Rebranding Cattle Rustler Style

 by Patti Sherry-Crews

Running Iron

This metal object might look as innocent as a candy cane, but getting caught on the range with this sticking out of your bedroll might put you on the receiving end of some frontier justice, strung up from the nearest tree. No judge, jury, or trial necessary. For there is only one thing this curved rod is used for and that's altering a brand on stolen cattle. It's called a running iron. (the one pictured above pulls apart into two pieces for easier concealment)

But before we get into why the running iron became the cattle rustler's favorite tool, let's put it in the context of cattle ranching practices in the old west.

Back in the day of the open range, cattle would roam freely, often mixing with herds belonging to other ranchers. When it was time for a cattle drive, the cowboys would "cut" the cows belonging to them from the rest of herd. But how did they know which animals belonged to them? Like it or not, that's where a red hot branding iron came in handy.

Branding Iron

The branding iron, opposed to the running iron, was made to stamp a ranch's unique brand into the hide. The symbols used have a language of their own. Variations to any one symbol could generate almost limitless names.  For instance an upside down letter was "crazy." A letter on it's side was "lazy". A half circle under a symbol made it "rocking". And then you had your bars, stars, numbers, and wings. I'm guessing the brand pictured above is a "flying W" given the wings.

In the early days cattle rustling wasn't quite as serious a crime as it was to become. In fact, that's how many ranchers started or increased their herds.

But then came the harsh winters of 1886-7. Ranchers caught unprepared for the deep snows that buried the cattle's food source, grass, for months had their herds almost wiped out due to starvation. After that, the disadvantage of open range ranching became painfully obvious. Instead cows were kept in fields behind barbed wire fencing, and hay was grown and stored for feed.

The emergence of the cattle barons in the late 19th century changed the landscape yet again. These large operations had no patience with the smaller ranch holders and their cattle rustling ways. They hired "regulators" to impose order. These regulators also known as "Stock Marshals" or "Stock Detectives" were man like hired gun, Tom Horn (later himself hung for murdering a defenseless boy in cold blood). These regulators used violence and intimidation to rid the land of small ranchers--cattle rustlers or not.

Now that we see why you didn't want to get caught with a running iron, you may be wondering how it worked. As "running" implies the hot iron was used to write on rather than stamp the hide. With a running iron an "F" could easily be turned into an "E" by the addition of a bar, for instance. Sometimes a wet blanket placed over the brand aided in blending the old with the alterations.  In a pinch a running iron could be improvised using any metal handy: wire, horseshoe, saddle cinches, or railroad ties. But these crude attempts were less likely to fool the stock detectives who kept a book of registered brands on them for reference.

The ingenuity of the rustler to alter brands is illustrated in the theft of cattle from the XIT ranch in Texas. The XIT operation was run by a British syndicate owned by Charles B. and John V. Farwell. One would think the XIT brand would a hard brand to disguise. Think again.

Incorporating a star and a bar cleverly hid the cattle barons brand, reminding us that whether it's the old west or modern day, there's always going to be somebody who finds a way around rules and regulations. Folks are clever that way.

Excerpt from His Unexpected Companion by Patti Sherry-Crews:

She stilled suddenly and swore under her breath, her

sights focused on something in the distance. Smoke curled

up in the air from an area a fire had no place being. She

strode over to Aces who was drinking from the trough where

she’d tied him and patted her shotgun shoved behind the saddle.

“Sorry about this. I know we just got back, but there’s

something I have to tend to.” She untied the horse, stepped

into the stirrup, and swung into the saddle.

She rode hard, closing the gap, all her senses on alert. But

as she got nearer and saw who was poking at the fire, she

saw this wasn’t a situation calling for a shotgun—just a

tongue-lashing.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she shouted.

Mack and another ranch hand, Zeke, had already stilled

when they heard the horse approach. They stood there now

like two errant schoolboys caught out. Zeke shoved his

hands in his pants pockets and lowered his head, a plug of

tobacco bulging in one cheek.

Mack waved around at the head of cattle corralled into a

box canyon behind him. “We’re fixing to burn brands into

these cows. What does it look like?”

Olivia looked at the implements used to change the

brands on cattle: the wet blanket, the lariat coiled on the

ground, and the running iron heating in the fire. “I’m sorry.

I asked the wrong question. The question I meant to ask is,

have you lost the sense that God gave you?” She pointed at

the running iron, a long rod with a curled end used for alter-

ing brands. “If you even get caught with that it’s hanging

offense.”

“No, look, Vee, this is real clever.” Wearing heavy raw-

hide gloves, Mack pulled the rod out of the fire. “You see

how it comes apart into two pieces so you can hide it easily.”

“You spent money on that? I always use a piece of bent

wire. That way, nobody can catch you out with something

made to alter a brand.”

“Yeah, but the results look crude, in my opinion. When I

use the running iron, you’d be hard pressed to tell it wasn’t

the original brand.”

“You should see what Mack does. It’s real artwork the

way he can turn any brand into your rocking star so nobody

can see it used to be something else,” said Zeke.

