Horse theft

“ The Mongolian prairie law, transplanted into the plains of the Volga like that of Red Indians, lays down clearly enough that horse-theft is a great felony, but the law is honored in the breach rather than in the observance, and allows the wronged to get his horse back any way he can and to punish the thief at will. ”

“ For this reason the stealing of a horse in America is punished more severely, than stealing the same value in any other form. In Europe where horses are confined so securely, that it is impossible to steal them, that species of theft need not be punished more severely than any other. In some countries of Europe, stealing fruit from trees in punished capitally. ”

“ Theft is said to be common, especially of horses, and the care of the horses belonging to travelers devolves on the villagers; for, in case a horse is stolen, a fine is imposed on the population in general. To prevent this misfortune, our hosts kept playing, as long as we could bear it, on an instrument like a clarinet; but at twelve oʼclock, after trying in vain to sleep, we were obliged to stop the noise and risk the horses.
“This instrument is about three feet long, with five or six holes, and a flat mouthpiece on the cane-tube ”

“ But if any one steal a horse or other thing of great value, for which he deserves to die according to their laws, he is cut asunder with a sword, unless he redeem his life by restoring the theft nine fold. Such as have horses, oxen, or camels, brand them with their particular marks, and send them to feed in the pastures without a keeper. ”

“ A national jail shall be built on the public grounds, upon which the council-house is now situated.
Sec. 2. Any person who shall steal any horse, mule, ass, or cattle of any kind, shall be punished as follows: For the first offence the property of the offender shall be sold by the sheriff, to pay the owner of the animal stolen the price of said animal, and all costs he may sustain in consequence of such theft. ”

“ So lately as 1878, when the Auvergne was wrecked near Tabarka, all on board were completely stripped, even to their shoes. In 1885, when another ship was wrecked at the same place, its cargo was instantly pillaged, though under the guardianship of the French authorities. Needless to say, robberies are of daily occurrence. Even in 1888 an officer’s horse was stolen on the road to Ain Drahm, in the Khrumir mountains.
[302] The prevalence of theft has originated a peculiar mode of earning a livelihood. Certain individuals gain their subsistence entirely by pursuing and finding stolen cattle. ”

“ By the nobles and barons this was deemed a harsh measure, and frequently they rebelled against it. Some of the more spirited even refused to acknowledge its validity, with the result that a number were slain whilst attempting to retain their horses by force; others were imprisoned; and a few were put to [Pg 120] death as rebels. Indeed at this period the theft of a horse ranked second only to murder, and was punished as severely. ”

“ The purse incident occurs in Brittany, Piedmont, Tuscany, and Tyrol; in Iceland (Arnason, p. 609) occurs the man twice hanged which also occurs in Norway, Ireland, Saxony, Tuscany, and in Germany (Kuhn and Schwartz, 362) ; in Servia (Vuk, 46) the Master Thief steals sheep by [246] throwing two shoes successively in the road, which also occurs in Bengal (Day, xi.) ; the theft of the horse occurs in Brittany, Norway, Ireland, Tuscany, Scotland (Campbell, 40) , Flanders, in Basque and Catalan, Russia and Servia. ”

“ It is not the difficulty, but the risk; for even if a thief gets off with a pony, he is almost sure to be hunted down. It is regarded as a sort of offence against the community, and a man, whether a native or a mean white, would get a very short shrift if he were caught on a stolen horse. ”

“ BABSY. You are. Waitle your own horse is stolen, and youll know better. I had an uncle that died of thirst in the sage brush because a negro stole his horse. But they caught him and burned him; and serve him right, too.
EMMA. I have known that a child was born crooked because its mother had to do a horse's work that was stolen.
BABSY. There! You hear that? I say stealing a horse is ten times worse than killing a man. And if the Vigilance Committee ever gets hold of you, youd better have killed twenty men than as much as stole a saddle or bridle, much less a horse.
[Elder Daniels comes in.] ”

