Romance Weaved
In Cattle Brands
Cause of Many Battles Between
Rival Ranchers and
With Outlaws.
MORE THAN 8,000 IN TEXAS',
“Cow" Thieves Use Ingenious Me* iiods
to Change Marks on Stolen P
mals—Many Strange De ,
vices Are Used.
Austin, Tex.—Romance, .tot umroixed
with tragedy, might he written about
the cattle brands of T ,'xns fine* the
Southwest, Around them have cen
tered inamy thrilling deeds. They
have beea the means of bringing swift
retributiem to n in «t of outlaws; they
have served us the basis for transac
tions involving the sale of many mil
lions of heud «f cattle.
The records of the Texas 'Cattle
lUiisers’ association show that there
are more than 8,000 registered brands
in this .state. No two brands are alike.
Usually each brand represents a sep
arate ranch. It is often the case that
a ranch is much better known by the
brand of its cattle, than by the name
of the owner. Owners may change,
bet the brand never.
When Hernando Cortez conquered
Mexico in the early part of the six
lieonfh century lie established a ranch
upon the isthmus of Tehauntepee. The
catffie bore his brand. ’ Although that
was nearly 400 years ago the cattle
upon that ranch today bear the orig
inal Cortez brand.
Origin Lost in History.
The origin of the cattle brand dates
back to tlie dim dawn of history. In
the days of free grass and open range
the brand was an absolute necessity in
order that the owners might Identify
their cattle in the annual round-ups.
With the coining of wire fences this
necessity was largely obviated, but the
brand served still to place guilt upon
rattle thieves. This purjio.se is still
*erved and this fact accounts largely
for the retention of the brands by all
of the ranchmen.
Ingenious methods are sometimes
used by cattle thieves to change exist
ing brands upon stolen stocks. Most
of the members of the Texas Ranger
force are experts in the matter of de
tecting tlie disguising or changing of
brands.
The cattle brands of some ranches
are an Intangible asset of great value.
These brands have come to stand for
honesty in breeding, honesty in weight
and honesty in dealing, just as the
heraldry of knighthood stood for hon
or, for bravery and for noble deeds
and accomplishment. Announcement
that cattle of a certain brand are of
fered for sale is often sutlieient guar
antee that no precautions ngaii:<t
fraud of any kind are taken.
Every Letter Is Used.
In the record of brands, every letter
of the alphabet is represented, and
most letters are found in three or
four positions. An excop ion is "(■>,”
which lias lint one shape, in any posi
tion, and therefore can he used only
once. True, there is the "<)" flattened
at tin- sides, hut it is then called a
mashed “O." a link or goose egg.
"N” is another letter that is not sus
ceptible of many positions, for hori
zontally it is‘‘Z." “I” is another letter
with n limited use. It is seldom seen
except in combination with other
characters, and is usually called a liar.
“C” and ' K'' are examples of letters
that are used in four positions. For
example, an ordinary "K" makes one
position. Turn it to an angle of 45
degrees and you have the “tumbling
K''; on Its back, horizontally, the "lazy
K." and reversed, n fourth position.
There are lazy and tumbling brands
In all letters except "O’’ and "I.”
Hut when the cattle business be
comes general and Instead of 100
ranches there are thousands, new
brands must he devised. The seeker
for a brand naturally gets an insignia
differer ^ from that of other ranchmen
else t j^s brand would fall of its pur
Pnso , Jvo tn the latter days the letters
v.'oi v finally all taken up and the ncces
s|* ■? for Individual and unique brands
1 jl< led to many a strange device.
Many Novel Designs.
For example, there is the "Spur” j
ranch, the "Turk Track” ranch, tlie
"Tumbling K” of the "Lazy X.” Every '
ranch has Its principal brand, and
some have many others. Kanch own
ers, who trade extensively, and are
constantly acquiring cattle with differ
ent brands, have a number of insignias
on record. Often the ranchmen’s sons
•md daughters have their special
brands and the dedication of a new
brand is not an unu^al form of cele
brating a birth on the range.
Among tlie peculiar brands is a pig
pen, which means a square with its
sides extending to form the exterior
angles. Crescents are common. Only
one ranchman has a hatchet for a
brand.
A bow and arrow gives a name to
one big Texas ranch. I.. J. Kimber
lin's ranch had a crutch on the hip
and a coffee pot on the* side. The
coffee pot design is not so intricate as
one might imagine, consisting of only
eight lines.