“I’m aware of Mack’s talent. That’s not my point.”

Mack frowned, disappointed to not be able to show off

his new tool. “What is your point?”

“The point is, Mack, that this is the kind of thing that got

my father killed. Those cows have a brand from the Lazy R

ranch. These fellas aren’t playing around. And you, with a

baby on the way. Who’d you steal the cattle from?”

Available at Amazon

Linda Broday: A Cowboy's Life on the Frontier

For many of us, if you're like me, we’re unsure about the cowboy’s job on an early day ranch other than the obvious of working the cattle. Years ago, I wanted to learn about the other chores involved because I wanted my cowboy to be realistic. So I went looking......

The cowboy’s job began just as the first rays of dawn were breaking and he didn’t crawl out of saddle until after dark. The days were long and the work was hard. But the cowboy loved his life. It was in his blood. He didn’t “work” for the ranch; he “rode for the brand” and he was very loyal to the animals entrusted in his care and to the one who employed him.

But let’s get back to daily life.

Upon “rolling out” of the sack, a few of the men would saddle their mounts and round up the scattered band of ponies that had wandered near and far, grazing during the night and herd them into the corral while the cook set about making breakfast. The outfit would fill their bellies then carry their saddles and bridles to the corral and mount up. (On cold days the compassionate cowboy would warm the bit for a second before putting it in the horse’s mouth. I’m sure it was appreciated.) Once mounted, the wrangler would get to the business of checking the herds and looking for signs of trouble. The cattle required constant care and vigilance.

Daily chores in addition to riding herd on the cattle:

Keeping horses shod and in good physical shape

Gentling horses

Branding Cattle

Repairing saddles and wagons

Mending ropes and harnesses

Cleaning their guns

Skinning carcasses of any cattle that died and drying hides

Riding fence and repairing any downed ones

In general, doing whatever the foreman asked, be it painting and fixing up or putting out bait to catch or kill any predators that threatened the stock.

Simply put, when he was on the time clock, the cowboy was at the beck and call of his employer.

Life was much easier in warm weather. Spring and fall saw roundups and trail drives. Once the cattle drives were a thing of the past sometime in the 1880’s, the cowboys drove cows to the nearest railroad shipping point. A note of interest: The biggest year for Texas cattle drives was 1871 when more than 700,000 cattle were driven up the trails from Texas.

In the mountainous areas, the saddle wranglers would herd the cattle twice a year to summer or winter ranges for better grazing. They used the high country in summer because it was normally a little cooler. The low country was preferred in winter as it wasn’t usually as cold. Of course, on the plains I’m sure they had no need to shift the herds since the land was flat.

Part of the cowboys’ duties was to inspect the herds to see if they had enough food and water. They also directed the cattle away from any patches of known loco weed. This was called “outriding.” In addition, the outriders “rode sign” to determine if any cattle had strayed too far from the herd and if so to turn them back. They looked for bogged down steers or horses, laid traps for coyotes and wolves, and kept their eyes open for signs of rustling. And the outriders “blabbed young calves that were too old to be nursing their mothers. This involved clipping a board onto the calf’s nose. It allowed the animal to graze but not to nurse. Usually, this was only done in the case of a lusty calf with an emaciated mother. It allowed the mother to gain weight.

Outriders also kept on the lookout for diseased or injured animals. When they found any, the cowboy either inspected and treated the animal or destroyed it.

Mother Nature brought her own set of problems. Lightning and prairie fires were the most feared. But there were also gullywashers that could trap scores of cattle in flash floods; tornadoes and cyclones; and drought and freezing temperatures that could devastate entire herds. The bottom line was protecting and saving the cattle. They were money on the hoof.

Winter brought some of the cowboys’ hardest work. They lived in “line camps” which were outpost cabins situated on the far reaches of the ranch. And the punchers who wintered there were called line riders. The difference in line riders and outriders was the fact that line riders had a specific area to patrol whereas outriders roamed everywhere. The line rider’s main job was looking after their herd. They made sure the cattle had food and water and protected them from hungry coyotes and wolves. Whatever it took to get the herd through the freezing winter months that’s what they did. It was lonely boring work for the line rider and they were always grateful for springtime when they could rejoin their fellow cow punchers.

To sum it up, the cowboys’ job consisted of doing whatever they could to make the ranch run smoothly and turn a profit.

According to the book “The Cowboy” by Philip Ashton Rollins (which is excellent by the way,) in the late 1800’s top hands earned $40.00 a month. Lesser hands were paid $25.00 and upward. Foremen earned $10 to $40 over and above what the top hands drew. And they were all given free room and board. That wasn’t much money for what was expected of them.

I’m curious about why we think the cowboys’ life was and still is so glamorous, why we’re attracted to men who ply that trade. Or is it simply that it’s hard dangerous work so the men have to be tough as nails to survive on the unforgiving land. We want them to dig in their heels and face life head on no matter the challenges. And the women too. I’d like to hear your thoughts.