The History of Cattle Brands and How to Read Them

The use of brands as a mark of identification dates back some 4,000 years. Inscriptions on the walls of ancient Egyptian tombs indicate that cattle were branded as early as 2000 B.C.

The American custom of cattle branding was adopted from Mexico. The large Mexican cattle ranches marked their herds with their family coat-of-arms and, as the cattle industry moved northward into Texas, this method of indicating ownership gradually became accepted by American ranchers.

Today there are hundreds of thousands of cattle brands registered in the United States. When a rancher decides upon the type of brand he wants to use, the legal procedure is to register his mark. State laws designate a brand inspector or similar official who is responsible for assigning and recording brands. In some states registration must be made with the county clerk in each county or counties where the rancher expects to operate. This makes it possible for men in different parts of the country to use the same brand, although the reading of the brand may differ from one locality to another.

At one time, there were no fences in the vast West. And even today much of the cattle area is "open range." Cattle wander far in grazing, herds become mingled. The roundup permits separation of each owner's stock, and because calves always follow their mother, the ownership of unbranded calves is easily determined. The annual spring roundup has as its principal purpose the finding and branding of the past year’s calf crop.

The Branding Iron

In the infant days of the cattle industry, ranchers used large, outsized brands that nearly covered an animal's entire body. Later, when cattle hides began to bring a good price, this practice gave way to the smaller, carefully forged stamping iron that left a neat, easy-to-read mark—usually on the left hip or high on the left ribs.

The legibility of a brand depends a great deal on the cowboy applying it and on the type of iron used. The best branding irons are made from high-quality metal, one-half to one inch thick, with the face drawn and beveled to a width of about one-quarter of an inch. Letters and symbols are usually about four inches high and the handle ordinarily measures about 36 inches.

The brand is applied with a grey-hot iron, about the color of the branding fire ashes. A red-hot iron produces an over burned brand—often resulting in sores which may become infected. Cattle are never branded when hides are damp, as this causes a scalded or blotched mark.

How Calves are Branded

Branding is usually done during roundup time. Unmarked calves are cut out of the herd by a horseman, roped and brought to the fire where the irons are being heated. Two cowboys, called flankers, approach the calf on foot. One seizes the calf by the foreleg and flank, pulls the animal off balance and throws it to the ground. He then places his knee on the calf's neck and pulls up and back on the foreleg. His partner grasps the uppermost hind leg, pulls it back and at the same time places his foot on the hind leg next to the ground. The calf is then in position for branding.

The hot branding iron is then placed momentarily on the calf's hide. The burn is not painful—the bawling of the calf is caused mostly by fear of the unusual.

After branding, the calves, with the rest of the herd that are not cut out for marketing or for shipment to feeder lots, are turned back into the open range, the owner secure in the protection of his property by the traditional sanctity of the brand.

Reading Brands

Brands are read from left to right, from the top down, or from outside inside. A definite method of identifying characters has been established. If a letter or symbol is made backwards from its normal position, it's read as a “reverse F” or whatever other letter it might be.

A letter partially over on its face or back is said to be “tumbling.”

If a letter lies horizontally on its face or back, it is called “lazy.”

Letters with a curving flare at the top and rounded angles are called “running.”

Adding a dash to the left and one to the right at the top, you have a "flying" letter.

Add legs and it becomes a “walking” letter.

A letter placed so that the bottom touches the inside of a curve is said to be “rocking.”

Curves not attached to letters are known as “quarter circles” or “half circles,” depending on the arc. Letters or symbols formed together are called “connected,”

except when one is below the other, then the lower symbol is said to be “swinging.” In registering brands, owners sometimes omit the “connected” or “swinging” Thus,

might be read simply Diamond J rather than Diamond Swinging J.

Besides the traditional letter and figure brands, there are some marks known as “character brands.” For instance, this

is read as the turtle brand. Other common picture brands are the pitchfork

and the key

. The reading of picture brands depends upon the owner’s interpretation, and it takes an expert to identify some of the more complex brands. Below are some symbols which are commonly used in brands.

	Bar, a short horizontal line
	Rail, a slightly longer horizontal line
	Three or more rails are called stripes
	Slash, a slanting line
	Box
	Bench
	Cross
	Diamond
	Rafter, half diamond over a letter
	Broken arrow

The Brand Book

Back in the days of the cattle driving era, every cowboy carried his own personal brand book. This reference was as much a part of his trail equipment as his six-gun or lariat.

Brand books followed no standard size or pattern—they were as individualized as their owner. Some of the more wealthy cattlemen carried handsome leather-bound volumes filled with elaborate notes—while the ordinary cowboy packed a cheap paper tablet, curled and stained from use.

However, the contents of each book were much the same. They contained brands of local herds, reports of stolen cattle, rough maps of cattle drives and other trail information that the cowboy needed for ready reference.

Through the scribblings in a brand book, it was often possible for stray cattle to be returned to the rightful owner. When a strange brand turned up in a herd being sold, the owner—sometimes several counties away—would receive a check for steers he had never even missed!

The Law vs. Rustlers

One of the most serious criminal offenses in cattle country is rustling, the stealing of another man's cattle. Rustlers often change brands in an attempt to transfer ownership of herds. They use a “running iron”—a round-surfaced piece of metal which can be heated and used to trace a freehand change in the original brand. In the early days, a saddle cinch ring was often used as a running iron. It was easy to carry, and could be handled by placing a green tree branch through the center. Old-time justice for apprehended rustlers was swift and sure. The penalty for getting caught running a brand was usually a “necktie party” held beneath the nearest tree.

There's an interesting story about one rustling case that was solved by Roy Bean of Langtry, Texas. Bean, although he had no official authority for his actions, set himself up as “The Law West of the Pecos.” When a nearby rancher from the Bar S spread complained of losing calves, “Judge” Bean went to work on the case.

He rode out on the range and returned about a week later with a stranger and some 20 head of steers in tow. The cattle all bore the 48 brand which the stranger claimed was his registered mark.

Court was convened on the porch of Bean's store and saloon. As Exhibit A in the trial, Bean shot one of the freshly branded 48 steers and peeled back the hide. On the animal's flesh, the blackish Bar S showed quite plainly. Over the Bar S were fresh burns which turned the original brand into a 48.

This conclusive evidence sealed the doom of the unlucky stranger, and he was soon swinging from a nearby cottonwood tree.

Can You Read These Brands ?


	L Bar S
	K 5 Connected
	J Lazy H
	O Bar O
	Rafter X
	Running N Bar Running N Bar
	O W
	Forty Five
	Lazy E A
	Three O Rail
	D Slash D
	Bar X
	Flying U
	Striped S
	Lazy T 2
	X Diamond Bar
	Lazy S L
	T 4
	Diamond B
	R Bar 4
	Broken Arrow
	Bench L
	Box B
	Lazy B Swinging L
	81 Bar
	Half Circle L
	15 Lazy T
	P Triangle
	H Swinging Reverse S
	Y 6 Quarter Circle
	V Bar Open A
	Bar Flying V
	Cross Heart
	N Lazy F Connected
	Reverse 2 Standing N
	K Bar U
	Horseshoe Dot
	Rocking H
	Ox Yoke T
	O I or Cinch Buckle
	Butcher Block
	Lone Star (Texas)
	Seventy Six (Arizona)
	Will Rogers (Oklahoma)

	Huntington Stanford (California)
	Double T (Texas)