Herds were made up in all parts of Texas and, as they
passed though the country, owners of smaller herds sold cattle to the drive and the herds increased. Sometimes cattle, without their owner’s knowledge or consent, voluntarily joined herds as they passed through. This created a big problem. As the ranges were not fenced, it was a diffi cult task to keep the trail herds separated from the local herds. These passing herds particularly troubled ranchers in north Texas, and something had to be done to avoid violent confrontations.
The cattlemen’s solution On February 15, 1877, a group of cattlemen met in
Graham, Texas, to seek a solution to the problem of missing, stolen and strayed cattle. This meeting was called by Col. Kit Carter of Palo Pinto County, C.C. Slaughter, owner of the huge Lazy S Ranch on the upper Brazos River, and J.C. Loving, son of Oliver Loving, for whom the famous Goodnight-Loving Trail was named. These men and others bearing famous ranching fam-
ily names such as Reynolds, Matthews, Waggoner and Burnett, organized what was called the Cattle Raisers Association of Northwest Texas. Kit Carter was selected to serve as president. The fi rst order of business was to enact a dues system where every member declared the number of cattle under his control and voluntarily contributed dues based on that number. These funds were used to employ brand inspectors whose job it was to keep a record of the brands used by its mem- bers, to attend each roundup and to inspect each of the trail herds and to sepa- rate cattle that did not belong. That original organization survives to this day and is now called the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association.
Cattle Raisers today Cattle Raisers has
its of f ices in For t Worth and has 30 special rangers and 63 brand inspectors. The special rangers are licensed peace offi cers and hold commis- sions as Special Texas Rangers issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety or as Special Investiga-
tscra.org December 2013 The Cattleman 23
tors in the state of Oklahoma. It is their duty to assist all other law enforcement offi cers in the detection and investigation of crimes, but chiefl y in the areas of thefts of livestock and other ranch property, such as saddles, trailers and farm implements. The brand inspector force attends every public
livestock auction and records the brand and other identifying characteristics of every head of cattle sold through these auctions. If cattle are later reported as missing, the special rangers have immediate access to these sale records and can link identifi ed cattle to the person who offered them for sale. The story of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle
Raisers Association would not be complete without the mention of the fellowship that its members enjoy. We have an annual meeting each spring in a major Texas city, and we have 2 other business meetings each year, in the summer and fall, as well as several outreach meetings and ranch gatherings, in parts of Texas and Oklahoma. You haven’t enjoyed true fellowship and a wonderful
good time until you have participated in these events. This is an opportunity for old and new friends, other- wise separated by hundreds of miles, to get together and discuss the really meaningful things in life, such as family, the weather, livestock, good horses and that wonderful country living. We would like to include you, and besides that, you need one of those blue signs on your front gate.
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