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Footsteps -- African American Heritage


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Over 380 FOOTSTEPS articles and over 8,100 articles from seven other Cobblestone Publishing magazines are available in our subscription-based online searchable archives.  Parents and teachers, try the FREE index.

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Tell Me a Story: Folktales Then and Now
Tell Me a Story: Folktales Then and Now

Reading Cattle "Brand" Names

adapted from March/April 1999 Issue - Black Cowboys and Cowgirls

Cattle Brands
In the late 1880s, cowboys drove huge herds of cattle across the central plains of the US. During these drives, they would often meet other groups of cowboys driving their cattle. If they were not careful, the cattle would form one huge herd. To tell which cattle belonged to whom, each ranch had its own special symbol that would be branded with a hot iron on the hide of every calf belonging to that ranch. Ranchers generally used three types of marks in branding - figures, numbers, and letters.
Cattle Brands
Make your own cattle brand!
  1. Think of a name for your ranch. Then think of the symbols you would use to brand your cattle.
  2. Write your "brand" on a sheet of paper, and see if your friends and family can guess the name of your ranch!