Rode a Horse to Death Getting to and From the Famous Yankee Sullivan Prize Fight in Pelham on August 29, 1842

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As one might expect given the 363-year recorded history of Pelham, there have been thousands of lawsuits between and among Pelhamites (or that involved Pelham in some fashion).  Records of such lawsuits are a rich source of information about the history of our town.  Then, there are some such lawsuits that are simply so unusual that they scream for attention.  The lawsuit that is the focus of today's Historic Pelham article is, well, both.  Indeed, considered through the lens of this particular lawsuit, the Town of Pelham can be said to have played a small role in the development of 19th century "horse law."

Monday, August 29, 1842 was a very hot day in Pelham.  Indeed, many accounts of the events of that day note how hot it was and how bright the summer sun seemed.  One account called it the "hottest day of the season."  The day also was a highly-anticipated and special day.  In the early afternoon, famed nineteenth century prize fighter Yankee Sullivan battled William "Billy" Bell in a brutal bare knuckle brawl that was fought on Hart Island.

The crowd that witnessed the fight was incredibly large.  In 1842, the Town of Pelham included today's Pelham Bay Park, Hart Island, City Island, and other nearby islands.  Despite its geographic size, the entire town had a population of only about 790 people.  On August 29, however, an estimated five to six THOUSAND people traveled to the little town of Pelham to watch the fight.  Many took special steamships from New York City to Hart Island.   Others walked, rode horseback, or drove carriages to Pelham Neck where small craft ferried them to Hart Island (for a fee, of course) to watch the most famous fighter in the country, Yankee Sullivan, fight Billy Bell for a $300 prize (about $14,000 in today's dollars).

I have written before about the Sullivan - Bell prize fight in Pelham on August 29, 1842.  See Wed., Nov. 04, 2015:  The Famous Nineteenth Century Prize Fighter Yankee Sullivan Fought in Pelham in 1842.  Yankee Sullivan won the brutal battle that day when Billy Bell was unable to stand up and resume the battle at the ringing of the bell to begin the twenty-fourth round.  The fight lasted about 38 minutes.

Pelham, of course, simply did not have the infrastructure to deal with a crowd of that size.  
That fact became an issue in a strange lawsuit that followed the prize fight and that is the subject of today's Historic Pelham article.  

By 11:30 a.m. that morning, nearly two-and-a-half hours before the Yankee Sullivan fight, all nearby stables and sheds were completely filled with the horses of spectators who came to watch the fight.  There was no available shelter on that hot day for horses that arrived any later.  This became an issue for Benjamin T. Waring and others of New York City who traveled to Pelham that day to watch the fight.

A little before 10:00 a.m., the Waring group hired "a fine and favorite gray mare from William T. Mackerel's livery stable on East Broadway in New York City.  At about 10:00 a.m., the group -- presumably in some form of carriage or conveyance pulled by the mare -- left the livery stable for Pelham Neck with plans to ferry to Hart Island and watch the fight.

It took them about two-and-a-half hours to travel the seventeen miles from the livery stable to Pelham Neck.  Arriving at about 12:30 p.m., the men discovered that there was no stable or shed available to shelter the mare they had hired.  Everything already was filled to capacity with spectators' horses.

The men secured the mare and crossed to Hart Island where they witnessed the famous prize fight.  It took them some time to get off the island and back to Pelham Neck, but by about 3:30 p.m. they were behind the mare and on their way back to New York City.  

Once again, it took them about two-and-a-half hours to make the seventeen-mile return trip to the livery stable.  When they arrived, however, the poor mare was "terribly distressed."  That night the mare was "taken sick."  The next day, the poor creature died.

The owners of the livery stable filed a lawsuit against the men who hired the mare.  The owners alleged that the horse had been driven at an "excessive rate" to and from Pelham and that the horse suffered from a "want of proper care."  The owners sought $150 in damages for the value of the horse.

