Old Drum - Man's Best Friend - Warrensburg, Missouri
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 38° 45.896 W 093° 44.427
15S E 435671 N 4290951
Quick Description: Old Drum monument is located on the grounds of the Johnson County Courthouse in Warrensburg, Missouri.
Location:
Date Posted: 5/20/2007 12:58:01 PM
Waymark Code: WM1JJG
Views: 213
Long Description:
Old Drum was a black and tan hound dog belonging to Charles
Burden. On the night of October 18, 1869 was shot and killed by
Leonidas Hornsby, bother-in-law and neighbor of Burden. Hornsby had
many sheep killed and had notified his neighbors that he would kill
the next dog caught on his property. The death of Old Drum resulted
in three separate jury trials and an appeal to the Missouri Supreme
Court. It is third jury trial held in the Old Courthouse in
Warrensburg which is the most well known. Each of the parties
employed attorneys, Wells H. Blodgett, George G. Vest, and John F.
Philips represented Burden and Francis M. Cockrell and Thomas T.
Crittenden represented Hornsby. Vest delivered the closing
arguments to the jury and during his remarks he made no reference
to evidence previously present but instead delivered more of a
"Eulogy of the Dog" or "A Tribute to the Dog". It as from
this tribute the saying "Mans best friend" is credited
Eulogy of the Dog
"Gentlemen of the Jury, the best friend a man has in the
world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or
daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful.
Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with
our happiness and our good name, may become traitors to their
faith. The money that a man has, he may lose. It flies away from
him, perhaps when he needs it the most. A man’s reputation may be
sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are
prone to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us
may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles
its cloud upon our heads. The one absolutely unselfish friend that
man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him
and the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his
dog.”
Gentleman of the Jury, a man’s dog stands by him in
prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep
on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives
fiercely, if only he may be near his master’s side. He will kiss
the hand that has no food to offer, he will lick the wounds and the
sores that come in encounters with the roughness of the world. He
guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When
all other friends desert he remains. When riches take wings and
reputation fall to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun
in its journey through the heavens. If fortune drives the master
forth an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the
faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him
to guard against danger, to fight against his enemies, and when the
last scene of all comes, and death takes the master in its embrace
and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all
other friends pursue their way, there by his graveside will the
noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad but
open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even to
death.” ~ George G. Vest
This trial was won by Burden and awarded $50. Hornsby
appealed to the Missouri Supreme which upheld the lower court's
findings. It should be noted that the attorneys involved in
this case became very successful in their careers: Critterden
became Governor of Missouri, Bloddgett became president of Wabash
Railroad, Vest served 24 years in the United States Senate,
Phillips who had been a brigadier general during the Civil War,
also served in Congress and later a United States District Judge
and Cockrell who also served as a brigadier general for the
Confederacy during the Civil War became a United States
Senator for 30 years.
ĦЁ»Ĉ췈Ɛᛸƒe
