Tuesday, August 19, 2008

This Day in History: August 19

I would acquaint your Excellency that one of the Horses under our care for the use of the Province for want of Shewing is intirely unfit for Service he has been sent to Mr Munro the blacksmith who Shews the Province Horses but the Horse not being branded the Blacksmith refused to Shew him.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

These tidbits of history are great.

During my mercifully brief sojourn in northern Illinois, I attempted to hire a gunsmith to put a better set of sights on a stock Colt 1911. He refused to work on the gun because it wasn't "registered."

Didn't have to be, back then, but there you are.

I wonder what this blacksmith's REAL rationale was for not "shewing" the Army's horse? Did all horses have to be "branded" back then? Or was he pretty well convinced that, whatever he did, he wasn't going to get paid?