The New York herald., 1921-10-23
An Ancient Society Passes.

An Ancient Society Passes.
The Mamakating. Waikiki an9
Crawford Horse Thief Detecting So.
ciety, a Middletown, Orange county,
correspondent writes, has gone out Of
existence, disbanding with $4,000 in
its treasury and q record Of many
thieves brought to justice and many
stolen horses recovered. This so.
ciety was organized in July, 1877, but
even with its life of forty-four years
it was antedated at least a half cen.
tury by the thief detecting societies
of New England and almost twenty.
five years by national organization
known as the Anti-Horse Thief Asso-
citation, with strong membership in
most of the Western and Southern
States.
Many OF the old New England so.
cieties came into existence at the end
IF the Revolutionary war, when the
people had scarcely had time to ad-
just themselves to new social and
political conditions and when pilfer-
ing, robberies and horse and cattle
stealing were common. The emblem
of the Thief Detective Society Of War
rem, Massachusetts,, which Is still pre-
served as treasure by the town,
shows the citizens OF the community
mounted on fleet steeds, with the
scroll stop Thief" as their cry, hot
in pursuit Of rascally horse thief,
who seems to have q good chance of
cutdistancing them. Similar societies
existed in Dedham. Barnstable, Cape
Cod; Rockport, in the Cape Ann
region; in central and western Mas.
sachusetts and in the Connecticut
valley. These we're in way "socie.
ties of vigilantes whose duty it was
when the hue and cry was raised to
run down the transgressors and bring
them to Justice"
These ancient societies were the
models Of the Anti-Horse Thief AS
sociation, which was founded in 1854
as national order and which in its
last report claimed a membership Of
about $4,000. Catching horse thieves
was its principal object, but accord
ing to the preamble Of its constitu-
tion 1t also sought to aid in uphold
ing civil law, to insure the safety of
The people and the security of their
property against loss by thieves,
robbers, murderers, vagrants, tramps,
and all violators Of
law" and to secure the enjoyment
CT life, the pursuit of happiness and
rhe possession of our honest reward
of labors with equal and just rights
to ALL"
Horse stealing Is no longer a crime
which causes the civil authorities or
communities much anxiety except
perhaps in some of the remote rural
districts; rustler may drive away
an easily accessible drove of the ami
mails or an amateur in theft may ride
away a feet horse from a pasture.
The game is not now worth the can
die from the viewpoint of the profes-
sional criminal. But at the time the
thief detecting societies fourished
the horse thief was a real menace to
both urban and rural communities;
he was the sharpest OF the thieving
profession, a person Of much cunning
and unusual daring.
His resourcefulness is shown by a
story still told in the Berkshires Of
one Of the most notorious horse
thieves Of that part Of the country,
who made away with farmers buggy
and deacon's horse by stealing the
vehicle, dragging it half mile down
the road and representing to the
deacon that he had been sent to Est
his beat nag. The deacon obligingly
picked out his choice young horse,
helped the thief hitch IL up to the
buggy and stuck his new whalebone
whip in the socket. Neither farmer
ror deacon ever saw horse, harness,
buggy or whip again. The thief drove
over the New York line into Column
bia county, where confederates
helped him dispose of his stolen
property.
JonN Coz, man with ten or more
aliases, one of the most notorious of
Middle West horse thieves, stole his
first h.se in Connecticut when he