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Why Doesn't the Body Fall Off?


Aunt Jen

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You know, I'm sitting here eating supper, watching Kwai Chang Cane roam the west, and I see him going into another town with a body draped over a horse's back. He found the man, and he's bringing him in to the authorities...

 

It made me wonder, because every time I walk a horse with a body draped over its back, the body falls off. :o

 

Doesn't that happen to anybody else? :wacko:

 

Aunt Jen

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You need a camera. A body will not fall off a horse if a camera is rolling.

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Ya mean dey do fall off ?

 

 

REALLY ??? :blink: :blink:

 

Don't see dat in da old westerns I was watchin' !?:huh:

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Yeah. I thought of duct tape, but I don't know if they had that back then. So I'm guessing they used velcro.

 

Aunt Jen

 

Kung Fu was made 1972-75. They had plenty of duct tape by then.

 

P.S. Horses generally don't like the blood smell of a body and get skittish.

Duct tape helps then. ;)

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Kung Fu was made 1972-75. They had plenty of duct tape by then.

 

P.S. Horses generally don't like the blood smell of a body and get skittish.

Duct tape helps then. ;)

 

Do you cover their noses with it?

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Hi Utah: how could they have had duct tape by then? I didn't know they had ducts (as in for forced air heating/cooling...). But, okay. If they did have duct tape, then I do guess that'd work. But I didn't see any on him. Maybe it was rolled against itself, like how I put a bow on a birthday present? I'm still leaening toward the velcro idea. :mellow:

 

Hi Yellowhouse: Please pardon me for asking. I sat next to two Navajo at a Lead Zeppelin-type concert, which has been my great exposure to indians since watching Dances with Wolves. But I didn't know indians knew about bailing wire. I'd think you might have suggested leather straps or bark rope. :huh: (Kidding)

 

Aunt Jen

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Hi Utah: how could they have had duct tape by then? I didn't know they had ducts (as in for forced air heating/cooling...). But, okay. If they did have duct tape, then I do guess that'd work. But I didn't see any on him. Maybe it was rolled against itself, like how I put a bow on a birthday present? I'm still leaening toward the velcro idea. :mellow:

 

Hi Yellowhouse: Please pardon me for asking. I sat next to two Navajo at a Lead Zeppelin-type concert, which has been my great exposure to indians since watching Dances with Wolves. But I didn't know indians knew about bailing wire. I'd think you might have suggested leather straps or bark rope. :huh: (Kidding)

 

Aunt Jen

 

Indians were too smart to put a cadaver on a good horse. ;)

Travois

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Well, I'm thinking:

 

Bacon fat? No. Then the body would slide off even easier.

 

Axle greece? No. same.

 

Marvel Mystery Oil? No. Same. (I'm thinking of all the wrong stuff.)

 

Someone's old socks: That'd work, crusty old things. Especially if they're kinda gewey.

 

or

 

Jiz? Could be. Might work, if you can find any.

 

Aunt Jen

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I would add that the travois is essential if rigor has set in. ;)

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I would add that the travois is essential if rigor has set in. ;)

Right. Or you'd have to teeter the thing on the horse's back, balance it there.

 

But I'm guessing you're right, that the indians are too smart. After all, I saw them capture Gene wilder in The Frisco Kid, and Bob Hope in The Paleface, and win Kevin over in Dances with Wolves, and Billy Jack in---what was the name of that movie?

 

So...........with the white-eye wondering how to keep a body on a horse, how did they take over the west?

 

Aunt Jen

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Right. Or you'd have to teeter the thing on the horse's back, balance it there.

 

But I'm guessing you're right, that the indians are too smart. After all, I saw them capture Gene wilder in The Frisco Kid, and Bob Hope in The Paleface, and win Kevin over in Dances with Wolves, and Billy Jack in---what was the name of that movie?

 

So...........with the white-eye wondering how to keep a body on a horse, how did they take over the west?

