Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-07-05
operandi of taking fine pair of black
horses from stable on Walnut street

0perands of taking fine pair of black
horses from a stable on Walnut street
about four years ago, and recites the de.
tails OF two other horse-stealing opera.
tions in this city with cool, careless
nonchalance quite surprising. From
him some interesting facts were learned
relative to the mode of disposing Of
stolen property. He said: "Our or
ganization was not very large when
went into it, but it continued to grow
year after year. At first we had no
agents north of St. Joseph nor south of
Fort Scott, but now we extend from
Sioux City to Galveston, and from the
Black Hills to the Rio Grande. | was
only in the pen about year and half,
but in that time the business has grown
to great proportions"
Lawrence in conversation gave some
interesting details of various horse steal
ing affairs he had been engaged in, and
while he jealously refrained from Civ
ing the names Of his companions, he
did not hesitate to tell his own misdeeds.
The favorite mode of running out
horses is thus described Two Of the
gang enter a settlement where there are
good horses, and hire themselves out as
farm hands, and go to work. After
working while they leave the neighbor-
hood, and 60 to work for parties owning
good horses. By this means they learn
the habits of the owners, and the loca-
tion of the coveted horses. Within a
few days after they leave place or a
neighborhood a raid is made upon the
stable and the coveted horse disap-
pears. The thieves seldom run
their stock to towns or stations
where railroad or telegraph lines can
reach them. They run their stock over
lines seldom travelled, and as the gang is
very large, the same men seldom 60
more than one or two stages before
changing horses, and return to the
neighborhood of the theft to take notes
and spread false reports to mislead pur-
suit. Lawrence relates one instance of
one horse stolen in Fremont county,
Iowa, passing through nineteen hands,
all of them members of the gang, before
it was sold in Sherman, Tex. In some
places in Western Missouri, Arkansas
and Iowa, and in Eastern Kansas, there
are farms kept open for the especial
benefit of the gang. These are general
ly in quiet, remote districts, far from
the main road, and where horses can be
fed, doctored and disguised for a safe
sale.
Notwithstanding the zeal with which
western farmers endeavor to suppress
this vice, the number of horse-thieves
is constantly on the increase. OF the
157 horses stolen in Kansas, more than
100 were stolen by boys under % years
of age. OF the 140 horses stolen within
the last eight months in western Mis-
souri,, more than two-thirds of the num-
ber were stolen by young men. But
while young men do the stealing, older
men do the concealing and trading. The
records of the past year show that more
than half of the horse thieves caught in
this region were men of mature age.
Farmers and others who have lost valu-
able horses in this region of country are,
many of them, blamable with criminal
neglect. They seldom give proper de-
scriptiOn of the stolen horses to the
officials. Not one farmer out of a doz-
en- knows how to describe a lost horse,
and few offer reward large enough to
justify pursuit or capture. A liberal
estimate of the number Of stolen horses
recovered in this region is one out of
two. With good detective force and
thorough organization among the
farmers, horse-stealing would become
dangerous, Improbable, and SO cease.