The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-09-29
IRON."

branding Of live stock was the only solution of
the new-or rather the revived-menace TO their
business. Indications are that similar action will
De taken in other states and II the Texas doc
tors method of marking with chemicals proves
feasible the ranges and shipping pens of the
West may be filed once more with branded cat
Unbranded by modern scientific method and
branded because modern mechanical methods of
rustling have made it necessary.
In the early days of the cattle industry. brand
ing was haphazard. There was much duplication
OF brands and consequently frequent quarrels
over ownership. Some dishonest ranchers used
brands so similar to their neighbors' that il took
only little skill to change the neighbours brand
and add his cattle to his own herd. The result
was often dispute in which Judge Colt hand
ed down the final decision.
Texas, the fountainhead of the cattle indus
try, was the first state to regulate branding and
other states soon followed suit until most of
them have very definite branding laws. Tnese
differ in some respects but the underlying prin-
ciples are the same, the main one being required
registration Of brands. Some allow a certain
brand TO a rancher and he may put It on any
place on the animal. Others permit different
men to have the same brand but the different
owners must place it their stock In distinctive
positions.
According TO the laws of North Dakota, each
DTduu was SOOu IOT ten POSITIONS. IQey were
the jaw, neck shoulder, ribs and hip-ive posi-
tons on each side of the animal 1t was not
uncommon for North Dakota stockman to buy
all positions so that he could brand his stock
as he pleased Otherwise, nine other men could
the same brand in other positions, thus
causing endless confusion. In contrast 10 this
the law in Colorado which permitted a
brand to be used by only one person.
The number and variety of brands In the cat
or0rr ic aIr fua0 iyoh1n To-
stance total of more than $500 brands have
been recorded In Montana since 1879 and 1t is
said that 5000 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 few years ago and In Colo
RADIO there were more than 400.
But despite this multiplicity of markings the
old-time cattleman and the brand inspectors sta
toned at the stockyards In the leading cattle
markets could read the various brands and in
terpret them easily as a stenographer can
read and interpret the pothooks and other SYM
bols in the shorthand system. More than that,
they spoke a language, phonetic tongue, albeit,
which was all but unintelligible to the uniniti-
ated. Philip Ashton Rollins in his classic Of
western life, The Cowboy" writes of this as
follows:
Twenty-eght since hyphen always was called
a bar; that, because capital letter of size was
commonly termed big the brand A2' was trans
latable into Big Two; that because letter or
figure lying on it's side was termed lazy a prone
letter m UNDERSIGNED was the Lazy n Bar. This
person would know also that, because ring was
dubbed circle letter g enclosed within a
ring was the Circle G.; that because circles
arc was, according to fits length, designated as
a quarter half or 'three-quarter' circle, scant
bit of curve followed by a letter T was the
Quarter Circle R. and that, because anything
looking like diamond or even its cousin was
called diamond figure - within a lozenge
should be interpreted as Diamond Five. This
person would know also that any parallelogram,
regardless Of the ration between its length and
height, was block or boz square, which
ever its owner cared to term 1t that the faintest
resemblance to a pair of wings gave the prefix
flying so that the mineral g between two mis-
shapen 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. sangy designations
such as 'waIlop' Ga wide letter q atop another
letter o equally wide but inverted) whang-
doodle "a group Of interlocking wings with
flying central design, and hog PEN two par
allel lines crossing two other parallel lines at
right angle)"
In the record of brands every letter Of the
alphabet is represented. and most letters
found in three or four positions An exception
is 90" which has but one shape in any position,
and therefore can be used only once. True there
is the 20" attened at the sides. but It is called
a mashed o. link or goose egg.
"N'' is another letter that is not susceptible
of many positions. for horizontally 1t is az"
1T" is another letter with a limited use. It is
seldom seen except in combination with other
characters and is usually called bar
'C' and "K" are examples Of letters that are
used In four positions. For example an ordinary
"K" makes one position. Turn 1t TO an angle of
45 degrees and you have the Tumbling < on its
back horizontally the Lazy and reversed a
fourth position. There are lazy and tumpling
brands in all letters except 40" and AZ"
After the letters Of the alphabet and the vari-
atoms thereon were all taken up it 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