Wine glasses are not uncommon ns
a brand and the .T. W. Friend Cattle
company in Crotchet! county hail a
gourd. A rocking chair is the brand 1
of the II. 15. Opp ranch in Sutton and
Menard counties.
Lee Brothers had for their brand the
graceful fleur de li.s. Anchors are
common, but only the John W. Franks
ranch in the Osage reservation boasts
of the Swastika.
A hash knife, a lint, the Masonic
| square, a key, n turkey track, a bell,
crossed walking sticks, an hour glass,
it tree, a boot, a slipper, a flag, an
apple, it flower, ladders, rakes, spades,
a fence, a doll baby, a cotton hook, a
fishhook, a bottle, bridle bits, a frying
pan, a pitchfork and even a comet may
be seen among the long list of brands.
A “scuple" indicates that the ranch
owner was it druggist before becoming
a cattleman. Hearts, diamonds and
clubs are found among the records of
TELEGRAPH HAS
RAPID GROWTH
Government Report Shows 1,*
888,793 Miles of Wire Used
by 21 Companies.
BIG INCREASE IN MESSAGES
Last Five-Year Period Shows 45.7 Per
Cent More Telegrams—Par Value
of the Capital Stock Is
$106,360,237.
Washington.- -According to a report
; just issued by Direetor Sum I,, ltog
| err. of the bureau of the census, depnrt
j ment of eomineree, the 21 commercial
land telegraph systems in the United
| States in 1!)17 operated 241.012 miles
j of pole line, comprising 1.8KS.793 miles
i of wire; seiit 151,72,1,238 messages, and
employed 47,227 persons, to whom
were paid salaries am! wages amount
ing to $30,392,140.
This report, which is issued under
the title. "Telegraphs and Municipal
Electric .Fire Alarm and Police Patrol
j Signaling Systems,” was prepared un
der the supervision of Eugene F. Hart
ley, chief statistician for manufactur
ers, and is the fourth of a series of
quinquennial reports on tlie telegraph
systems of the country.
The pole-line mileage in 1017 was
less by 2.0 per cent than In 1912, but
was greater by six-tenths of 1 per
cent than in 1907. The wire mileage,
however, showed an increase of 4.1
per cent as compared with 1912 and
of 19.7 t>er cent over 1907.
I Jio increase in i h(. number of mes
sages was much greater*—45.7 per cent
during the lust live-year period and
per cent during the ten years
frimi 1!mi7 f<> 1017. The number of em
ployees increased b.v .‘{0.2 per cent be
tween 1012 and 1017. and by Sd.it per
cent during the period 1007-17 and the
corresponding percentages of increase
in their salaries and wages were 00 2'
and 124.2.
Tj‘° number of telegraph offices in
1011 was 28,805, a decrease of 0.2 per
cent as compared with 1012 and of
seven-tenths of 1 per cent as com- j
pared with 100i. The total Income
from telegraph traffic was $01,312,507.
an increase of 74.5 per cent over 1012
and of 140.8 per cent as compared with j
10<f7; the income from all other j
sources was $1,041,803; the total ex
ponses, including charges for depreein- j
tlon and sinking funds, were $S<),82$,
i'di. an increase of o2.0 pier cent over
1012 awl of 111.4 per cent over 1!Mt7.
and the net income was $12,125,400, an !
increase of 253.4 per cent as com
pared with 1012 and of 113.7 per cent
over 1!MI7.
Tlie par value of the outstanding !
capital stock of the companies was
$100,300,237, a decrease of 1.7 per
cent as compared w ith 1012, but an in- j
crease of 4 per cent over 1!HI7.
Printing Telegraph Comes In.
The foregoing figures relate only to I
commercial telegraph Companies. ami
thus exclude the wire and pole line
wholly owned and operated by rall
roads. and also exclude the equipment
and telegraph business of the various
press associations which lease and op
erate wires for dispensing news.
During the five-year period 1012-1917 i
tin* printing telegraph came into ex
tended use by telegraph companies.
Press associations and railroads. The
printing telegraph consists essentially
or' a sending instrument equipped with
a keyboard similar to. that of a type
writer. electrically connected1 with n !
receiving instrument in such a manner
that the latter automatically repro
duces what Is typewritten on the send
ing Instrument. Without the printing
telegraph It would have hern difficult
or impossible to handle the increased
telegraph business during tie great
war.
