Dallas Eby: From Stolen Horses to Second Chances

 

Deputy Sheriff James Hone pushed his horse through the dark thickets of white pine, trusting that his mount could see through the blackness better than he could. He and his men were chasing down two members of a gang that had been stealing horses from farms around Latah County, Idaho, for several weeks. They had always managed to avoid capture, but this time Deputy Hone knew they had them. They had surprised the trio at their makeshift camp when the two oldest took off through the darkness on foot, leaving the youngest member behind. The stock they found at the camp, including several horses and a beef steer, along with other pieces of evidence, was more than enough to convict them. But first, they had to catch these two scoundrels. He spurred his horse hard to push him faster.

On foot, Burt and Jesse were tiring from the chase. They were no match for a mounted posse, even under the cover of the dark pine trees. Somehow, this time the law had figured out where they were and their plan for escape. They knew that Jesse’s younger brother was already captured. Their luck had run out. As the posse closed in and forced their surrender, they briefly wondered if their plan to sell stolen horses to make some money had been misguided after all.

Dallas and Jesse Eby

The arrest of Burt, Jesse, and Dallas made headlines 100 miles away in Spokane, as well as through the grapevines from Latah County to Clearwater County. The horse thieves that had been plaguing the area had finally been arrested. Knowing they had been caught dead to rights, all three pled guilty and were sentenced to hard labor at Walla Walla State Penitentiary for grand larceny. Burt Paget and Jesse Eby, at 23 and 21, were sentenced to two years. Eighteen-year-old Dallas was sentenced to one year. They served their time, and as far as this writer knows, they were released as changed men who led ordinary lives on the right side of the law until their deaths. I know because Dallas Eby was my great-grandfather and his brother, Jesse Eby, was my great-grand uncle.

 Dallas was born on August 19, 1884, in Yakima, Washington, to David and Mary Louisa Eby, pioneers who had come to the Pacific Northwest around 1880, likely due to the offers of land grants and job availability in timber and mining. He was the eighth child born to them, with five older brothers and one older sister. Another brother was born when Dallas was three, and a sister had died ten years before he was born. Dallas’ father was a carpenter and farmer who had been raised in the Midwest and served in the Union army during the Civil War.

When Dallas was only five years old, his father died at the young age of 47, leaving Dallas’ mother to raise their eight children alone. All the boys, including Dallas, worked as day laborers while they lived with their mother. Over the following ten years, his older siblings married and moved out to start their own families. By 1900, only five of the boys remained at home and continued to support their family by working the limited jobs available to them.

Mary Louise Eby and her children, Sam, Etta, Dallas, Will, Ida, Charlie & wife Delia, Ray, Fred and Jesse - Taken about 1900

Probably due to the financial stress placed on their family by the death of their father, Jess and Dallas, along with their friend Burt Paget, decided to steal livestock from local ranches. They would steal them at night and leave them corralled at a camp they made in the hill country. At the turn of the century, stealing horses could be both appealing and lucrative. Horses were essential for transportation, farming, and other work, making them valuable assets. A single horse could be worth a significant amount of money. Stolen horses could be sold quickly and discreetly, and in remote areas, law enforcement was sparse, making it easier to operate without being caught. To young boys like Jesse and Dallas, the chance to make large sums of money easily was certainly alluring enough to make them and Burt take the risk of harsh punishment if caught. While it was no longer legal to hang horse thieves by 1900, it was still a serious crime punishable by imprisonment and hard labor. 

The story was passed down in our family that our great-grandfather Dallas stole a horse because it was being abused by its owner. This endearing tale likely began to appease the guilt of family members having to admit their ancestor was guilty of grand larceny. However, the documented facts indicate that while they were aware they were breaking the law, it was done by young men whose families were in financial straits, making it understandable albeit misguided.

