SEARCH

Spring/Fall Roundups      Gathering the Herd      Cutting      Branding      The Stray Man    Summer Trail Drive      Cattle on the Trail      The Railhead      Day Herder      Night Herder      Open-Range Branding      Chuck Wagon      Remuda      Dangers on the Trail    Winter Work

Seasonal Work | Summer Trail Drive | Open-Range Branding page 1 Right before the trail drive, the cowhands often branded the cattle. They would build a wooden chute and run a string of cattle through it, applying the brands through the chute slats. But not all cattle were branded during a roundup. Some were missed and, while unbranded, were considered mavericks that could be claimed by any outfit. When these unbranded animals were discovered, the cowboys had to brand them quickly with whatever implement was available. Smith documented the practice of branding on the open range with a branding iron made from a ring off of a cinch. Rather than stamping the iron down flat on the hide, as one would normally do, the cowhand created the brand by simply drawing the mark with the hot edge of the ring. LC-S59-435 LC-S59-527 LC-S59-528 LC-S59-349 LC-S6-439 LC-S6-420 LC-S6-254 LC-S6-438 LC-S6-499 LC-S6-488 LC-S6-545 LC-S611-700   page 1