When the row began the calf was
three months old and worth $10. It is
now seven months old, its rightful
ownership is still a matter of dispute,
and the cost of the suit has run to
$1,000.
M. C. Rucker, a farmer, charged his
neighbor, L. P. Hatley, with the theft
of the calf and had him arrested. Hat
ley was acquitted and sued Rucker for
$5,000 damages. Rucker undertook to
replevy the calf, but Hatley retained
possession by giving a redelivery bond.
The hearing of the replevin proceed
ings before Justice Matt Thompson is
what brought as witnesses practically
every farmer in Brush Mountain
township to Muskogee. The litigants
employed the ablest lawyers in Mus
kogee.
The calf-or, perhaps, a calf-also
came to town. It rode in a prairie
schooner with a Brushy mountain na
tive on the bow and another on the
stern, both armed with a six-shooter.
The calf wore two pairs of gunny-sack
trousers, a coat of the same material
and a kind of peek-a-boo calico hat. All
this sartorial adornment was for the
purpose of concealing its exterior ap
pearance. It had been intended that
the calf be exhibited in the court room.
But it had grown to a size that made
this undesirable.
The lawyers raved and roared their
level best. Jim Cosgrove, for Rucker,
stung with his sarcasm until even the
calf bellowed.
"This bovine," shouted Cosgrove,
"has been exalted to a throne. It has
been elevated and decorated like a
The Calf Wore Two Pairs of Gunny
Sack Trousers.
