Burt Mossman: From Hashknife Boss to Arizona Ranger Captain
Most men would've been content cleaning up the largest cattle operation in the Southwest. Not Burt Mossman. After taming the Hashknife Empire, he founded the Arizona Rangers and became the stuff of frontier legend.
When I discovered Mossman's story during my research, I knew I'd found the perfect character to inspire not just one book, but multiple stories in my Harper's Justice series.
The Man Who Cleaned House
January 1898. Burt Mossman took over as superintendent of the Aztec Land & Cattle Company with one million acres of chaos on his hands. The "thievinest, fightinest bunch of cowboys in the United States" were bleeding the company dry from the inside.
His first day on the job? Pure Burt Mossman.
He had a cowboy guide him to where stolen cattle were hidden. Arrested three rustlers on the spot. Sheriff Frank Wattron swore him in as a deputy that same day. Then Mossman fired the foreman and 52 out of 84 cowboys.
Fifty-two men. In one sweep.
Message received. The Hashknife had new management.
That story right there? That's what inspired me to write the grit you see in both J.J. Westin and Hayley Harper. When someone's willing to walk into a den of thieves on day one and clean house without hesitation, that's the kind of steel-spine courage I wanted my characters to have. Mossman's first day became the blueprint for how real frontier justice gets done.
Fighting Fire with Gunfire
Mossman didn't just talk tough. He backed it up with a smoking Colt and nerves of steel.
Take his showdown with Bill Young, a notorious rustler king. During roundup, Mossman spotted one of his company's stolen steers wearing Young's brand. When Young tried to cut the animal from the herd, Mossman roared: "Turn back that steer!"
Young claimed the animal wore his brand. Mossman knew better. He had the steer killed and the hide turned inside out. Only the original brand shows as a scar on the underside of the hide.
The Hashknife brand showed clear as handwriting. Not a trace of Young's mark.
Burt looked Young straight in the eye: "Now, you thief, I'm calling your hand! What are you going to do about it? I'll give you your choice. I'll match you twenty dollar gold pieces, or we'll spit at a mark, or I'll run a footrace with you, or we'll shoot it out. Don't make a bit of difference to me!"¹
Young just smiled sick and kept his mouth shut. Smart move. He was a killer, but he was standing in a crowd of Hashknife cowboys. Even the disloyal ones weren't fool enough to back a rustler against their boss.
The Legend Born in Dust
But my favorite Mossman story happened at a Phoenix rodeo. The announcer bellowed: "Burton C. Mossman, of the Hashknife!"
Crowd went wild. Burt looked every inch a winner as he built his loop, sitting his painted horse like he owned the world.
The steer charged out. Mossman made his cast, but the loop was too big. Instead of catching the horns, it settled around the steer's neck. That bull took off like a jackrabbit with Mossman and his horse dragging behind at forty miles per hour.
Something had to give. It was the saddle cinch.
The saddle came flying off with Mossman still aboard! For fifty feet, he rode that saddle like a runaway sled, boots dragging, hands hauling back on the rope, but going plenty fast anyway.
When the rope finally choked the steer down, Mossman bounced off that saddle, grabbed his piggin' string, and tied that critter with a flourish. Right in front of the grandstand.¹
Pure showmanship. Pure Burt Mossman.
From Cattle Baron to Ranger Captain
Cleaning up the Hashknife made Mossman famous across Arizona Territory. When Governor Murphy decided the territory needed Rangers to combat organized outlaws, one name topped the list.
February 1901: Mossman became the first captain of the Arizona Rangers.
He recruited thirteen men chosen for their skill with gun, rope, and horse. Few had darkened church doors. One contemporary called them "the most dangerous bunch of killers ever gotten together." But they drove out two major gangs of stock thieves in their first year alone.
Within a month, Rangers Carlos Tafolla and Duane Hamblin led a posse into the White Mountains and broke up the Bill Smith gang in a running gun battle. The gang never stopped running until they crossed state lines.
A few months later, Rangers rounded up the remnants of Black Jack's notorious gang. The outlaws scattered like tumbleweeds.
The Research That Shaped Two Books
Discovering Mossman's dual career changed everything for my Harper's Justice series.
His transformation of the Hashknife inspired the authority figure who hires J.J. Westin and Hayley Harper in The Rustler Hunter. Here was a man tough enough to face down an empire of corruption from within.
But his role founding the Arizona Rangers opened another story entirely. That's where Shane Harper comes in. Mossman's creation of Arizona's premier law enforcement organization inspired The Gallant Ranger, where Shane joins the ranks of territorial lawmen dedicated to bringing order to the frontier.
Two different phases of frontier justice. Two different books. One legendary lawman.
The Kind of Man the Frontier Made
Burt Mossman embodied everything the Arizona Territory needed: courage that bordered on recklessness, leadership that demanded respect, and a willingness to fight fire with fire when dealing with outlaws.
In The Rustler Hunter, that spirit lives on in the man who recognizes that sometimes cleaning house requires more than just new management. Sometimes it requires a complete revolution.
From the Hashknife Empire to the Arizona Rangers, Burt Mossman proved that one determined man could change the course of frontier justice. His legacy shaped not just Arizona Territory, but the entire Harper family saga.
The fight isn’t over. Trace Mossman’s legacy in The Rustler Hunter and an upcoming Harper’s Justice Series installment, where the Arizona Rangers take up arms to defend the frontier against corruption and lawlessness.
¹ E. D. Tussey, "He Tied That Steer," Arizona Highways, Vol. XV, January 1939.