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Burt Mossman: The Cowboy Who Cleaned Up the Hashknife and Led the Arizona Rangers

He rose from cowboy to superintendent of a huge Arizona cattle company, then carried a badge before returning to ranching.

Who Was Burt Mossman?

Burton C. Mossman, known as Burt or Cap, was a cowboy, ranch manager, sheriff and lawman whose career ran through the roughest years of the Arizona cattle frontier. He was born April 30, 1867, near Aurora, Illinois. According to his Wikipedia biography, his family moved to Missouri in 1873 and to New Mexico in 1882, and he was working as a cowboy by about 1884.

Most of his reputation comes from two jobs: running the Hashknife Outfit in northern Arizona, and serving as the first captain of the territorial Arizona Rangers in 1901. He finished his life as a rancher, which is why a lawman appears in a cattle hall of fame.

The Hashknife Outfit and Its Troubles

The Hashknife was the nickname of the Aztec Land and Cattle Company, a Boston-backed outfit that began operating in Arizona in 1884. According to a Legends of America history of the company, it bought about one million acres of former railroad land in 1886 at 50 cents an acre, along with the Hashknife brand, about 33,000 cattle and 2,000 horses from a Texas company hit by drought. Its range ran roughly 150 miles across northern Arizona.

The company also earned a rough reputation. Cowboys were blamed for theft and violence around Holbrook, and rustling hurt the books. By the late 1890s the operation was in trouble.

How Did Mossman Fix the Hashknife?

Mossman had come up through the outfit. Wikipedia says he became foreman by about age 20, and the Shooting Times profile puts him at about 21. Sources differ on whether he became superintendent in 1897 or was hired to manage the outfit in January 1898. Either way, he took charge when rustling had nearly ruined the company.

In his first official act he dismissed 52 of the 84 men on the payroll, those he suspected of rustling or helping rustlers. By the end of 1898 he had sent 11 rustlers to the county jail, calmed Holbrook, and the company began to turn a profit. A severe blizzard that winter killed thousands of cattle, prices then fell, and the company ordered its holdings liquidated. The Babbitt brothers of Flagstaff bought the ranch in 1901.

The Key to Mossman's Success

The record shows a manager who acted quickly on a labor problem and who could move between ranch work, public office and private business. His later ranching years show he returned to cattle once the law jobs ended.

The Hashknife story also carries a limit. His housecleaning improved results in 1898, but weather and falling cattle prices still brought the company down.

  • He knew the outfit from the saddle up, so he could judge which men were working and which were stealing.
  • He cut the payroll by more than half, 52 of 84 men, rather than tolerate theft.
  • He put two men in charge of the remaining cowpunchers, setting clear lines of responsibility.
  • He used public office, winning election as Navajo County sheriff in 1898, to support order on the range.
  • He diversified into a stagecoach line, an opera house in Winslow and a store in Douglas, according to Wikipedia.
  • Limits: a hard winter and a price drop ended the Hashknife as a company despite his reforms.

Captain of the Arizona Rangers

Territorial Governor Oakes Murphy re-established the Arizona Rangers in 1901, and Mossman was appointed first captain on August 30, 1901. He agreed to serve for one year and made Bisbee his headquarters, according to Legends of America. The Shooting Times profile says the Rangers jailed 125 men in their first year under him.

His best-known case was the capture of the killer Augustine Chacon. Mossman worked with the outlaws Burt Alvord and Billy Stiles to trap him, and Chacon was later hanged in Solomonville. His term ended after one year.

Diamond A Ranch and Later Life

Mossman went back to cattle ranching and owned the Diamond A Ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. He died there on September 5, 1956, at age 89, and was buried in Independence, Missouri. The Diamond A is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and Mossman Road in Tucson carries his name.

The Hall of Great Westerners inducted him in 1960. For more on Arizona's open-range era, see the ranching section of farm.FM, and a farm.FM story about an Arizona cattle company for a related read.

Timeline

  1. 1867Born April 30 near Aurora, Illinois
  2. 1882Family moves to New Mexico
  3. 1884Working as a cowboy
  4. 1898Takes over management of the Hashknife and is elected Navajo County sheriff
  5. 1901Appointed first captain of the Arizona Rangers on August 30
  6. 1902Captures Augustine Chacon with help from Burt Alvord and Billy Stiles
  7. 1956Dies September 5 at the Diamond A Ranch near Roswell
  8. 1960Inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners

Frequently asked questions

Who was Burt Mossman?

Burt Mossman (1867-1956) was an Arizona cowboy, ranch manager, Navajo County sheriff and the first captain of the Arizona Rangers. He later ranched at the Diamond A near Roswell, New Mexico.

What was the Hashknife Outfit?

It was the Aztec Land and Cattle Company, a Boston-backed operation that began in Arizona in 1884. It bought about one million acres of railroad land and thousands of cattle and was known by its brand.

How did Mossman handle rustling at the Hashknife?

He dismissed 52 of 84 cowboys he suspected of rustling or helping it. By the end of 1898 he had sent 11 rustlers to county jail, and the company began to turn a profit.

Why is Mossman in the Hall of Great Westerners?

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum inducted him in 1960. His record combines running a major cattle company, serving as sheriff and Ranger captain, and later ranching in New Mexico.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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