Hermosa Arts & History Association
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Horse Thieves at Battle River
​July 1882

Horse Thieves at Battle River, July 1882
Picture
Professional anthropologist and amateur historian Lilah Morton Pengra investigated the tale of two suspected horse thieves who were shot and killed by a four-man posse near Hermosa, South Dakota in July, 1882.

Starting with memories passed down through area families, a potential grave site, and clues in the 1976 "Our Yesterdays" local history book, Pengra pursued the facts in "dusty documents and fuzzy microfilm." Black Hills newspapers in July, 1882 printed "melodramatic stories" with conflicting information, but Pengra persevered, and tracked down as many official documents and  gossipy news articles and interviews as she could find, though none, of course, from the two suspected horse thieves. 

In this booklet, Pengra has laid out the story in three parts: The Theft, The Chase, and The Aftermath.


​The booklet is illustrated with photographs of some of the people involved in the incident and subsequent legal matters, scans of newspaper clippings, a map with labels marking places of interest in the unfolding event, as well as an introduction, a Cast of Characters in order of appearance, and a bibliography of sources.

The cover drawing was done by HAHA volunteer artist Cathy Dahl, representing the horses involved in the story: a two-year-old light sorrel Percheron mare and a four-year-old roan Percheron stallion.
​



Horse Thieves at Battle River, July 1882
By Lilah Morton Pengra
© Hermosa Arts & History Association, Hermosa, South Dakota
24 pages
paper cover with stapled pages

Size: 8.5 x 11
 $7.00

​To purchase a copy of this booklet, see our storefront pages or contact us to find out when copies may be available during an event.

$7.00  in person
$9.00  by first class mail
(prices include sales tax)

​HAHA is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization so your donations may be tax deductible, however, t
he amount of your contribution that is deductible for federal income tax purposes is limited to the excess of money over the fair market value of goods or services provided. In this case, since you are purchasing books at fair market value, this payment is not tax-deductible. Remember, your purchase does benefit HAHA’s mission of educating the public about our local history and allows us to cover printing and shipping costs. Hooray and we thank you!

Note: Lilah Pengra is researching and writing a number of smaller local-history booklets for HAHA, that we're making available as they are published, in a stapled paper version. We intend to collect them into a bound version at a later date.
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  • Home
  • About HAHA
    • Mission and Goals
    • Contact and Connect
    • Board of Directors
    • History of HAHA
    • HAHA Museum
    • Meeting Minutes >
      • 2018 Minutes
  • Auction Fundraiser March 2022
  • Sponsors
    • 2019 Christmas Carnival
  • Events
    • 2022 Events
    • 2021 Events
    • 2020 Events
    • 2019 Events
    • 2018 Events
    • 2017 Events
    • 2016 Events
  • Programs
    • HAHA Committees
    • Memorial Garden
    • Memorial Bricks
    • Brand Boards
    • Museum Renovations
  • Hermosa History
    • Stories of Local People
    • Places and Buildings
  • Hermosa Arts
  • Books and Memorabilia
    • 2020 Calendars
    • A Hermosa Mystery: Battle River Cemetery 1880-1895
    • Purchase Battle River Cemetery Book
    • Horse Thieves at Battle River, July 1882
    • Purchase Horse Thieves Book
    • History of Masonic Battle River Lodge #92 A.F. and A.M., 1886-2000
    • Purchase History of Masonic Lodge Book
  • Donate & Get Involved
    • Make a Donation
  • HAHA News