The Heraldry of the Range: Utah Cattle Brands

The Heraldry of the Range: UTAH CATTLE BRANDS

BYRICHARD H. CRACROFT

To most red-blooded, straight-shooting, movie-going Americans, cattle and cattle branding are as familiar as NBC's Cartwright boys and their ponderous "Ponderosa Ranch." In fact, Americans are constantly aware of the cattle industry, which has evolved its own national literature, mythology, and symbolism, for "the cattleman's role has etched itself more indelibly on the public mind than that of any class in American history."

And few books or movies dealing with cattle can divorce themselves entirely from mentioning one of the more colorful aspects of the industry — cattle branding. Indeed, not only does the modern American doff his Stetson to a "western" rancher-president, whose brand (believe it or not) is the "Diamond LBJ," but with one of his dozen credit cards he purchases Conoco gasoline, "the hottest brand going," and eats "Bar S" Holiday ham sandwiches each Sunday evening while watching the Chevrolet brand burn an impressive hole in "Bonanza's" map of the Utopian Ponderosa.

Yet in spite of this national awareness, few Americans, well-done, medium or rare, can name many of the famous cattle brands. However, few self-respecting Yankees, Rebels, or cowpokes would fail to recognize the brand of Colonel B. H. Campbell, known forever as "Barbeque" Campbell, who left his adopted brand and name on thousands of flyinfested, burnt-fingered outdoor picnics throughout the nation. Beefeaters should likewise be aware of the famous "Running W" of Richard King, founder of the enormous King Ranch; of the "Maltese Cross" and "Elkhorn" brands of Theodore Roosevelt, the great popularizer of the West and its vast ranching enterprises; and of the famed "Old Spanish brand" of Steve Austin, "Father of Texas." Each of these brands, with countless others, has played a colorful and significant role in the history of the American West.

The cattle brand was equally important to the Mormon pioneers, who depended heavily on cattle in establishing their Zion in "the tops of the mountains." Early brand books clearly demonstrate the important role Mormon leaders played in fostering the cattle industry in the infant territory. These leaders, with thousands of their Mormon and "Gentile" brethren, have left a colorful range heraldry of Utah cattle barons and knights — a registry of coats of arms which symbolize the toil, success, disappointments, courage, and love of Utahns who have been willing to stake their lives and fortunes on cattle. They have left to posterity, in neatly kept brand books, this heraldry of the Utah range.

Branding in Utah began soon after the arrival of the Mormons in 1847. The first brand book, started by an act of the State of Deseret, was begun on December 11, 1849. This brand registry, now housed in the Utah State Archives at the Utah State Historical Society, shows as its initial entry the "WR" of Willard Richards, Mormon apostle, counselor to Brigham Young (1847-54), and first editor of the Deseret News. It was a small horn brand (7/ 8 of an inch by 1 1/2 inches) to be branded on the left horn of his animals. Richards' brand is followed by the "S" of Daniel Spencer and his brother Orson, both Mormon leaders and educators, and by the large "H" of Heber C. Kimball, counselor in the First Presidency to Brigham Young (1847-68).

Busy taming an arid country, the Mormons were usually practical in their brands; most of their recorded marks are the less imaginative "initial" brands. It would remain for their more established posterity to record brands sparked by the imagination. One such practical brand is the twenty-first entry in the old brand book — a large (4 1/2 inches by 3 1/8 inches) "Y" of President Brigham Young, of the "Eighteenth Ward, Great Salt Lake City."

Yet even some of the "initial" brands are, from a twentieth century perspective, a bit humorous. George A. Smith, apostle and later member of the First Presidency (1868-75), registered his "GAS" brand on January 8, 1850 — a brand which takes on more colorful meaning in an era of horseless carriages and Turns. One "initial" brand which would upset Utah Republicans is the "FDR" brand of Franklin D. Richards, another member of the Mormon hierarchy. The "SOB" brand of Samuel O. Bennion of North Jordan recalls to saintly minds that "Unto the pure all things are pure; but unto them that are defiled ... is nothing pure" (Titus 1:15).

Not all early brands were "initial" brands. Elder Daniel H. Wells, later counselor to President Young (1857-77), registered a large heart as his brand; this was an appropriate symbol, for Wells no doubt required a big heart to contain the abundance of love needed for his parcel of wives and bundle of children.

The official brand of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as recorded on May 21, 1850, was the "+," to be burned on the left hip of cattle and horses. The L.D.S. Church has recorded no brand in Utah for many years, but the books are full of ward, stake, and priesthood quorum brands, clearly revealing the continued Mormon interest in cattle as a means of securing the physical welfare of church members.

