One Dusty Track

Owney with some of his medals and tags

Owney was a scruffy mutt who became a regular fixture at the Albany, New York, post office in 1888. His owner, a man named Owen who had adopted him as a stray, was a postal clerk who let the dog walk with him to work. One rainy day, the back door to the post office was accidentally left open. The dog found his way inside and the workers didn't have the heart to put him back out in the rain and in the following weeks, continued to let him come in and spend his days there. When the supervisor inquired about the dog the workers were keeping in the back room even though it was against the rules, they told him it was Owen's mutt. Falling for the pup's cuteness, wagging tail, and likable nature, he let them keep him. After that, the dog became known as Owney.

Owney was attracted to the texture or scent of the mailbags and slept on them every night. When his owner moved away, Owney stayed with his mail clerk friends and his mailbag bed. He soon began to follow mailbags around on their daily travels. At first, he just followed them onto mail wagons, returning every afternoon to his home at the post office. Then he began to follow mailbags onto Railway Post Office (RPO) mail trains and traveled with them on their journey across the state and then all around the country.

Before long, railway mail clerks considered the dog a good luck charm. At the time, train wrecks were all too common and resulted in a number of deaths of postal employees. However, no train Owney rode was ever in a wreck.

Somehow, he knew the mailbags were for postal employees only and wouldn't let anyone but a uniformed postal worker touch a bag. One time a mail pouch fell unnoticed from a wagon during a delivery run. When the carrier returned to the office, not only was the bag found to be missing, but so was Owney! Upon retracing the route, the bag was found with Owney laying on top of it, guarding it by barking and growling at anyone who approached. When he saw the postal carrier, he jumped off the bag and began wagging his tail.

In a book at the time it was reported "The terrier Owney travels from one end of the country to the other in the postal cars, tagged through, petted, talked to, looked out for, as a brother, almost. But then, no matter what the attention, he suddenly departs for the south, the east, or the west, and is not seen again for months." In 1893 he was feared dead after having disappeared for longer than usual, but it turned out he was slightly injured in an accident in Canada. Word went out that Owney was missing and when the Canadians heard this, they put him on a mail train back to Albany with a note telling what happened and that they had paid a local vet to nurse him until he had recovered enough to once again travel. They did, however, request a payment of $2.50 to pay for his food. The money was quickly collected in Albany and sent to the Canadians.

Owney with Mail Train workers

Fearing he would get lost someday, this incident led the Albany workers to buy him a collar with a metal tag which read, "Owney. Post Office. Albany, New York." Railway mail clerks around the country adopted Owney as their unofficial mascot and began marking his travels by placing medals and tags on his collar. Eventually there were so many tags attached to the collar that the small dog was unable to carry them all around his neck so each time Owney returned home to Albany, the clerks there removed and saved some of the tags.

Postmaster General John Wanamaker was one of Owney's biggest fans. When he learned that the dog's collar was weighed down by the ever-growing number of tags, he gave Owney a harness on which to display the "trophies." On April 9, 1894, a writer for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported that "Nearly every place he stopped, Owney received an additional tag until now he wears a big bunch. When he jogs along, they jingle like the bells on a junk wagon." Eventually, there were so many tags that it was too heavy even with the harness so during his travels, clerks would remove some and send them to Albany for safe keeping. It is unknown exactly how many medals Owney accumulated during his time riding the rails, but an unofficial total of 1,017 has been given. Many have been lost. Others,for one reason or another, were not saved. The National Postal Museum has 372 in its collection today.

In 1895, Owney made a 4-month around-the-world trip, traveling with mailbags on trains and steamships to North Africa, Asia and across Europe before returning to Albany on December 23rd. In Japan, the Emperor gave the dog 2 medals bearing the Japanese coat of arms. It was estimated that before his death, Owney had traveled over 143,000 miles.

