IToRSE Katrtng in Colonial New England 907 



ingly easy to conceal such thefts and the practice became surprisingly 

 prevalent. Miss Caulkins, in her History of New London (95), has 

 described as follows the conditions during this period: 



As the West India trade increased from year to year the raising of horses became 

 very profitable and many farmers entered into it largely. Lands being uninclosed 

 it was easy to riin sucli horses off to a port where the mark of the owner was 

 not known, or the mark itself could be altered. A bold rover in the woods might 

 entrap half a dozen horses with ease and, shooting them off through Indian paths 

 by night, reach some port in a neighboring colony; and before the owner could get 

 track of them they were far off upon the ocean, out of reach of proof. Many 

 persons otherwise respectable entered into this jiractice or connived at it. Men 

 who would scorn to pocket sixpence that belonged to another seemed to think it 

 no crime to throw a noose over the head of a horse running loose and to nullify 

 tlie signet of the owner or engraft on it the mark that designated their own 

 property. 



Professional buyers, called " horse coursers " in the parlance of the 

 time, went about the country gathering up horses into pounds for sale 

 or driving them to ports whence they were shipped, and very few of 

 these persons escaped the suspicion of having at one time or another 

 enlarged a drove by gathering into it some to which they had no legal 

 claim. Persons of considerable prominence also were implicated, as 

 Miss Caulkins indicates; William Coddington, at one time governor of 

 Rhode Island, seems to have been one of these (96). 



Such delinquency increased greatly in the latter half of the century 

 and the disclosures become more and more frequent. In 1668. as a 

 preventive measure, the Massachusetts Bay general court ordered a 

 toll book to be kept in every town, in which was to be entered a descrip- 

 tion of each horse, and a voucher was to be given to the owner to prove 

 his property (97). It was necessary to present this voucher in case 

 of any subsequent sale. As has been noted, both Rhode Island and 

 Connecticut had passed laws forbidding the taking of horses beyond 

 their jurisdiction unless first recorded by the town recorder. In 1684 

 court was held at Stonington for the trial of horse coursers. Two 

 persons were convicted and sentenced to pay fines of £10 and to receive 

 fifteen lashes (98). The court calls the offense '' a crjdng evil " au'ainst 

 which all well-disposed persons were bound to give aid. In 1700 a 

 special court was held at New London for the sole purpose of tryiiig 

 horse thieves, and the penalties for such thieving were made more 

 severe (99). Finally, in 1701 a toll book was ordered to be kept in 