READING CATTLE BRANDS

In Utah, as throughout the West and Southwest, there are definite rules in reading a brand: from top to bottom, from outside to inside, and from left to right. Reading from top to bottom, a 6 with a bar beneath it is the "Six Bar," registered to William and Leonard Beaumont of Beaver, and to Richard Williamson of Pleasant Grove; a 2 enclosed in a circle, reading from outside to inside, is the "Circle Two" of Clarence Ingram of Nephi; and the J L of James Louder of Kamas, reading from left to right, is the "J Bar L."

Incidentally, the same brand may be registered to several different cattlemen. In such cases, the location of the brand on the cow serves to differentiate between the owners. William Beaumont, for example, brands his "Six Bar" on the left side, while Leonard Beaumont places his on the right, and Richard Williamson works the same "Six Bar" on the cow's right hip or thigh.

Utah cattlemen are second to none where imaginative brands are concerned, but there are certain established forms used by all cattlemen as a point of departure for their brands. Such forms as the "box," "open " "bench," "drag," "flying," and "forked" brands are widely used. The brand of Gene B. Thomas of Spanish Fork, for example, is a "T" enclosed in a "box." Reading from outside to inside, this is the "Box T." An "open" brand, or one not "boxed," is seen in the "inverted V" or "open A" of Lloyd Poulsen of Promontory. There are five such brands in the most recent (1960-61) Brand Book.

The "bench" is a horizontal bracket with its feet down. Roland Webb of LaVerkin encloses a "W" in such a bracket to obtain his "Bench W." The "drag" brand is so named when a projection is angled off the bottom of the brand, as in the "Drag Seven" where the seven receives a projection from its base. Whenever "wings" (projection) are attached, the brand is "flying," as in the "Flying Triangle" of the Flying Triangle Ranch Company, of Roosevelt. When prongs are added, as with an "N," the brand is "forked" — in this case the "Forked N" or "Forked Lightning."

Other familiar brand forms are "tumbling" brands, where one or more figures of the brand are tilted in an oblique position, as in the "Tumbling JA" of John Alger of St. George, registered in 1867; or the famous "lazy" brands, where the figure is lying on its back. Such a brand is the "Lazy P" brand of J. Leonard Topham of Paragonah, a brand first used in 1875 by Topham's forefather, John Topham, organizer of the Parowan Co-operative Cattle Company. The "Lazy P" recalls a famous brand registered in many Western States — the "Two Lazy Two P" brand. This brand reflects the universally humorous attitude of cattlemen toward the naturally lethargic nature of their four-footed, cud-chewing charges.

The "quarter-circle," the "half-circle," the "three-quarter circle" and the "circle" are additional brand forms which are used in a variety of ways to achieve original brands. Thus the crescent preceding an "L" of C. Little and Sons, of Morgan, is the "Quarter Circle L," and the half-circle preceding an "O" is the "Half Circle O" of the Valley Livestock Auction Company, of Grand Junction, Colorado, and the circle enclosing an "M" with a bar beneath is the "Circle M Bar" of Ivan Donald McCourt, of Columbia, Utah.

If the "quarter-circle" is attached beneath a figure or letter it is no longer a "quarter-circle" but a "rocking" brand. A lower case "h" attached on a "quarter-circle" thus becomes the "Rocking Chair" of S. Hal Guymon, of Huntington.

Other important brand figures are the "rafter," a brand comprised of two semi-coned shaped lines or "inverted V" placed over a figure or numeral, and the "diamond." The diamond brand may be used in a variety of ways, as the "diamond dot," "diamond and a half," "barred diamond," or even the old "Diamond D" of R. M. Carlisle, of Big Cottonwood, registered in 1868 as a "D" enclosed inside a diamond.

The "number" brand is nearly as frequently used as the "initial" brand. For example, Jacob Hamblin, "Mormon apostle to the Indians," registered his "1" brand in 1867 — to be burned on the nose and forehead of the animal. The various United Orders seemed to have been especially fond of using number brands, such as the "71" of the Oak City Order, or the "07" of Orderville. Undoubtedly such numerals had special significance to the various groups.

