The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1933-09-28
HOT IRON!

owners must place 1t on their stock I'm Distinctive
positions.
According to the laws of North Dakota. eaeh
Drano was good for ten positions. They were
the Jaw, neck, shoulder, ribs and hip--fve posi-
lions on each side of the animal. II VIZ. not
uncommon for North Dakota stockman to buv
all positions 80 that he could brand his stock
as he pleased. Otherwise, nine other men cou,d
use the same brand In other positions thus
causing endless confusion -
The number and variety OF brands In the cat
Tie country Is almost inconcevable For In
stance total OF more than $500 brands have
Deen recorded In Montana since 1878 and It In
said that COCO were in active use within recent
years. Records OF the Texas Cattle Raisers' asso
citation showed more than 5000 registered brands
in use In that state a few years ago and In Colo
RADIO there were more than 1900
= But despite this multiplicity OF markings the
oid-lime cattleman and the brand inspectors sta
TONED at the stockyards In the leading cattle
markets could read the various brands and in
terpret them as easily as a stenographer can
read and interpret the pothooks and other SYM
bols In the shorthand system. More than that
they spoke language, a phonetic tongue, albeit,
which was all but unfntegible to the unInitf-
ated Philip Ashton Rollins In his classic OF
western life, THE Cowboy writes OF thIs m
follows.
He would know that 42B meant Four Rar
Twenty Eight since hyphen always was called
bar; that, because capital letter of size was
commonly termed big, the brand Az was trans
latabe into Big Two; that because letter or
ngure lying on Its side was termed lazy prone
letter m underscored was the Lazy M Bar. This
person would know also that, because ring was
dubbed circle letter e enclosed within 4
ring was the Circle g; that because a circles
arc was, according to Its length designated as
a quarter half or .three-quarter' circle scant
bit of curve followed by a letter r. was the
Quarter Circle X, and that, because ANYTHING
looking like diamond even It's cousin was
called diamond figure 81 within lozenge
should be interpreted as Diamond Five This
person would know also that any paraelogram .
regardless OF the ration between It's length and
height, was block or boz or square which,
ever Its owner cared to term IT that the faintest
resemblance to pair OF wings gave the prefix
flying so that the numeral 81 between two mis-
Ehapen bulges was the Flying Nine, and that
other designs were attempted pictures and should
be entitled Broken Pipe, Sombrero, Spur. Bit,
Elk Horn, Two Star. Wheel and whatever.
Finally this person would know that still fur
Their designs had arbitrary, .slangy designations
such as 'wallop "a wide letter q atop another
letter equally wide but inverted whang-
doodle Ia group Of interlocking wings with no
flying central design and hog pen tive par
ael lines crossing two other parallel lines at
right angle)."
In the record of brands every letter OF the
alphabet is represented, and most letters are
found In three or four positions An exception
LIS 10" which has but one shape In any position,
and therefore can be used only once. True there
is the "O' nattened at the sides, but 1t is called
mashed o. link goose egg
"Nr fS another latter fhpf II not Urr,or+thro
OF many positions. for horizontally 1t la ~"
IT Is another letter with limited use. 1t Is
seldom seen except In combination with other
characters, and Is usually called bar
"C' and TX" are examples OF letters that aras@
used In four positions. For example an ordsnary
*" makes one position Turn it to an angle of u
As degrees and you have the Tumbng X, on itS
back horizontally the Lazy and reversed
fourth position. There are lazy and tnmbling
brands In all letters except "Or and II"
After the letters of the alphabet and the var
atlons thereon were all taken up 1t became nee
essary to devise Individual and unique brands
So every conceivable device made Its appearance
ranging from Bible references through poker
hands to farm implements, household utensils
and lodge insignia.
In the Colorado brand book may be found
skull and crossbones, a rake, shovel shoe boot
cup. coffee-pot, glasses flag, keys, apple star,
moon, ladder, tree, anchor pitchfork glove.
rocking chair Ratchet, axe spear, roll
Ing pin gate. spectaces, pipe, fish, gun, compass.
hands and dozens of other queer char
acters for which 1t Is difficult to find an ade-
quately descriptive name. In the illustrations Mt
the head Of this article is included chart Of IA
out-of- Extraordinary brands
So important was the branding iron to the
cattle industry that few years ago the state
whose prosperity was built upon the cattle busi-