Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1879-02-07
A NEW CONFIDENCE GAME.
People Who Are Green Enough May Be
Easily Taken In By II.

SIOUX rdllS fantakraph.
Southeastern Dakota has for some time
been afflicted in spots with singles and
couples and gangs of horse thieves, many ef
whom have been able to get away with their
thefts. while few of them have been caught,
Sometimes the stealing has been done in
the regular old fashioned way, by breaking
into the stable and making break With the
horses; while in other cases more novel and
more complicated lodges are adopted, as for
instance one which Mr.. Wadsworth of Lake
county reports, in which a couple of men
went to neighbor of his recently and told
him that they bad cha,tel mortgage on his
team which had expired. and they must
therefore foreclose it. The owner indip-
nant'y informed them that he had never
given q mortgage on his team. which is
fact, but the men reduced document all
regularly made out and signed, describing
exactly the horses they claimed. They
evinced determination to take possession
OF them, and the owner could not prevent
them. They told him that if the matter was
not all right, be might come to Yanktou on
a certain day, and they would there turn
them over to him in case they failed to
prove their claim. The owner went to
Yankton on the day specified. but has yet
failed to get any word from the men or
team. He Is still on the search and he goes
prepared to execute upon the cunning
thieves mortgage (Which, being inter
preted, means a death pledge'D such as
will foreclose them instead of leaving them
to foreclose it. Other citizens northwest of
US have also been victims Of this same sort
of horse-stealipg practiced by these mea. n
OF more orthodox variety of horse
stealing, was that OF which John For.le and
another citizen of Sioux Falls were the
victims at Taylor's ranch, twelve miles this
side Of Rockport, Tuesday night of last
week, by which each lost span of mules.
The teams we're hauling lumber to Rock
port fol VIM. Van Fps, and stopped at the
ranch, and during the night the four mules
and one horse were stolen by gang Of
seven men. A posse of ten men started
from Rockport in pursuit, and when they
came in sight Of the gang they felt too weak
to attack them, and sent back to Rockport
for reinforcementa, securing six more men,
making sixteen in all. These renewed the
pursuit, and word was received at Rockport
by courier last Sunday afternoon that the
posse had come upon the gang again away
out by the Missouri river, and would pro-
badly capture the thieves. 1t ls stated that
during the chase, couple of the pursuera
unknowingly slept all night in house with
some Of the pursued, the mules being at the
time in the stable. Mr.. Forde contem.
plated organizing a party here to 60 out
after the thieves, but gave up the project
finally.
1t ia more than likely that some of these
equine-gobblers will some of these times
come 10 a very uncomfortable end-a rope'!
end or the muzale end of \ revolver. Tht
citizens are becoming quite thoroughly im
pregnated with the idea that this forcet
contribution Of horse aesh to these maraad
err is altogether too numerous for ei he
prof, or pleasure and if they succeed i,
capturing some of The thieves an intorma
funeral without mourners viii be appOin,e'
AMI ,h-re will be NO poslpo nsment ON &C
count Of the weather or any hing else.