Flour Sa;k of Money.
St. Louis, Mo.- When a farm was
sold in Marios county, Missouri, re
cently the transaction took place in |
the home ot the farm's buyers, minted
Iloelicr, and was strictly a cash trans
action. After the deal had been dosed
every member of the family bo";.n
hrlnjjintt in silver coins front nooks and
crannies all over the house where il
had been secreted. The seller had to
take his money in a Hour sack m the !
*»ank. where if took the teller ami
cashier »wc hours to count it. Most oi
the money htid been earned by two
daughters taking la washing.
MOTORTRUCKS START LONG TRIP
Here is the start of tlie Innj; motortruck train which loft Wasliin^Mti
recently on n Journey which is to extend across the continent. The fleet of
60 trucks and 200 men. said to be the longest truck train ever assembled, is in
ebur^e of the motor transport corps U. S. A.
MATJCNAL TENNIS CHAMPION
‘■('hlluren first, tennis afterward,” If
the motto of Mrs. George W. Wight
man, national tennis champion. She
devotes to,tennis only the time she
can spare after earing for her babies.
She is here shown with her three
youngsters: George, aged six; Vir
ginia, aged five, and Hazel, aged three. ;
brands, hut the spades are those of !
agricultural designs.
The tendency is toward smaller
brands. Branding causes cattle to
lose in weight, and the larger the brand
the greater the suffering of the cattle
and the greater the loss of weight, so
the old-time custom of great brands,
covering the whole side of a row, is
passing away. Hides are more valu
able today, also, and the log brands
injure the leather.
The easiest brands to read are those
made with the stamp iron, that is, an
iron forged into the figure or charac
ter desired. Sometimes the cowboys
encounter a maverick far from head
quarters, and in the exigency of the
occasion an iron rod is heated and a
“running” brand is executed.
SALVAGE WORK ON SCUTTLED GERMAN FLEET
nSmSssSHmSm
AUSTRALIAN OARSMEN BEATING THE OXFORD CREW
. .-..jp V/A.,,,, ........... •• •'V' • • V '■ ’
PACIFIC FI.EET 30BS SHARK FISHING
Mh
These gohs of tlio 1 'arttic licet, which is now on Its w:i\ to the I'acMc
ocean, sire having lots of fan catching sharks.
HUN PRISONERS BROUGHT TO AMERICA
Alfred Stliolz ileft) ami Alvvln Cm:lie. first Certnun prisoners to arrive in
this lotintry They were turned over to the director of military trdellicence,
('.real mystery surrounds those men end v hy they were liron^’lit here is tin
known Schol/. is an infantryimn. who was ruptured ni St. Mihlel September
■ litis, while (Jroliie was shot down from the skies in the Argo tint* tu October
FROM DESERT TO GOTHAM
William Poster, who for 13 year*
lived on I ho southern deserts of Cali
fornio, went to Now York recently, pri
marily with the intention of tear hint;
Now Yorkers how to get along com
fortably fin $5 per week. The photo
graph shows Pester with a guitar
which he made* from wood gathered
around Ills desert home.
Play Fair.
Mow proue we are to communlente
our blues, our worries to our friends,
and what friends are so conveniently
in reach for tlds purpose ns our neigh*
hors? In our solace-seeking there is
no “fair play." We want to exchange
gloom for brightness, discouragement
for encouragement. We want to lake
another’s time .lust for ourselves. It
would indeed he a heartless world if"
we had not the privilege of seeking
light, sympathy, encouragement from,
others in our trials, hut how many peo
ple are there who regard the right a
privilege—and not simply a right, as
does the Importunate neighbor. People,
who regard it a privilege will seldom
abuse the right.
Widow-Durning Chrine.
In all the wonderful Holy <j!ty of
nates, on tlie (hinges, there is no.
ae interesting relic than the carved'
tie or shrine of "Suttee.'’ where the
,dows of dead men were for ".(Midi
ears burned alive on the bodies «.f
their lords and musters. Strange to.
say, the horrible practice had the eom
piete approval of the women ctmeerm d,
and until a tpiile recent date the pass
ing away of a rich Hindu brought s. n
tence ol an awful death tv hi* cutlre.
zenana or harem.