It’s a morning ritual. Upon arising I walk my dog while one of our cats walks herself beside us. It’s the same each day, but I can’t help but be marveled and amused at witnessing their fellowship. At the end of our sojourn, I pick up the morning newspapers and sipping on a cup of coffee, I begin to immerse myself in both local and worldly happenings. This being 2020, there’s not a lot of positive stories deemed newsworthy. Pandemic and politics dominate. With election season now in full swing, the typical animus reported among our elected elite has risen to a crescendo of detestation and revulsion which virtually blots out any dialogue regarding the sunshine of human or even animal accord.
How surprising it was then to find an opinion piece in Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal about a dog named Old Drum and a lawyer named George Graham Vest and a 150 year old lawsuit precipitated by the shooting death of Old Drum. His owner, Charles Burden, filed the lawsuit against his neighbor and brother-in-law, Leonidas Hornsby alleging that he orchestrated the killing. Attorney Vest represented owner Burden.
While the subject matter of violent murder, family infighting and judicial action may seem to meld with our media’s current preferred menu of coverage, according to its author the article was penned to mark the 150th anniversary of “one of the most enduring arguments ever performed in a courtroom.” In fact, as a result, a bust of Old Drum was placed and still remains in the Missouri Supreme Court building.
On September 23, 1870, George Graham Vest delivered his closing remarks to the jury on behalf of the murdered canine. The summation was notable for what it lacked: any mention of Old Drum or the violent act that led to his death. Instead Vest delivered an ageless eulogy for all dogs:
“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 whom 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 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 a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is the dog.
Gentlemen 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 when the wintery winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he can be near his master’s side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounter with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his master as if he were a prince.
When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings and reputation falls 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 into the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him, to guard him against danger, to fight against his enemies. And when the last scene of all comes, and death takes his master in its embrace and his body is laid 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 and his eyes sad but open, in alert watchfulness, faithful and true, even unto death.”
Following Vest’s summation, the jury quickly returned a verdict in favor of Burden in the amount of $50 and court costs. However, the litigation continued with Hornsby appealing the decision to the Missouri Supreme Court. During its July 1872 term, the Court affirmed the judgement finally rendering justice for the killing of Old Drum.
As we enter the final weeks of this major election season and are inundated with the disingenuous promises of so many who seek to “faithfully” represent and serve us, it seems to me that we’d be better off selecting our governing positions from a random pack of dogs rather than from the standard-fare pack of wolves from whom we are now so commonly forced to choose.
The average dog is a nicer person than the average person. – Andy Rooney
Have an AWE-full Weekend!
William “Bill” Bacque