Every "number" is well-represented in the Utah Brand Book. Under the "7" brand, for example, there are "Rocking 7's," "77's" "Seven Lazy Sevens" (one "7" standing, one lying down), "Barred Seven" ("7" with a bar through it), "Seven Bar's" ("7" with a bar beneath), and many other variations. Likewise Roman numerals are frequently used, but "X" is not called "Roman Ten," but simply "X," as in the "X IT" brand of J. Parley Laws of Blanding — the same brand as that of the famed "XIT" ranch — "Ten In Texas" — so named because the huge spread covered most of ten Texas counties.

One of the most famous number brands is not an original Utah brand, but the "6666" of Burk Burnett, a Texan who played and lost heavily at poker. One evening in a frontier Texas town Burnett hit an amazing streak of luck and collected a huge pile of money. His desperate rancher opponent frantically agreed to play his ranch and cattle against the whole pile. Burnett drew two sixes, discarded three cards and then drew two more sixes. With those four sixes Burnett is said to have won the ranch and the cattle. The brand naturally became "Four Sixes." Oil was later discovered on Burnett's range and he became a millionaire. At the death of Burnett's widow, Texas Christian University became the recipient of several million dollars, leading many to say it was the "best poker hand a Christian institution ever drew." The "Four Sixes" was recorded in Burnett's name on September 22,1885, at Wichita, Texas.

The most popular brand, however, is the "initial" brand. Even the Utah State Prison has its own prosaic "initials" — "USP." As shown earlier, most of the Mormon leaders used the "initial" brand, as did Abraham O. Smoot, first mayor of Salt Lake City, who used an "AOS." A more ornate use of the "initial" is seen in the "TA" of Truman O. Angell, architect of the Salt Lake Temple. Angell mounted the top of a "T" on an elaborate "A" to achieve a distinctive "initial" brand.

Instead of initials, other cattlemen use a shortened version or symbol of their name. Such is the "JEF" of James Jeffs of Castle Dale (1890), or John I. Hart's "JI Heart" (1876). Edward W. Starr naturally registered a "Star" brand (1867), and John Harry Spader of Tooele recorded a "Spade" in 1944; likewise, several cattlemen named Bird have entered various "Bird" brands in Utah's range heraldry.

Some brands have no apparent relationship to the cattleman's name and are chosen simply because of the distinctive legibility of the brand. Such a brand is the "Pothook D" of Glynn S. Bennion. Originally the Bennions used a "B," but found the middle section was generally blotched, as is frequently the case with ornate brands, so the family changed to the more practical "D." Other brands seem to present even less connection with the family name and allow the reader's imagination free rein. It takes little, for example, to imagine that the "FAT" brand of Arthur O. Johnson (1886) was a self-description of a healthy, ruddy, beefeating cowman, reminiscent of the "2 FAT" brand of a rancher in neighboring Arizona. The "Lazy Heart" brand of John Holman (1894, and still registered to a Holman) could symbolize anything from cardiac problems to the conjecture that Holman failed to respond to romance until late in life. And the many "pipe" brands and "coffee pot" brands give rise to conjecture as to whether these were symbolic of the wistful longings of a Mormon rancher or the defiant symbols of a ranching Gentile.

The Brand Book of Utah is loaded with unusual "symbol" brands. Hats, pistols, bells, shoes (high and low cuts), dollar signs, wigwams, coffins, hogs, horses, ducks, horns, arrowheads, hands, scissors, tongs, and even eighth notes occur in its interesting pages. Each brand gives rise to conjecture as to the cowman's personality and the humor, the human drama, or comedy hidden behind the selection of that particular, peculiar brand. The history behind some of the brands is obvious. The "I O," the "I Bar O," is the eloquent brand of a saddened cowman who is experiencing a universal plight. Another universal malady is homesickness; the "SX" brand was the brand of one old-timer who hailed, with a touch of homesickness, from Essex, England.

Some brands even reveal the reluctance with which the cowman left his college and fraternity days behind. The Greek letters of Sigma Chi fraternity are registered to Robert E. Griffiths, of Smithfield. The question which naturally arises is, "does Mr. Griffiths use the brand only on select 'Sweetheart' cattle with golden hair and blue eyes?" And the Utah Brand Book sometimes makes for strange bedfellows. In the 1960-61 edition, the "Star of David" brand, for example, is placed only two entries away from the "Swastika" brand.

Probably the most descriptive of all "symbol" brands is that of Branham's Sunset Canyon Ranch, in Virgin. The brand shows two squaredoff mountains with a setting sun going down between them. The combination "symbol" and "initial" brand of Lynn W. Johnson of Monroe takes the blue ribbon for being the most "loyal to Utah" brand. Johnson's brand, the "Utah L," is an "L" centered inside the outline of the State of Utah.

