Horse theft in Texas between the end of the Civil War and 1890 was considered one of the most serious crimes on the frontier. The severity of punishment stemmed from both the practical importance of horses in frontier life and the inadequate formal law enforcement during this turbulent period.
The Critical Importance of Horses in Frontier Life
Horses were absolutely essential for survival on the Texas frontier. Unlike cattle, which primarily had economic value, horses served multiple crucial functions that made them indispensable to daily life. In the sparsely populated and largely unpoliced Great Plains states and Texas, farmers and migrants depended entirely on their horses for transportation and farming. Without horses, settlers were essentially stranded in hostile territory, unable to travel to towns for supplies, flee from danger, or work their land effectively.
Frontier folks understood a harsh reality—stealing a man’s horse was tantamount to murder. The loss of a horse could literally mean death for a homesteader and his family, as it would leave them stranded without any hope of replacing their mount before disaster struck. This practical reality made horse thieves particularly dangerous because they left their victims helpless or greatly handicapped.
Legal Framework and Punishments
The formal legal system in Texas reflected the seriousness of horse theft through increasingly harsh penalties. The 1856 Texas Penal Code prescribed imprisonment for two to seven years for stealing horses, mares, colts, asses, or mules. By 1879, the punishment had increased significantly to confinement in the penitentiary for no less than five nor more than fifteen years.
This escalation in punishment was notable because cattle theft, despite the economic importance of cattle in Texas, carried only two to five years imprisonment. The difference underscored how much more valuable horses were beyond their commodity price. The harsher 1879 penalties also attempted to convince would-be vigilantes that the state was serious about punishing horse thieves.
Breakdown of Law Enforcement During Reconstruction
The period from 1865-1890 was marked by severe law enforcement challenges that created conditions where vigilante justice flourished. During Reconstruction (1865-1873), Texas experienced significant institutional upheaval. The traditional Texas Rangers were replaced by a Union-controlled Texas State Police from 1870 to 1873, which fell into disrepute due to its association with unpopular Reconstruction policies.
The State Police force was disbanded in April 1873, leaving a significant law enforcement vacuum just as Texas was overrun with outlaws, Indians ravaging the western frontier, and Mexican bandits pillaging and murdering along the Rio Grande. While the Rangers were reconstituted in 1874 with the Frontier Battalion under Major John B. Jones and the Special Force under Captain Leander McNelly, the intervening period saw widespread lawlessness.
In many frontier areas, courts and jails had not been established or officials and juries could not be depended upon. This created conditions where vigilance committees were often formed to stamp out lawlessness and rid communities of desperadoes.
Vigilante Justice and Horse Thieves
The combination of horses’ critical importance and inadequate law enforcement led to widespread vigilante activity targeting horse thieves. Between 1865-1890, at least 17 Texas vigilante groups used hanging to punish criminals, claiming approximately 140 lives. Horse thieves were among their primary targets, along with murderers, cattle rustlers, and train robbers.
The Washington Reporter in Washington, Pennsylvania, stated in an article “…one can get away with murder in Texas, but not horse theft.” This sentiment reflected the practical reality that while murder victims were already dead, horse theft victims faced potential death from being stranded without transportation.
Anti-Horse Theft Associations
The severity of the problem led to the formation of organized horse theft associations and societies throughout the West. These groups formed because law enforcement was so limited in resources and one sheriff with a couple deputies had no resources to track down stolen horses. When formal law enforcement failed to bring thieves to justice, vigilantes often took charge and hanged thieves.
These associations often operated through legal channels when possible, but the mismatch between the severity of the punishment and the loss the crime caused to people led many to take extralegal action. The associations recognized that in areas where horse theft was rampant, hanging horse thieves when caught was seen as the only effective deterrent.
The End of Severe Punishments
By the 1890s, the conditions that had made horse theft so devastating began to change. Railroad expansion reduced dependence on horses for long-distance transportation, though they remained important for local travel and farm work. The professionalization of law enforcement, including the reorganization of the Texas Rangers and improved court systems, provided more reliable formal justice.
The 1879 increase in formal penalties for horse theft to 5-15 years imprisonment represented the state’s attempt to provide sufficiently severe punishment to discourage vigilante justice while maintaining the death penalty only for murder and treason.
Currently, horse or cattle theft is punishable by 2-10 years in prison and a fine of $10,000 for each animal. Car theft, the modern-day horse theft, is punishable by 2-10 years in prison and a fine of $10,000 if the car is worth between $30,000-$150,000 and the person does not use a gun to steal it.
Blessing Furious
From these examples, you can see why Blessing got so upset when Thad accused her dad of knowingly buying stolen horses. Here they discuss the possibility:
“Not sure. Maybe the bill of sale is mixed up in some the other papers. There was such a mess we might not have gotten all the papers where they go.”
“That’s true but I thought I’d gone through everything. I even brought all the papers down from Papa’s room and I’ve sorted them.”
Thad stood with his arms crossed over his broad chest. “Well, if you don’t have a bill of sale, how can you claim they’re not stolen?”
She peered into his face, ready to punch him in the mouth. “My papa did not steal horses and would never have bought stolen horses! You can get that idea out of your head right now. I’ll find the bill of sale. Give me a few days and I’ll find that piece of paper and make you eat it.”
“You show it to me and I’ll be happy to.”
To find out if the bill of sale ever shows up, grab a copy of Blessing or read about her in Kindle Unlimited.