In June, 1897, Owney boarded a mail train for Toledo, Ohio. While he was there, a new clerk chained him to a post and he was shown to a newspaper reporter. Exactly what happened is not known; some say the reporter tried to pick him up by the scruff of his neck and others say it was simply because he wasn't used to being chained up, but for some reason the normally calm and docile Owney became ill tempered, bit the reporter and then a police officer who came to investigate and was shot in response, Owney died in Toledo of a bullet wound on June 11, 1897. Mail clerks raised funds to have Owney preserved and he was given to the Post Office Department's headquarters in Washington, D.C. In 1911, the department transferred Owney to the Smithsonian Institution, where he has remained ever since. Owney can be seen on display in the National Postal Museum's atrium, wearing his harness and surrounded by several of his tags.

Owney at the Smithsonian today

Owney’s unusual life and wide-spread travels have inspired five children’s books and a song sung by Trace Adkins. In 2011, the Post Office issue a stamp honoring his memory. Elementary schools across the United States continue to use the story of Owney as a way to connect their students with those in other states by sending stuffed toy dogs from school to school through the mail accompanied by messages from students to one another.

Owney stamp

From 1850 to 1855, people reported encountering a headless rider, a mysterious mounted ghostly specter which brought fear to the plains of west Texas. During those five years, hundreds of people claimed to have seen the spirit rider roaming the lonely ranges riding a huge black mustang stallion as wild as anything that ever raced over the prairie. Clad in rawhide leggings and a buckskin jacket, the figure seemed to appear out of nowhere. Sometimes he would appear in the bright sunshine of the day tearing across prickly pear flats, but usually it happened in the dark of night. Always alone and sometimes accompanied by lightning and wind, it struck terror into even the bravest gunfighter. Neither horse nor rider ever seemed to tire and it was noted the rider sat rigid as if he were made of wood and never bent or turned in the saddle

Men who saw him claimed there was only a gaping hole atop his shoulders where his neck and head should have been. Some said he carried his head under a Mexican sombrero tied to the horn of his saddle. The creature he rode was shunned by other wild horses. Sometimes he could be found by the stampede of mustangs running away from his presence. He seemed possessed by the very devil himself and at the sight of humans, would tear away at a speed even the fleetest of the cowboy's horses could not match.

Most of the Indians in the area, being superstitious, tried to keep well clear of him. They saw him many times and would always give him a wide berth, often trekking miles out of their way to avoid his presence. The Mexican vaqueros and sheep herders were just as scared of the apparition as the Indians, making the sign of the cross and hurrying away at the sight of him. The cowboys weren't as superstitious, but they kept their distance as well, especially if they were alone. There were times however, being emboldened by numbers and bravado and distance, that men would take shots at the horseman. They declared they were positive they hit him, but their bullets seemed to pass through him like paper. A few brave soldiers in the area also insisted their shots were true, but the rider never even flinched when their bullets hit him. They declared him to be Lucifer himself or at the very least, a demon summoned from hell.

Eventually, a group of ranchers perhaps a little braver than others, decided to track down and capture this headless horseman and put an end to the mystery once and for all. They tried tracking him for several days, but could not get close enough. They finally decided to go to the Nueces River at a spot where he had been reported to water. The next morning, their wait was rewarded as the big black horse and its rider cautiously made their way to the water's edge. When the horse lowered his head to drink, the men arose from their hiding places and began shooting. When the dust and smoke had cleared, the horse and rider lay dead. The men were stunned as they fully expected their bullets to have no affect.

Upon inspection, the men found the horse appeared to be not a ghost, but nothing more than a fine, large specimen of a mustang. Upon his back they found not the devil, but an old, dried up carcass of a Mexican, perforated by hundreds of bullets and even several arrows. The body had been tied to the horse and saddle so tightly that the rope had to be cut to unfasten it. Tied securely to the horn of the saddle was a skull with a frayed sombrero bound around it.

The mystery, however, was only half solved. How had this Mexican vaquero's body come to be tied to a mustang and his head lashed to the saddle? The answer came several years later with a story told by Bigfoot Wallace, the famous Texas Ranger, Indian fighter, and veteran of many battles in the Mexican war and war for Texas Independence.

