The Weekly Kansas chief. [volume] (Troy, Kan.) 1872-1918, 1883-05-03
for the farmer.
HORSE COMPANIES
Tn. Mean. Adopted by Farmer. Prevent
Hsrse Stealing.

| In former years farmers had comparatively lit
tie protection against the depredatiOns Of horse
! thieves. These maranders could despoii The
/ tilley of the soil Of his stock, and make good
! their escape before the law eonld be 50 manipu-
! lated rs To inelose them within its meshes In
I the far West the farmers dispensed with red
/ tape, and, forming themselves into vigilance
1 committees. melted ont justice with the aid of 4
| convenient tree and rope when they caught
/ the offenders. This custom is still in vogue in
| certain parts of the West. This class of thieves
became numerous in the southeastern por-
| tion of Pennsyly ania, that about l-L or l-2c n
/ number of farmers in the little township of Ok
ford, Philadelphia County, and its vicinity
| formed an organization under the title of the
| ''Oxford Horse Company Among the foun-
ders of the company were John FOX, Peter Arri-
son, John Darlington, Jacob Snyder, Jacob Shall
! cross, General Castor, Charles Robbins, Jacob
1 Liyezey and William Roberts. The rules differ
I ed but little with those of the horse companies
Of the present day. All the members of the COM
! pany constituted riding committee, and were
I arranged in classes, each class having leader.
I These leaders were known as the Notifying Com
mittee The members were elassed that two
| might ride in company. Each member when in
pursuit of a thief WAS compelled to ride thirty
miles from his place of residence at his own ex-
/ pense, before giving up the chase. In case he
received such information that 1t wOuld be
deemed necessary to prosecute the route further,
| his expenses were paid from the funds OF the
! company. When a horse was stolen from one Of
J the members the owner Immediately notified the
President Of the company, who in turn informed
4 the Notifying Committee. Each one of the com
mittee then filled up blank notice with the
description of the stolen property for every merl-
! Der of his class. The member was also notified
I to ride a route designated for him, and was or
/ dered to Immediately prepare and start, either
/ in person or by sufficient proxy. In case of re-
fusal or neglect to do 80, except in case of aetu
al sickness, he fined -. Ii the stolen prop
| eriy was not recovered, the loss was made good
| by the company. Rewards were also offered for
the arrest and conviction of the thief, and hand
bills containing description of the stolen pro-
perty we're posted and scattered within radius
1 of thirty miles. The company held their meet
| ings at what was then known the Old Sol
diers' Tavern, on the Oxford Turnpike, about
mile and half above Frankfort. The Organi-
| ZatiOn fiOurshed, and was such a success that
| its membership swelled to almost unwieldy pro-
| portions. After it had existed about fourteen
! years, Charles Robbins, jacob LiyeZey, Will
| liam Roberts and a number of Others withdrew
| from the company, and formed another at Fox
Chase. In the meantime, their example had
| been followed throughout the State, and in ma
| ny other States About ls4i a United Horse
Company was formed of about twenty-five COM
paLies in Pennsylvania, Delaware and Mary
! land. The first meeting was held IN tins city.
They notified each other by telegraph OF the loss
of n horse, and it was thought that by this
means the chances Of escape for a horse-thief
would be reduced TO a minimum. The union,
| however, never amounted TO very much, and
| number OF the companies nave, WITHIN tine last
| few years. withdrawn from it altogether. Some
even assert that the United Company is now
| thing Of the past. Shortly before the war broke
out the BustletOn Defective Horse Company
was organized. The word detective in the IL
! tie had no peculiar significance, however, the
rules of the company being the same as those of
| the others. Then in 1863 the HOlmesburg Re-
lance Horse Company saw the light OF day, and
| in 1865 the Frankfort Detective Horse Com
! pany was formed. The members of the latter
company have been particularly fortunate, as
! they have not lost anything for the last two
| years. To-day every County in Pennsylvania
/ has an organization of this kind, and they are
| scarcely less numerous in other States east of
| the Mississippi. In Lehigh County, member
is compelled TO ride but five miles from his resi-
dence in pursuit of thief. There is no doubt
| but these companies have done much to drive
| at least class of depredatOrs almost out of
existence in this part of the eOuntry.-Phiiddei-
I,ki