Ranch Brands: History of Smoke and Hair
Montana has a unique tie to ranching and livestock, and this was no more apparent to me than when I started researching brands. Montana became a territory in 1864, two years after the Homestead Act. Prior to 1873, the registration of brand information was left up to individual counties. This wasn't a functioning system because news and registrations spread more slowly (or not at all) during this time period. So down around Yellowstone you could have a ranch running the same brand as a ranch up by Glacier, and they wouldn't find out till they drove their cattle to market.
This was remedied when the state enacted legislature in 1872 that centralized brand registration held by the Department of Livestock.
Side note: Montana is a lot different than Idaho and Washington--because the state passed legislation designating a central housing place for all state brands, we have a continuous log and history of brands. In Idaho and Washington, the information has switched hands so many times, a good portion of the info is lost or stashed away in special collections.
After this registration of brands began, on February 10th, 1873, the first brand entered into the brand registry was the masonic Square and Compass, registered to Poindexter & Orr one of the earliest and largest stockholding partnerships in the territory. When I was speaking with Zoane at the historical society, a lady who is fanatical about Montana brands and the history of brands in the Americas, she encouraged me to make clear that this is NOT the first brand in Montana but the first brand registered in the brand books.
There were as many as 50 (perhaps more) active brands in the territory before Montana enacted the registration- and the truth of what is the oldest brand is a point of high contention amongst the academe and the ranchers in our state.
Back to the Square and Compass of Poindexter & Orr this brand is currently registered to the Matador Ranch, but in my research, there may be as many as four ranches with the Square & Compass how? It isn't only the brand itself that is registered, it is the animal and the placement ON the animal. So there could be a Square and Compass on the right shoulder of cattle held by one ranch, and then the Square and Compass on the right shoulder of horses held by a separate ranch.
The story of Poindexter & Orr itself could be a movie, and I hope those of you reading this will inquire more fully into the matter. You can start your journey below and follow up with the Historical Society of Montana where I got my start into the history of brands.
"In 1856 William Orr formed a partnership with Philip H. Poindexter that purchased and drove cattle, and operated butcher shops in mining districts in Idaho and Montana territories. In 1866 Orr moved to Beaverhead County, Montana Territory, and the partnership relocated there breeding horses, cattle, and sheep, on a 30,000-acre ranch.
Poindexter and Orr Cattle Live Stock Company had the Masonic square and compass emblem for its brand. Both Orr and Poindexter were Masons and Knights Templars. Orr was also the proprietor of The Percheron Ranch located at Red Rock, and The Central Stables at Dillon.
Orr married Rachel Cunnard in 1869. The couple had six sons: Matthew, Ernest, William II, Charles, Bert, and John. William C. Orr died on May 11, 1901-" Excerpt from the overview of the "William C. Orr Family Papers, 1902-1971"; archiveswest.orbiscascade.org
Brand Lingo: Key to the West
Brands have a language all their own. That language, like any other, follows certain rules. What follows is a brief overview of brand terminology... practice and you may be able to "call the brands."
Crazy: An upside down character.
Cross: this looks like a plus sign.
Slash: A forward or reverse slash.
"Lazy": Symbols turned 90 degrees.
"Flying": a symbol that includes a connected dash to the front and back: mimics wings.
"Walking": a symbol with a short horizontal line attached to the bottom of the symbol.
"Circle": a symbol within a circle, or a circle by itself.
"Hanging": a symbol beneath another symbol connected at the edge- called "A hanging S."
"Rocking": a symbol above a quarter circle... like a letter sitting inside a rocking chair.
"Swinging": would be the same as the rocking brand, only the half circle is at the top of the character.
Hunt for Idaho's Working Brand
The history of brand registration in Idaho is a little bit like a maze. Before 1949, the registration and application process for brands was handled by the Department of Agriculture. After 1949, the information was transferred over to the Idaho State Police Department.
I called over there to talk to a lady, and she said the information would not be with the Ag department because, "It is here in a hand written book from 1936." I called the historical society as well- got the hold button and the senior archivists' answering machine.
I bet the information I am looking for is either in someone's personal library, or in a special collections archive at some university sitting there unopened in decades.
Barring a return call from the Idaho Historical Society- are there any ranchers or historians out there willing to come out and hazard a guess at the oldest brands in Idaho's history?
Their Brands were the "Broken Heart " and the " Bar Bell" .
The Bar Bell Land and Cattle Company was the name of their outfit.
I would also love any record of land ownership.
I may have to do some digging the next time I am in Carey. We're all getting older, so it shouldn't be long until We plant another Smith on the hill north of town.
Their
*Minor Critique On*
Even recognizing that how you call a brand varies some from place to place, I still think your illustration of “Walking†is slightly off. You show a “Walking 7†with the same “wings†used on the “Flying 7†only attached at the bottom. In my experience, “Walking†symbols have a straight (not "squiggly"), horizontal line usually attached *only* to the right side of the bottom. Sometimes, when such a line might lead to confusion (a straight line on the bottom right of a “7†might look like a “Zâ€), the line will be tipped up at about 45 degrees.
*Minor Critique Off*
Overall, the examples you gave were pretty good. There are, however, some common shapes, figures, and terms you might want to add to your list:
1. Rafter
2. Slant
3. Combined
4. Reverse (Back)
5. Tumbling
5. Running
6. Rail
7. Stripe
8. Box
9. Diamond
10. Half Circle
11. Double
12. Open
13. Various common (but not totally standardized) symbols with simple shapes like pitchfork, pigpen, spade, et cetera.
The most important omission in your "basic" instructions is rules for reading brands:
1. If the brand is “enclosed†(box, circle, et cetera), read it from the outside in.
2. Read the Brand from left to right.
3. Read the Brand from Top to Bottom.
...and my favorite, because I codified it...
4. If several readings are possible, use the most jocular alternative.
Note: I've never seen this last rule clearly articulated in any resource that attempt to instruct in the art of reading brands; but, in practice, it IS what folks do -- it's human nature :-)
Unfortunately, the inability to post images with comments constrains my ability to illustrate Rule 4. If you had picture capability, I could provide a number of truly interesting samples. As it is, I am limited to those brands that can be captured via verbal description or displayed within the normal computer character set. Nevertheless, working within those constraints, here are some brands that show how Rule 4 works:
1. “^ - “ might get read as “Crazy V Barâ€; but it is far more memorable as “Open A Barâ€
2. “U++R†might get read as “U Cross Cross Râ€; but reads better as “U DoubleCross Râ€
3. “ Fe' †could be read as “F running e†but chemistry majors will quickly recognize it as “Running Iron†:-)
...and now for some real-world examples...
4. A 7-combined-with-a-U-combined-with-a-P could be read as “Seven U P Connected†or “Seven U P Combinedâ€; but don't call it anything other than “7up"
5. A “K†and a reversed “K†connected at the points could get read as “I diamond I†or “K Back K Connected"; but, in point of fact, this one, registered to the Konz Ranch in Republic, gets called as “K Diamond K"
6. And my Family's Brand, with a shape (a "wing" at the Upper Left and a "flair" at the Lower Right of a combined "L" and "P") that should be read as "LP Combined with a Flair" is, instead, The Flying LP.
My $0.02 Worth...
...and that's inflation!
~LP~