Bigfoot Wallace - 1872

Shortly before the battle of San Jacinto gave Texas its freedom, a Mexican deserter named Vidal came to the Texan's camp bringing information about the strength of the Mexican army. Bigfoot Wallace and another man destined to later be a Texas Ranger, Creed Taylor, took note of him and declared they didn't trust him. After the war, Vidal turned to horse stealing. At that time, horse stealing was a hanging offense just as bad as taking the life of another person. In time, he became the leader of a band of thieves operating in both Texas and Mexico.

In early summer of 1850, Vidal and three of his men stole a large number of horses and headed to Mexico. Their timing was good as a large Comanche raid had just been carried out in the area and most of the men were away from home trailing the Indian raiders. Unfortunately for Vidal, some of the stolen horses belonged to Creed Taylor and even more unfortunately, Creed Taylor had not gone off after the Indians. Creed was a Texan among Texans and with a fighting background just as impressive as his friend Bigfoot's, was not someone you should steal horses from. With a nearby Mexican rancher named Flores who had also lost horses and happened to be home, Creed set off tracking the thieves.

Creed Taylor in later life

Before long, the trackers became convinced it was Vidal they were after. When they came across several cows with arrows sticking out of them, they knew for sure as Vidal had become notorious for doing this to trick greenhorns into thinking it was Indians they were after. Creed knew no Indian would kill a cow and leave behind the meat and their arrows. When the trail got to the Frio River, the pair ran into Bigfoot. After hearing the story, Bigfoot readily joined them as he was always "ready to whup somebody who needs whuppin'."

Two days later near dusk, the Texans sighted campfire smoke and the stolen horses. They left their horses staked and stealthily crawled up to get a better look. Evidently the thieves believed they were out of danger as they had a big fire going and only 1 man was on watch. A plan was made and after it was dark and 2 of the thieves were asleep, Bigfoot and Creed crawled up close to the camp being careful to keep downwind of the herd so the horses wouldn't be spooked and raise the alarm. Flores waited a sufficient enough time for the 2 men to get into position and then, with his rifle, shot the man guarding the camp. As soon as the shot rang out, the 2 thieves asleep rose up drawing their guns, but Bigfoot and Creed had their own six-shooters ready and put both thieves back to sleep forever.

At daylight, the bodies were inspected and sure enough, Bigfoot and Creed recognized one of them as Vidal. Bigfoot, always a bit eccentric, suggested what he thought was a good joke and a way to maybe scare other horse thieves in the region. In the herd happened to be a big black wild stallion. While Creed roped the horse, put a bandanna blindfold over its eyes and saddled it, Bigfoot made use of his Bowie knife and cut off Vidal's head. With chin-strap and leather thongs, he firmly attached the bandit's sombrero to it and then with more leather straps, laced the sombreroed head to the horn of the saddle. He then dressed Vidal's headless body in full regalia complete with leggings, spurs, serape and with great care, attached it in the saddle. A strong tree limb was tied under his clothes to keep him upright. The feet were tied in the stirrups and the stirrups were then double-fastened to each other under the horse's belly.

During all this, that big black stallion was snorting and trembling something fierce as nothing scares a mustang more than foreign blood and there was plenty of that all around and on him. When everything was finished, the blindfold was removed from the horse and without bridle or halter, he was set free. Bigfoot declared that over the years he had seen thousands of wild, bucking horses, but he had never seen one act like that big stallion with a dead Mexican on his back. After the poor creature had pitched and bucked in every direction, snorted, squealed, pawed the air, reared up and fallen over backwards, rolled and then stood quivering and sweating, the awful thing was still on his back. For five minutes then he stood there with his legs spread out, sides heaving, nostrils snorting and his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets. Then he let out a squeal like none any of the 3 men watching had ever heard from a horse before and took off running like the wind across the prairie.

Bigfoot, Creed, and Flores took the herd back to San Antonio, gave back to the owners the horses that could be identified and split the remaining mustangs among themselves. All three agreed they should lay low and not speak a word of what they had done for a while. And thus the legend of the Headless Horseman was born.