Gilpin observer., 1907-04-18
THE HORSE DIED OF PLEuRIsY.
Stout Did Not Kill the Animal By an Electric
Shock as al First Reported.

Last week there appeared in the Dem
yer papers special from Sheridan,
Wyo., stating that P. r. Stout, num-
ber of years connected with the Gilpin
County l.. H. & P. company of this
city, had been arrested for killing a
horse by electricity. The article said
that Mr.. Stout had attached one end of
an electric wire to the bit in the horse S
mouth and the other end to the crupper
buckle, turning on current of 120
voltage. The article caused much COM
ment among the friends of Mr.. Stout in
this city who could hardly believe that
he would be guilty of such a gross act
of cruelty and were willing to withhold
criticism or censure until they had had
complete understanding of the facts
in the matter. 1t will be seen by the
report of the affair, which appeared in
the Post, published in Sheridan, and
which Mr.. Stout sends to friends here
and claims to be about correct, that he
, intended to inflict no injury on the horse
whatever. Mr.. Stout's acquaintances
in this county know him to be man of
good, common sense and one who has
too much feeling for dumb animal to
commit an act of cruelty like that of
which he is accused, and feel certain
that he will be acquitted of the charge
brought against him:
"a warrant was issued by Justice
Thomas late last evening upon a COM
plant sworn to by Mrs. George W..
Perry, local agent of tine Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,
for the arrest of P. R. Stout, superin-
tendent of the Sheridan Electric Light
& Power company, on the charge of
having caused the death of a horse be-
longing to the company by means of an
electric shock administered for the pur-
pose of making the horse work.
The warrant was served about
O'Clock last night and Mr.. Stout was
taken before Justice Thomas where he
gave cash bond of $50 for his appear
, ance at O'Clock today for hearing.
''At the appointed time the defend
ant and the attorney for the prosecu-
ton appeared and upon the showing
that the county attorney is sick in the
hospital'and one of the attorneys for
the defense was obliged to be out of
town today, the case was continued un-
til May 10th, with verbal stipulation
that at any time before said date when
it is mutually agreeable to both parties
voluntary appearance may be made
and the case will be heard.
I'm this connection Mr.. Stout stated
to Post reporter that the stories re-
garding the death of the horse had
been greatly exaggerated; that the ami
NAL proved to be balky when attached
to a light load, and that small electric
testing machine of very low power was
used to make him pull. This machine
was produced and held by a reporter
who experienced only a very slight
shock, insufficient to injure anything.
Mr.. Stout put one end of the wire ir
his mouth, holding the other in his hanc
and allowed the full current of the
machine to be turned on, experiencing
no burn or inconvenience. Mr.. Stout
states that the horse was not subjected
to mistreatment in any form and that a
slight bleeding at the mouth was caused
by the horse biting it's tongue.
''Dr. Spiker, veterinary surgeon
went out and made post mortem ex
, animation for his own information anc
says the horse died of pleurisy, which
might have been superinduced by al
electric shock or from overheating
that the tongue and throat of the ami
NAL resembled burn, and were cover
ad with dead tissue ~