The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1919-09-20
Cause of Many Battles Between
Rival Ranchers and
With Outlaws.
MORE Than 5000 IN Texas
Sow" Thieves Use Ingenious Methods
to Change Marks on Stolen Ami.
maIs-Many Strange De-
vices Are Used.


with tragedy, might be written about
the cattle brands of Texas and the
Southwest. Around them have cen.
tered many thrilling deeds. They
have been the means of bringing swift,
retribution to a host of outlaws; they
have served as the basis for transac
tons involving the sale Of many mil
lions of head Of cattle.
The records of the Texas Cattle
Raisers' association show that there
are more than 5000 registered brands
in this state. No two brands are alike
Usually each brand represents a sep
arate ranch. 1t is often the case that
q ranch Is much better known by the
brand Of its cattle than by the name
Of the owner. Owners may change
but the brand never.
When fernando Cortez conquered
Mexico In the early part Of the six.
teenth century he established a ranch
upon the isthmus of Tehauntepec. The
cattle bore his brand. Although that
was nearly 400 years ago the cattle
upon that ranch today bear the orig.
inal CorteZ brand.
Origin Lost in History.
The origin of the cattle brand dates
back to the dim dawn of history. In
the days of free grass and open range
the brand was an absolute necessity In
order that the owners might identify
their cattle in the annual round-ups.
With the coming of wire fences this
necessity was largely obviated, but the
brand served still to place guilt upon
cattle thieves. This purpose is still
served and this fact accounts largely
for the retention Of the brands by all
of the ranchmen.
Ingenious methods are sometimes
used by cattle thieves to change exist
ing brands upon stolen stocks. Most
of the members of the Texas Ranger
force are experts in the matter Of de
tectiAg the Disgusting or changing Of
brands.
The cattle brands Of some ranches
are an intangible asset Of great value
These brands have come to stand fol
honesty in breeding, honesty in weight
and honesty in dealing, just as the
heraldry Of knighthood stood for hon
or, for bravery and for noble deeds
and accomplishment. Announcement
that cattle of a certain brand are Of
fered for sale is often sufficient guar
antee that no precautions agains,
fraud of any kind are taken.
Every Letter Is Used.
In the record of brands, every les Eel
of the alphabet Is represented, anc
most letters are found in three OIL
four positions. An exception Is 70
which has but one shape, in any posi-
ton, and therefore can be used only
once. True, there Is the "O' fiattenet
at the sides, but it is then called
mashed 90" link or goose egg.
IN" is another letter that is not sus
ceptible Of many positions. for hori
zontally it is ~" II" is another lettel
with limited use. 1t Is seldom seer
except in combination with othel
characters, and Is usually called bar
&C" and TX" are examples Of letters
that are used in four positions. Fol
example, an ordinary tx" makes ont
position. Turn 1T to an angle OF Al
degrees and you have the "tuinblin'
K"; on it's back, horizontally, the "laz!
r." and reversed, fourth position
There are lazy and tumbling Drand'
in all letters except 20" and Il"
But when the cattle business be
comes general and instead OF 1o'
ranches there are thousands, new
brands must be devised. The seeke
for brand naturally gets an insignt'