“ A few miles further on he stole a horse from the stable of a farmer, and, mounting its bare back, rode hard and fast till daylight, when he turned the animal loose in the road, and betaking himself to the protection of the forests that covered the bottom lands of the Alabama River, left no further trace of his course. Here his trail was lost to the detectives, who, after an arduous and vain pursuit of several days, abandoned all further effort in that vicinity. ”

“ This horse market was of importance to the metropolis, which was supplied from the country fairs, from which the horses came up in droves. 'A Set of Geldings and Mares, just from a Journey to be sold Cheap.' So many were wanted for riding, carriages, and draught purposes. Horse-stealing was a crime so extremely prevalent, that is difficult to take up a paper that does not contain an advertisement respecting a lost or stolen horse. ”

“ Tip-Top laughed as they walked along. ‘This thief,’ he remarked, ‘is a fool. [Pg 77] It is so easy to steal a horse that he will not buy a saddle. He will try to steal mine. Then we shall catch him. He will get the horse—’
“‘What!’ cried the Mayor; ‘get the horse?’
“‘Certainly; nothing is easier,’ replied Tip-Top. ‘He will get the horse, and then he will want a saddle. He will be passing the wall here. He will see me sleeping with my head on my friend and then he will attempt to steal it, but the surcingle will be buckled around my body, and I will awake and cry blue murder. ”

“ To steal a ranchman's horse might not only cause him great annoyance, but even put his life in danger, and accordingly the rascals who engaged in this form of crime ranked as the worst of all and received no mercy when they were caught. ”

“ Here Smith thought we had better stop; and tired, and perhaps homesick, we pitched our tent, and ate our first supper at the mines of Ballarat.
CHAPTER XXXIV. THE BULLY OF BALLARAT.—FRED FIGHTS A DUEL.
Horse stealing is not regarded as a very serious crime, I regret to say, in Australia. There is a certain class of people who make no scruple of borrowing an animal without the owner's consent, and if great objection is made to such a proceeding, a resort to firearms quickly settles the matter, generally to the disadvantage of the remonstrant. ”

“ Thus, when he would steal the parson's horse in Llandovery and sell it to a squire some twenty miles off, he proved the truth of that old law which says one man may with impunity steal a horse, while another may not safely even look over the fence. ”

“ I begin to suspect that I have, but how many men have bought stolen horses on the diggings without a thought of anything dishonest? What reason have I either, a man with more money than he knows what to do with?'
'You can tell all that to the Bench,' said the sergeant coldly. 'All I know is that I find you in possession of a stolen horse and the associate of horse-stealers. You must stand your trial like other men.'
Had the mountain suddenly rolled down, filled up the river, and pulverised the camp, Lance's astonishment could not have been more profound. ”

“ In the early history of Lexington, Nebraska, as in all western states, there was no crime committed more reprehensible than that of stealing a horse. One might kill a man and it would be overlooked or excused, but the offense of stealing a horse was a crime that nothing could atone for but the "wiping out" of the thief. And generally when the horse thief was caught the nearest tree or the upraised end of a wagon tongue was immediately brought into use as a gallows upon which the criminal was duly hanged without the formalities of courts or juries. ”

“ For though many Men yearly venture and lose their Lives by stealing Horses, yet there are very few who dare seize a Horse, where the Law allows and encourages it, when by such Seizure he is to acquire the Name of an Informer: So much worse is this Appellation in the Opinion of Vulgar than that of Thief; and so much more prevalent is the Fear of popular Shame than of Death. ”

“ So, wounded and bruised, and very sorry that he had thought about the old woman's wine, he left them behind, and disappeared among the thick undergrowth of the neighboring forest. His pursuers returned to the cottage and set loose the robber's horse.
"The wicked thief shall not creep back," they said, "to do us further injury, and then jump on his horse and fly." ”

“ And the law by making the taking of a wild creature as much a crime as stealing a domestic animal rendered the step from poaching to sheep-stealing perfectly natural and easy; and thus the man who commenced by snaring a rabbit frequently ended by stealing a horse, for which he was hanged or transported to Botany Bay. ”