 

Aunt Jen

 

You don't have to be smart to take over. Just have more guns. :lol:

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And this from a man who's holding a hatchet? :blush:

 

Aunt Jen

 

You can only see the hatchet,

 

Actually I'm part Cherokee. Remember the Chief Dan George line in Josey Wales about the civilized tribes? :lol:

 

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You can only see the hatchet,

 

Actually I'm part Cherokee. Remember the Chief Dan George line in Josey Wales about the civilized tribes? :lol:

No I don't. But I am envious about being part indian. I think I'd like it, too. (And then I remember how difficult it was for many of those who were initially "half breeds.") Unfortunately, I don't think I have any indian in me, which is a loss, though I am happy with the Irish/Scottish thing.

 

So that's really cool, that you're part Cherokee. So I'll have to defer to you about the rigor mortis thing.

 

Aunt Jen

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I was wondering if rigor mortus played a role myself.

 

I do seem to remember seeing a western or maybe even two where they tied a body on a horse draped over the saddle, can't place which one(s) though.

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No I don't. But I am envious about being part indian. I think I'd like it, too. (And then I remember how difficult it was for many of those who were initially "half breeds.") Unfortunately, I don't think I have any indian in me, which is a loss, though I am happy with the Irish/Scottish thing.

 

So that's really cool, that you're part Cherokee. So I'll have to defer to you about the rigor mortis thing.

 

Aunt Jen

 

I only know about rigor from being a cop. I have no Indian training in that area. :lol:

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I would add that the travois is essential if rigor has set in. ;)

I realize were "just having fun" with this topic, but seriously, I had the National Park Service contact me several years ago to teach their people how to pack a body out by horse or mule. They had previously discovered two bodies on separate occasions in the National Park to the north of us. (One due to foul play, the other natural causes.) One of the rangers said she knew how to pack a body out, but it kept slipping off the horse. Finally, another ranger said, to heck with the horse, he could pack it out himself. He wound up injuring his back and was put on permanent disability. Anyway, after that episode, we wound up teaching the subject. You need to remember, the coroner will have already been there, so it's not like we see in the movies where the arms are dangling over one side and the legs over the other. It's already in a body bag. As for rigor, believe it or not, when you apply your hitches and slings and begin to apply pressure, the body ultimately starts to give and finally relaxes...at least somewhat.

 

As for the horses and the smell of blood...that's why packers always carry a little jar of Vicks Vapor Rub, or Mentholatum. Just a little dab in each nostril of ol' Thunderbolt and he can't smell the blood...or if he can, he doesn't pay much attention to it.

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You know, I'm sitting here eating supper, watching Kwai Chang Cane roam the west, and I see him going into another town with a body draped over a horse's back. He found the man, and he's bringing him in to the authorities...

 

It made me wonder, because every time I walk a horse with a body draped over its back, the body falls off. :o

 

Doesn't that happen to anybody else? :wacko:

 

Aunt Jen

 

 

Just wondering exactly how many "bodies" you have collected to try this stunt one? lol

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Just wondering exactly how many "bodies" you have collected to try this stunt one? lol

:lol: :lol: Oh, Garsh! No, I'm just kidding.

 

And I've also learned a few things here tonight. Even when we're kidding around, smart folks say things and learning happens anyway. Great!

 

But it's been a long day, you all, and I think I'll have to go home how. Sun comes up mighty early around here.

 

See you all another day.

 

Aunt Jen

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Imagine if rigor didn't set in until after you had the body draped across the horse. Poor ol' coronor, tryin' to get the U shape straightened out.

 

I remember an old family story about a hunter that died in a sitting position leaning up against a tree. Family took him home, put him on the kitchen table, stretched him out and put some rocks on him. On of the rocks rolled off and he sat back up. Cleared the house of visitors. I don't know if's true or not, but my dad swore it happened.

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It is good to have this discussion. Ya never know when you might be in a situation to need this information. Lets expand the topic a bit. What if there are two bodies to be moved and you only have one horse ? :blink::huh::)

 

 

 

 

 

;)

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I had a friend that killed a deer in an inaccessable place in the Ozark Mountains. He had watched enough movies that he borrowed a horse from a friend, led it down the mountain tied it to a tree while he and a friend threw the deer onto the horses back. When they found the deer they cut it into pieces and carried it out. Took the horse three days to come out to the highway where they could find it.

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