Walla Walla Washington State Prison Identification Record for Burt Paget, Dallas Eby and Jesse Eby 22 Jun 1903

Dallas served his sentence at Walla Walla as prisoner #3098 from June 22, 1903, until April 16, 1904. He was described as an 18-year-old male standing 5 feet 11 inches with light brown hair and light gray eyes. Notably, he was described as having his left arm out of place, a horseshoe cut scar on his left index finger, and his right thumb missing at the first joint.

Jess served his two-year sentence as prisoner #3099 from June 22, 1903, until February 16, 1905. He was described as a 21-year-old male standing 5 feet 10 inches with light brown hair and light gray eyes. He had two vaccination marks on his left upper arm and a plain cut scar on the back of his left index finger.

Burt Paget, prisoner #3097, was 23 years old, raising suspicion that he was the mastermind behind their horse-stealing plans. He was also sentenced to two years of hard labor.

What was “hard labor” like in a penitentiary in 1903? In some regions, such as Walla Walla, prisoners were sent to work in mines extracting coal or other minerals. Many prisoners worked on prison farms or provided labor for the construction of roads or other infrastructure. Whatever the task, it was under strict supervision and often harsh conditions, with the goal of breaking the prisoners’ spirits and enforcing discipline.

One might wonder how one or two years of hard labor would affect the three would-be horse thieves. There is no information on what happened to Burt, but it is evident that the experience of prison reformed Jess and Dallas. Jesse married a local girl, Grace Stevenson, three years later. They lived on their own farm in the town of Waha, Idaho, where they had two daughters, Etta Mae and Mary Lucile. Mary died less than a month after her birth of inanition, or failure to thrive, but Etta Mae grew up, married, and moved to Montana, where she raised four children of her own. Jesse’s wife, Grace, died of a ruptured thyroid just a few days after giving birth to Mary Lucile. Jesse remarried a local widow named Gladys Miller, who had two children from her previous marriage. They moved to Miles City, Montana, where Jesse died at the age of 41 from liver cancer.

Dallas and Cora Eby - 1921

Dallas went home to live with his mother and brothers Fred and David Ray in Fraser, Idaho. All the brothers did odd jobs and farm work to support the family. It was during that time, probably while doing farm work at the farm of Homer Stuart, that Dallas met Homer’s sister, Cora Lee. Cora’s sister, Hannah Belle, had recently married Cora’s sweetheart, Ben Prewitt, causing a falling out that lasted the rest of their lives. Within three years of meeting Dallas, Cora was pregnant, which outraged her staunch Anglican father, so Cora lived with Homer and his wife. Their daughter, Helen, was born in November 1908, but she and Dallas didn’t marry until October 1910. They moved to Lewiston, Idaho, about 60 miles west of Fraser, and took up farming. Their son, Eugene, was born the following year, after which they moved back to Fraser, where their remaining children, Vernon, Zelma, Ruth, Gerald, and Luella were born.

Cora, Eugene, Luella, Dallas, Ruth and Zelma Eby in their 1921 Studebaker

Following the death of Dallas’ oldest brother in 1928 and the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, Dallas and Cora decided to pull up roots and move to Oregon, where fertile land and job opportunities lured many from the eastern side of the country. They packed up their seven children and what belongings they could carry in their 1921 Studebaker and set a course for Salem, where Dallas’ sister’s family resided. They settled just north of Salem in the community of Quinaby, where Dallas got a job working on a hop farm.

While great-grandmother Cora is remembered as being quite strict and matter-of-fact, great-grandfather Dallas is remembered as a kind, gentle, generous man with a quick wit and a sense of humor. He died at the age of 50 in Keizer of kidney cancer and was buried in City View Cemetery in Salem. Cora lived on to the age of 74 and is buried near her husband. All their children grew up with strong work and moral ethics, which they passed on to their own families. While Dallas and Jesse’s prison experience could have caused them to be bitter, it instead instilled in them a tenacity to do better by their families, something that brings Dallas’ great-granddaughter a source of immeasurable pride.