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.


Patti Sherry-Crews writes historical and contemporary romances. Find her books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Patti-Sherry-Crews/e/B01C7L8QUU/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_4