Jan. 28 – On this day in Montana history in 1865 the Montana Territorial Legislature authorized the first brand registered in what would become the state of Montana. Thomas Pitt was authorized to use the “84” brand “on all his property, horses, mules, cattle, hogs, sheep and all personal property of every description or species.”  Why 84? Pitt was an admirer of abolitionist John Brown, and a line in the famous song “John Brown’s Body” notes that his knapsack bore the number 84. It was said that Pitt loved to sing the song in a booming voice, and the line earned him the nickname “84.”