| Cattle Rustler Cowboy Branding Iron Vigilante Groups Hanging Tree Dogies
Cattle Rustler
A professional in the West involved in the stealing of branded cattle and altering the brand. In the very early west, cattle rustling was almost accepted as a way to build up one's head of livestock which is how many a cattle rancher got his start
Stealing an unbranded calf not following it's mother was not even looked upon as rustling. But as the cattle barons decided it was hurting their pocketbook, cattle rustling began to be seen as a serious crime
There were two types of branding iron, the stamp iron which included the full brand and the running iron which had a hooked tip that could be used to change or make any brand
The running iron was a favorite tool of the cattle rustler. Latter being caught by a vigilante group with a running iron in one's possession could mean certain death by hanging if the law wasn't around |