Very often brands undergo a switch in names and receive a name far different from the one intended. Such was the case with the "L in a House" brand, which became, naturally, "Hell in a House." This same transition occurred with the "Up Y Down Y Bar" of T. N. Porter, a devout Mormon rancher in northern Arizona. A cowboy from a neighboring ranch came across Porter early one morning as the Mormon cattleman was kneeling beside his bedroll and offering up his morning prayer. The cowboy, greatly impressed, told and retold the story. Soon Porter's "Up Y Down'Y Bar" became the "Lord's Prayer" brand, by which it was known until Porter sold out many years later.

Today Utah boasts a variety of more than 10,000 recorded brands, and many widely known brands and cattle companies. Many of these companies run their cattle under several brands. The Scorup-Somerville Cattle Company runs under the "Bar Lazy Y," the "Flying V Bar," and the "Bar X Bar." The Deseret Livestock Company runs its cattle under the "Bar S," the "I X," and the "Quarter Circle J." The Redd Ranches, with headquarters at La Sal, have now limited their brands to one — the "Crossed H." The Preston Nutter Corporation still has registered the "A H E," the "Circle," and the "63"; and the "Running Mc" brand is the widely known brand of the Samuel Mclntyre Investment Company, an historically rich brand originally registered in 1873.

BRANDING HISTORY

The history of branding stretches back to 2000 B.C. Ancient Egyptian tombs not only reveal paintings of cattle branded with the pharoah's personal brand, but portray the branding process as well. Branding was common in the Scandinavian countries in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and in Iceland "All cattle ... were to be marked 'when eight weeks of summer were past,' under a fire." Marco Polo reported seeing the Tartars herding branded cattle on the Asiatic steppes in 1292, and Frank Dobie points out that Chaucer's pilgrims doubtlessly rode branded horses when they set out on their immortal journey to Canterbury.

It was probably Cortes who introduced branding to the New World. At any rate it is certain that Coronado brought branded cattle with him when he entered Arizona in 1540.

Throughout history there has been little discrimination between the branding of cattle or human beings. The Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, and other nations, as well as southwestern and western Indian tribes, branded criminals, slaves, and captives. Towne and Wentworth note that the Indian might have adopted the custom from Cortes, who burned a letter "G" for guerra in the cheek of the Aztec prisoners. Many of the Aztecs were impressed into service as Cortes' herdsmen, making it possible that "the first 'critter' to be branded in the New World was neither calf, nor cow, but cowboy."

Will C. Barnes (1858-1936), Arizona soldier, cowboy, sheriff, and ranger, tells of seeing his boss, a prominent Mormon stockman in northern Arizona, slap a hot iron on a woman's thigh. According to Barnes, he and the Mormon were branding some calves near the ranchhouse, but were constantly harassed by the women of the household, who were stirred by the squeals of the calves. The rancher gave a stern partriarchal order that the women should return to the house. All returned but one, who disobeyed the Saint's injunction and slipped around to a different vantage point. The fiery-tempered Mormon saw her, grabbed the red-hot iron, and gave chase. The shrieking woman, handicapped by long skirts, fell, exposing part of one leg. The rancher promptly lifted the skirts still higher and slapped down the iron, "branding the woman forever with a two inch circle on her thigh."

BRAND ALTERING AND UTAH LAW

But the brand — whether on a human being or a cow — does not always assure the owner that he will be able to keep the animal, for the timeless cattle rustling custom of burning out brands is still not a lost art. ("Human rustling" is still carried on by draft boards and football coaches, but hot brands have now been discarded.) Although Utah has had her brand artists and cattle rustlers, she has nevertheless been comparatively free from the practice — especially when compared with Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, where an "E" brand was readily turned into a"Pitchfork" ( E), or an "I C" became an "I C U" brand. So upset was the "I C" owner with the practice that he promptly rebranded the "I C U" cattle with a new brand — the "I C U Bar 2." In all of the range states the frequently used "7 P" brand was easily made into a "7 UP" brand, and "half" and "quarter circles" were readily altered into "full circles."

The enormous "XIT" outfit in Texas was so dumbfounded as to how a rustler was changing their brand that they offered the alterer $5,000 to tell his secret. He told. By careful manipulation he had expertly turned countless "XIT" brands into the completely unrelated "Star Cross." At another Texas ranch the owner noticed that the "Yes Jenny" brand was all-too-often becoming the "Cloverleaf" brand, under the skilled artistry of a cowman named Ike Smith, alias Isaac Hobard, a deserter from Robert E. Lee's army. As in many similar cases, Ike was made intimately aware of some famous cattlemen terms, for the "strangulation jig," a kind of surprise "necktie party" or "lynching bee," was held in Ike's honor — in his own front room.

