Up The "Wrong Tree.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 4979, 11 April 1889, Page 3

Up The "Wrong Tree.

A HORSE THIEF’S ESCAPE. Texas in 1837 had no gaols, and had just cut loose from Mexico, and there wore but two modes of punishment for minor crimes, whipping, and branding. For murder, horse-stealing, and forgery, it was death. I recall one instance of horse-stealing, where the guilty party was permitted to escape. It was in Montgomery County in 1837. The man was tried, found guilty, and put upon the horse ha had stolen, his legs tied under the horse, and ho was led out to the edge of the timber by some twenty or more of tbo members of the ‘ court ’ all mounted and armed. Arriving at the timber, all dismounted except the prisoner, and setting their rifles against a log, commenced looking around for a suitable gallows tree. One of the party discovered, some 300 yards out in the prairie, such a tree, with a large limb growing alright angles to the trunk, some twenty feet from the ground. He remarked that it had been planted there by Nature to hang our horse thief on. Agreed, and the whole party walked, leaving guns and horses behind, leading the condemned man still tied to the horse. It was found hard to climb the tree. The discovert r of it asked for a ‘ boost.’ Being a large, fat man, it took all that could get around him to give the boost, but they did it, and he climbed the limb. One end of the rope was around the prisoner’s neck ; to get the other end fast to the limb was the task set for the man up the tree. After several throws ho caught the rope, but the limb was so large that it could not bo easily brought around to hand and unless the end was caught under tbo rope could not be tied. The big man, lying on his breast, holding the main part of the rope in one hand, with the other hand tried to throw it under tho limb, but every time failed to catch tbo end. Tho committeemen below all had their eyes on him, looking up. The prisoner at the other end of the rope was struck by an idea. There was life and liberty in it. He drove his heels aga : nst the horse’s sides. Luckily ho had stolen a good fast horse—and like a flash i away went horse and rider, and in tho alarm of the outcry the fat man up the tree missed his held and foil to tho ground, badly hurt of course. The fugitive went flying over the prairie, the rope streaming behind his nock. The vigilance party’s guns and horses were 300 yards off. After the excitement was over a meeting of tho Court was held, to reconsider tho matter of Nature having planted that particular tree to hang that particular man upon, and it was unanimously carried that it had not.