“ It was getting quite dark, and as the chappar boy had warned me that there were brigands about the neighbourhood I walked close to my horse, my revolver being slung to the saddle. The place seemed absolutely deserted, and I was just thinking how still and reposeful the evening seemed, the noise of the horses' hoofs being the only disturbing element amid quiescent nature, when suddenly from behind innocent-looking rocks and boulders leapt up, on both sides of the road, about a dozen well-armed robbers, who attempted to seize the horses. ”

“ Horses disappeared night by night and were never recovered, till at last the farmers, in despair of the local authorities, organized a Horse Thief Protective Association which undertook to pursue and punish the robbers and to pay for such animals as were not returned. ”

“ Tip-Top was to sleep on his Talking-Saddle, near the wall and the [Pg 78] Mayor and his brother were to watch from the windows of the vacant house opposite.
“When night came, the watchers who had been set to guard the horse were very anxious. They were ready to arrest any one who might chance to enter. Whenever they heard footsteps approaching they seized their clubs and stood on the defensive. Sometimes a passer-by would pause, look in, and ask what the trouble was. Then the watchers would reply that they were waiting for the great thief who was coming to steal the fine horse. ”

“ They rode abreast, like a squad of cavalry, taking the whole road, and compelling everyone they met to take the ditch. Meeting a farmer with a good span of horses, they stopped him and helped themselves to one of the horses, for the use of Bob Younger, who had been riding behind his brother Cole. A little farther on they “borrowed” a saddle for him of another farmer, representing themselves to be officers of the law in pursuit of horse thieves,—a pretense which they made much use of during their flight. ”

“ He had been put up to a useful wrinkle in this respect by Bill Royce. "You be careful about any horse trade you make. Bet your boots that any horse that is offered to you here is stolen, and you would get into one of the awkwardest of scrapes if you chanced to go into a district where that horse is known. They don't trouble themselves to ask many questions over a stolen horse. If you buy a horse, the best thing to do is to go before a justice, or the sheriff will do: pay your money before him, and get him to sign his name as a witness to the bargain. ”

“ He presently left that saloon and wandered into another, and there were plenty of half-drunken men by that time who would follow him for the free drinks that were in it. By noon the crowd was convinced that stealing a child is as serious a crime as stealing a horse and that the punishment should be as swift and sure. And it is a fact that when men dealt with the crime of horse-stealing they did not stop to inquire whether the owner had been kind to the beast. ”

“ The only halt he could expect of the robbers was to save their own horses, and he must do the same. Forcing a tired horse an extra hour has left many an amateur rider afoot. He realized this. Knowing the necessity of being well mounted, the robbers had no doubt splendid horses. This was a reasonable supposition.
Near midnight the marshal and posse set out once more on the trail. He was compelled to take it afoot now, depending on his favorite dog, which was under leash, the posse following with the mounts. The dogs led them several miles southward on this mountain crest. ”

“ Thousands of cases occur in which innocent persons do, and are compelled by law and by right as well, to suffer loss from just such frauds. A rogue may steal or borrow my horse and sell him to a neighbor, who buys in good faith. The law, and right and justice, instead of compelling me to lose my animal, permits me to replevy him and take him home, and my neighbor pockets his loss. And this is done daily over the land without objection; and we hear no newspaper cautions to the “gullible” farmers not to lend horses. ”

“ Whereas, last night, or this morning, May 24th, a fine strawberry roan grey gelding was stolen out of the stable of John Cobbold, Esq., of St. Margaret’s Green, Ipswich, together with a new saddle and bridle, and the coachman’s stable-dress. Whoever shall give information of the robber, so as to lead to the recovery of the horse, or the conviction of the offender, shall receive the above reward at the hands of the owner.
“N.B. The horse is sixteen hands high, has cropped ears, is six years old, has a cut tail, and is very strong and very fast. ”

“ The criminal court was sitting, and was at that moment trying some criminals for horse-stealing; with whom it would most likely go hard: for live stock of all kinds being necessarily very much exposed in the woods, is held by the community in rather higher value than human life; and for this reason, juries generally make a point of finding all men indicted for cattle-stealing, guilty, whether or no. The horses belonging to the bar, the judge, and witnesses, were tied to temporary racks set up roughly in the road ”