A jury trial was conducted in The Court of Common Pleas for the City of New York (a court that was abolished in 1895).  Trial was held in January, 1843.  On January 25, 1843, the Morning Courier and New-York Enquirer reported on the proceedings.  

Counsel for the defendants denied that the horse had been driven at an "excessive rate" and offered evidence that "other horses had gone out the same distance within the same time or even less on that day" and "were seen driving at a very moderate pace."  No enlightening evidence was presented regarding how the horse was cared for while the men were watching the fight on Hart Island.  Indeed, according to one account "It did not appear that any care was taken of the horse while at Pelham's Point, nor did it appear that there was any lack of care."  

Judge Ingraham instructed the jury that "a person hiring a horse though not restricted to any particular rate of going, should exercise proper discretion and care, and that a rate of travelling which might be warranted at one time, would not be so at another."  The Judge also instructed that the jury would have to decide whether "the horse had died in consequence of injuries received at the hands of the defendants, by over-driving, or by a want of proper care."  The Judge further instructed the jury that if they found that the horse had died in consequence of injuries received at the hands of the defendants, then plaintiffs "were undoubtedly entitled to recover the full value of the horse."  

Following deliberations, the jury returned a verdict for plaintiffs and, presumably, an award of $150 (the damages sought for the death of the horse).  That day, it seems, Pelham played some small role in the evolution of the niche legal area of "horse law."

Title Page of Book About Yankee Sullivan

With An Image Believed to Depict Him.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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Below is the text of an account of the trial of William T. Mackerel, et al. v. Benjamin T. Waring, et al. in The Court of Common Pleas for the City of New York.  It is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"Reported for the Courier and Enquirer.
COURT OF COMMON PLEAS.
Before Judge INGRAHAM.

William T. Mackerel et al vs. Benjamin T. Waring et al. -- This action is brought to recover the value of a horse, $150, which was killed as is alleged by the defendants, who overdrove the animal, and neglected to take proper care of it.  The defendants hired the animal in question, a fine and favorite gray mare, of the plaintiffs, who are livery stable keepers in East Broadway, on the 29th August last, to go to Pelham's Point in Westchester county, for the purpose of crossing over to Hart's Island to see the fight which was to come off that day between Sullivan and Bell, at that place.

They started from this city about ten o'clock in the morning, and reached Pelham's Point, a distance of 17 miles in two hours and a half, although the day was one of the hottest of the season.  It did not appear that any care was taken of the horse while at Pelham's Point, nor did it appear that there was any lack of care, the only evidence on this point, being derived from two witnesses, who testified that when they reached Pelham's Point at half past 11 in the morning, all the stables and sheds about were filled, and they had difficulty procuring shelter for their horse.

The defendants leaving the horse at Pelham's Point, crossed over to Hart's Island, and witnessed the fight, and started on their return to the city about half past three, arriving here at 6 P. M.  When the horse came in she was terribly distressed -- was taken sick during the night and died the next day, as is alleged, from the excessive rate at which she had been driven, and want of proper care.  On the part of the defence, evidence was offered showing that other horses had gone out the same distance within the same time or even less on that day, and it was proved that on their return they were seen driving at a very moderate pace.

Judge Ingraham charged that a person hiring a horse though not restricted to any particular rate of going, should exercise proper discretion and care, and that a rate of travelling which might be warranted at one time, would not be so at another.  It was for the jury to say if the horse had died in consequence of injuries received at the hands of the defendants, by over-driving, or by a want of proper care.  If so, the plaintiffs were undoubtedly entitled to recover the full value of the horse.  Verdict for plaintiffs.

For Plaintiffs, W. K. Thorne,
For Defendants, H. A. Fay."

Source:  Reported for the Courier and Enquirer -- COURT OF COMMON PLEAS -- Before Judge INGRAHAM, Morning Courier and New-York Enquirer, Jan. 25, 1843, Vol. XXVII, No. 4872, p. 2, col. 3.

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