Sunday, June 21, 2009  BlackSheep Sunday: The Horse Thief  In
the West, stealing a horse was a hanging offense. Sometimes the
horse thief was lynched on the spot where he was captured and
other times the thief was brought into town, locked in jail,
tried, convicted, and hanged at a scafford or hanging tree in
town for all to witness.  When a horse thief was hanged where
captured, they were often placed in an unmarked grave nearby,
but when the thief was hanged in town they were normally buried
in the local cemetery. Many times they were unmarked, with no
one willing to order and pay for a permanent marker, and
sometimes they had a temporary marker.  This particular horse
thief was marked much later. While his name was unknown, his
deed is remembered forever.  The Horse Thief New Santa Fe
Cemetery Kansas City, MO  1 comment:  dustbunny8 said...  Very
cool find!People forget that a horse was a essential animal in
those days-not a luxury.