They did not act in concert, and since the laws of the State require every brand to be registered, in order to establish ownership, the rustlers had as much right to their own brands as the legitimate cowmen.

As long as the mavericks were not openly branded there was no means of stopping them.
It happens quite often that the round-up fails to gather in all the cattle.

The mavericks are allowed to go to the outfit with whose cattle they have run, and that outfit puts its own brand on them.
The rustlers grew more daring as their numbers increased, and, instead of confining their operations to the mavericks, began altering brands.
Not only that, but they were often bold enough to leave the old brand and burn a new one and forge a bill of sale.
The rustlers were generally the owners of small ranches, or cowboys who had a few head of cattle on the range or running with some rancher's stock.

The Association made a rule that no cow outfit should employ a cowman that had been guilty of branding a maverick, or of helping the rustlers, or of working with or for them.

A blacklist was kept of such cowmen, with the result that a good many were unable to get employment from the Association outfits and were compelled to become rustlers themselves.
The association of rustlers became desperate because of the serious check given them by the Live Stock Association, which placed its inspectors at all the cattle-markets, Omaha, Chicago, St.Louis, Kansas City and St.Paul.Every shipment of cattle was closely inspected, and if it came from a rustler he was obliged to prove his title to each steer, or they were confiscated and the proceeds sent to the owner of the brand.