Sunday, June 21, 2009

BlackSheep Sunday: The Horse Thief

In the West, stealing a horse was a hanging offense. Sometimes the horse thief was lynched on the spot where he was captured and other times the thief was brought into town, locked in jail, tried, convicted, and hanged at a scafford or hanging tree in town for all to witness.

When a horse thief was hanged where captured, they were often placed in an unmarked grave nearby, but when the thief was hanged in town they were normally buried in the local cemetery. Many times they were unmarked, with no one willing to order and pay for a permanent marker, and sometimes they had a temporary marker.

This particular horse thief was marked much later. While his name was unknown, his deed is remembered forever.

The Horse Thief
New Santa Fe Cemetery
Kansas City, MO

1 comment:

dustbunny8 said...

Very cool find!People forget that a horse was a essential animal in those days-not a luxury.