To protect Utah cattlemen against such brand altering, the Utah livestock brand and anti-theft acts require that every "livestock owner who allows his livestock over six months of age to range upon the open range or without an enclosure, shall have and adopt a brand and shall brand his livestock with such a brand, which brand must be recorded in the office of the state board of agriculture." The brand, recorded for a $5.00 fee, must be renewed every 10 years for an additional $3.00 fee, or the brands and marks will be forfeited and others will be allowed to use and register the brands.

To provide further protection, the state appoints brand inspectors to several brand districts in the state. The law reads that inspections must be made of any cattle being transferred from one district to another, or out of the state. The branding laws give inspectors wide police powers to enforce the laws, and the inspectors are experts at detecting brand altering. Indeed, most inspectors are proud of their ability to recognize brands. One old-timer claimed he could "tell what brand an animal had on it by tasting the beef."

To further thwart brand alterers' cattlemen use an earmark in addition to the brand. The earmark also facilitates ready identification of branded cattle when they are bunched together in a herd, where rib and shoulder brands are difficult to observe. The earmark is simply a design cut in the cow's ear. The design is registered at the same time as the brand. A variety of earmarks may be used, in one or both ears, from holes to slits, slopes, swallowforks, half crops, crops, bits, and steeple forks, but the Utah State law provides that "in no case shall the person ... cut off more than one half of the ear."

THE BRANDING PROCESS

Thus the process of branding and earmarking, though time consuming, is necessary to insure protection of property. To facilitate the process, modern electric and chemical brands are coming into wider use, but the old hot-iron method is still widely practiced—especially on "Mavericks" encountered on the range.

After the cowboys have singled out the mother cows and their unbranded calves, these cattle are driven into the corrals. A roper selects a calf and "heels" it by letting his loop catch the "critter" by the hind legs. The calf is thrown to the ground where two cowboys, "flankers," tackle it and hold it down. In small operations, in Utah and elsewhere, the calf is very often tackled without the roping procedure. Indeed, in most modern operations the calf is driven into a squeeze chute, which traps the calf and makes for greater ease in handling.

The "iron man" then takes a red-hot iron from the fire and works the brand on the hide of the calf. The iron must not be allowed to slip or the brand will be blotched. If the "iron man" uses a "stamping iron," which has the brand symbol forged on the end of the iron, this step merely requires the pressure of the heated end against the hide until the burn is enough to cause an indelible scar. This takes practice. If a "running iron" which resembles a poker with a curved end, is used, the mark is "pencilled" in. The "running iron" was so popular with rustlers at the end of the last century that Texas passed a law against its use, thereby bringing about a widespread use of the "stamping iron." Utah's Brand Book lists no law against the "running iron," but the "stamping iron" is predominantly used.

After the burn, which leaves the acrid, repulsive odor of burning hair and hide, the bawling calf is subjected to its next operation — earmarking. The cowboy deftly slits a design in one or both ears and throws the pieces in a pile which will later provide the owner with a tally of the number of calves operated on. Then the calf is often vaccinated, with blackleg, or other serums, and the male is castrated. After all this rough treatment the calf is sent bawling back to his anxious mother. The iron is then rubbed into the dirt to free it of burnt hair and flesh and is placed back in the fire to reheat.

So the process repeats itself year after year, as cattle continue to play a key role in the nation's economy. Cows have naturally become the subject of congressional lobbies, numerous federal bills, agencies, and federal loans. One cowman applied for federal aid and listed seven cattle guards among his assets. With "insolence of office" the federal agency wrote back, "Inasmuch as you seek a readjustment of finances you must cut down your pay-roll first. Discharge five of those guards, as two should be ample to care for the number of cattle you have."

Far away from the national and state capitols, on the sage-covered benches, alkali flats, and dry gulches of Utah, cattlemen go about their hard work, and their indelible marks are burned not only into the cattle, but into the American tradition as well. From the table of the merchant in New England to that of the factory worker in Detroit or the schoolteacher in Seattle, Utah cattle is good, and tasty, business. And an integral part of this business is the colorful, yet utilitarian brands traced into the hide of every cow — brands which form a fascinating, proud, and tradition-packed heraldry — the heraldry of the Utah range.

For full citations and images please view this article on a desktop.