The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1913-04-24
MUST KNOW BRANDS.
inspector at Kansas City Is Kept
Busy Watching Cattle. n,
Animals Sent to Market Not Bearing
Copyright Mark Of the Shipper
Are Picked Out and Pay.
ment Stopped.

Kansas City.--""Talk about. hero
glyphics of the ancient Egyptians, you
ought to see the different brands on
cattle that come to the Kansas City
market" w. L. Calohan, brand in
spector for the Cattle Raisers' asso-
citation of Texas; said;
All 1 have to. do Is to be on the
lookout for about, 5000 different
brands and know whose brands they
are, and when there are as many as
$4,000 head of cattle unloaded at the
stock yards in a single day things are
going some in my department: OF
course in the busy season I have as
sistance. Sometimes there are four
inspectors working here for the Texas
association"
The Texas Cattle Raisers' associa-
ton has about 5000 members, and
each of these members has on an av-
erage of three different brands. The
membership of the association in
cludes cattle raisers of Old Mexico,
New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas and
Arizona.
It has about 40 inspectors of brands
in all the markets to which cattle
from this territory are shipped as
well as on the range. w. L. Calohan
is in charge of what is known
as the native division, with headquar-
ters here. In KANSAS City, Kan,
there is another inspector. who is in
charge of the quarantine division.
"Our work is to look over all the
cattle brought to the Kansas City mar
;ket," MI. Calohan said. when we
find cattle branded differently from
the brand-of-t the shipper; and he can.
not give a satisfactory explanation.
payment on these cattle is stopped.
All we have. to do Is to leave a filed
out form with the commission house
handling the cattle and describe the
brands of the cattle not belonging to
the shipper.
"The commission concern holds out
the money for the cattle and sends 1t
to the secretary Of the association, e.
D. Spiller of Fort Worth, Tex. The
association takes out 10 per cent. Of
the net proceeds of the cattle recov-
cred by the inspectors and sends the
balance to the rightful owners. This
helps to keep up the association" !,
The extent to which cattle shippers
from the southwest make mistakes in
brands is shown in MI. Calohan's
books for the last three years. In
1910 he recovered 375 steers for mem
bers ,of his association. In 1911 he
found 300 that had strayed from nj
range to another and were shipped to
Kansas City by. men who did not
own them. Last year he took charge
of more than 300. The total value Of
the cattle he has recovered in less
than three years Of the four he has
been the associations inspector here
is $4,000.
mo effort is made here to prose
cute the men who ship cattle here
with brands not their own" Mr.. Cal
ohan said. 'That is done in the state
from where the cattle are shipped.
lone Of the greatest troubles we
have is with cattle that are shipped
out of Texas in the spring to be pas
tured in Oklahoma and Kansas. At
that time they have shaggy coats that
often hide the brands, and, no matter
how careful buyers are, they often
get a steer with the wrong brand. By
the time the animal has been fed
for the. market he has shed his long
coat and often there is the wrong
brand to stare the buyer in the face.
He is the loser.
Mr.. Calohan, who is in charge of
the native division here, was born
and reared on a Texas ranch. He has
been a cowboy from infancy, he de-
clares. He has been IN inspector Of
brands for the Texas association for
81 years, and knows the 5000 brands
Of the members of the association just
about IS well al he knows his A B
C's.