Old Drum

A Missouri foxhound shot on 18 October 1869 by a sheep farmer, Leonidas Hornsby, who had warned that he would kill any dog on his land. Owner Charles Burden sued, and at the September 1870 trial his lawyer, George Graham Vest, set the evidence aside and delivered his "Eulogy of the Dog". The jury awarded $50 and the Missouri Supreme Court upheld the verdict. Only a partial transcript of the speech survives, which is worth remembering when you meet the full-flowing versions on plaques. The statue on the Johnson County Courthouse lawn in Warrensburg dates from 1958.