Throughout the early decades of Kansas, settlement news of stolen horses and the thieves that appropriated them filled the papers. Many a dramatic story of fugitive and posse provided hours of fireside entertainment that could come to a sudden termination at the end of the hangman’s rope, although many a story left the reader “hanging” with the unidentified desperados outrunning their pursuers, never to be seen again.

In early March 1880, the men of the Wilson, Kan., horse thief association were forced to give up their search for a young fellow who rode into town a few days before on a “borrowed” horse. The story made it into the “WILSON ITEMS” of the March 18, 1880, Ellsworth Reporter.

The trouble began in Nuckolls County, Neb., when a farmer reported the loss of “a fine irongray horse,” believed to be stolen. Nuckolls County is just north of the Kansas border across the line from Jewell County, Kan. Superior, Neb., is a little over 100 miles north of Wilson. The Nuckolls County Seat of Nelson, Neb., is another 15 miles north of Superior. A $50 reward was offered for the return of the horse.

Meanwhile, some 50 or 60 miles south of Nuckolls County, a young man rode into a homestead in the vicinity of Pottersburg, Kan. Pottersburg was laid out at the confluence of Bacon and Spillman Creeks in western Lincoln County, Kan. The young horseman, described as “about 19 years of age,” proposed to trade his horse for another, but suspecting something was wrong, the homesteader declined.

The young man rode on, but the homesteader couldn’t get the encounter out of his mind, and being a township constable, decided to ride after the young stranger. He was pretty certain the horse was too valuable to be offered in a chance trade on the trail. The Pottersburg man concluded to catch the suspected thief and make him explain how he came by the horse.

Being an hour or two behind his prey, the young man was overtaken after a 20-mile chase. Under closer scrutiny, the thief confessed, explaining where he had stolen the horse. Returning to Pottersburg, the thief was placed in the “cooler.” The homesteader stabled the stolen horse safely in his barn and, returning to Pottersburg, sent a message to the owner in Nebraska.

Meantime, the thief broke jail “and started as fast as he could (on foot) back to the home of the constable.” By the time the escape was discovered, the bold youngster had not only regained the irongray mount, but also stolen a pair of breeches and a Colt revolver.

Charging south, the fugitive passed through the town of Wilson and beyond to the farm of William Johnson. The young stranger was ready to rid himself of the easily- identifiable horse. He told Johnson he had been employed as a herder, and although a beauty, the iron gray was a hard rider; he was inclined to find something more comfortable for the task.

To Johnson, the lad had “the appearance of a young man that had just experienced religion.” Johnson had a small pony mare that was no match for such a trade, but the young man insisted that the pony would be more suited for his purpose. With the trade completed, the young man retraced his steps through Wilson and across the bluffs north of town. Passing the cabin of cattle herders Eckert & Gooff and seeing no one around, he “borrowed” Jake Eckert’s prize $40 rifle.

Back at the Johnson farm, “Mr. Johnson was hugging and flattering himself over the very excellent trade he had made,” but his celebration was quickly dashed when the constable from Pottersburg rode into his farmyard accompanied by the Nuckolls County Sheriff and the owner of the fine iron-gray steed standing in Johnson’s corral. The horse was identified and taken away. The local anti-horse thief association, “of which Johnson is a member,” scoured the country north of Wilson, searching “for the pony and the rascal.” Nothing could be found. It was supposed that the daring young horse thief had turned back toward the main rail line “and took the cars for Denver.”

The Wilson correspondent to the Ellsworth Reporter ended the account with the moral observation “Never play poker with a stranger.” We would offer an alternative. When offered a fine horse for an ordinary pony, the trade is ALWAYS too good to be true, on The Way West.

“The Cowboy” Jim Gray can be reached at 220 21st Rd., Geneseo, KS 67444, (785) 531-2058 or kansascowboy@kans. com.