Killer Sheep September 3, 2014
Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern , trackback
Sheep are some of the most benign, unthreatening animals that you can hope to meet. Think of a ewe bleating ineffectually over her young as the farmer comes for his prey, or one of the most pathetic images in the whole of creation, a grown sheep running to suckle when it perceives a threat, almost knocking mom off her feet. However, those who have known sheep a little better are aware that they can occasionally show their rather unconvincing teeth. Most sheep we encounter are young or female, but rams can butt and sometimes – Beach speaks with teenage memories buzzing around his head – fifty or a hundred ewes can jostle a lone human quite effectively and follow a field walker eerily for hundreds of yards. But a sheep kill a man? Here are some cases of sheep getting their own back.
1) A first example of sheep killing is that most curious of machines the Halifax Gibbet, a proto early modern British guillotine. The Halifax Gibbet deserves a post of its own (another post another day): it was one of the weirdest instruments ever used to take life. One of the customs for killing the condemned was a sheep. The sheep executioner was tied to the switch dropping the blade. The crowd would roar at the sheep that, terrified, would bolt and so bring the blade down and two wine cups full of blood later a life was over.
2) There was a Welsh sheep shearer, a Mr Roberts of Typella, who had, in July 1909, the shears punched into his neck by an uncooperative sheep, bleeding out in three minutes.
3) A personal favourite, from Beach’s dumb crooks file. In late November 1762 a thief at Mitcham (Surrey UK) decided to steal a sheep. He grabbed the sheep tied its back legs together and then – can you see where this is going… – put the tied legs around his neck to carry the sheep on his back home. The sheep struggled and the man was found on a gate, in the morning, strangled with the sheep hanging down on the other side. The report (contemporary) does not deal with the most important question. Did the sheep survive?
4) This one is from June 1876: ‘shocking affair has just occurred near Atherstone. A young man named William Henry the son of publican residing in that town, went into the country to carry out an engagement, and while he was engaged in the work one of the animals suddenly became vicious, and butted him severely in the stomach. Medical aid was afterwards procured, but proved of no avail, the poor fellow dying in great agony from the effects of the injuries inflicted.’ There was an almost identical case reported 4 Jan 1889 from England under the title ‘A Butcher Killed by a Sheep’.
5) The Mammoth Book of Weird News has sandwiched between ‘Emergency Toilet Break Proves Fatal’ and a story about a man dying from hot chocolate a sheep killing. In 1999 one Betty Stubbs of Durham (UK?) was backed off a cliff on her motorbike by forty hungry sheep: she had been carrying hay up to them. The brief paragraph claims that she survived the fall but that the motorbike landed fatally on top of her so not technically the sheep…
Beach would love to hear others, drbeachcombing AT yahoo DOT com.
Beach should note that writing this brief post he discovered a series of avenues that he will never have time to walk down, but for anyone else with time and the propensity to waste time go look for the New Zealand sheep eating parrots, the sheep-chasing leopard of 1939 and hail that kills sheep
24 Sept 2014: Bob S with an amazing list ‘I took your request for other cases of people killed by sheep as a challenge, and attach a chronological list of 13 cases, found from British newspapers (one already mentioned by you): CASES OF PEOPLE KILLED BY SHEEP- British Newspapers Reading Mercury, 30 August 1845 p. 3 ‘Boy killed by a ram’ Richard Squelch 6 yr old, attacked in a meadow at Holyport Green by a ram, dying less than 30 minutes later. Sussex Advertiser, 9 November 1858. ‘Child killed by a ram’ Golden Challis a boy aged 2 and a half, was attacked by a ram when walking with his father. Was butted in the face into the hedge, and butted a further 2 times on the body. Was taken to a cottage where he died within 15 minutes. Hereford Times, 14 December 1867 p. 10: ‘Old woman killed by a ram’ Mary Pearce, 58yrs, of Bridgnorth was attacked by a ram on the road between Rindleford and Calstree, suffering fractures to both legs, one completely smashed from the knee to the ankle, and bruises to her body. She was taken to the Union Workhouse where she died 4 days later from congestion of the lungs. Edinburgh Evening News 1 December 1874 p. 3: ‘A man killed by a ram.’ Henry Foster, 70 yrs, was employed looking after sheep at cauldron Low, near Leek, was attacked by a ram and died almost immediately from his injuries. Leicester Chronicle, 3 February 1883 p. 8: ‘A shepherd killed by a sheep at Loughborough.’ George Adkin, aged 51 yrs, was counting the sheep when he was attacked by a ‘tup’ unawares, injuring his internal organs. He died two days afterwards. Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 16 September 1887 p.8: ‘A woman killed by a ram.’ Elizabeth Mizen, a farmer’s wife from Wick and Abson, near Bristol, was attacked by a ram when crossing a field on her way home. She suffered internal injuries and was als butted on the face and head, and died shortly afterwards. Evening Advertiser, 4 January 1889 p. 2: ‘A butcher killed by a sheep.’ William Ganson, a young butcher of Musselborough, died after he had been butted in the abdomen the previous evening by a sheep. Tamworth Herald, 18 October 1890 p. 6: ‘Killed by a ram.’ Elizabeth Ecob, aged 67, was found dead in a field after she had left home the previous night to gather sticks. A ram was butting her body and it was believed it had killed her, breaking over 15 ribs. Hull Daily Mail, 20 September 1893 p. 4: ‘Killed by a Sheep’ Maria Taylor, a widow aged 70, was found lying in a field with a ram standing over her body, scratching it with its feet. The ram had knocked her down, breaking her thigh and otherwise injuring her. She was taken to hospital where she died. Inquest held at Hitchin. Northampton Mercury, 5 November 1897 p. 2: ‘A woman killed by a ram.’ Annie Glennow, aged 40, died at Barnoldstock was walking through a field when she was attacked and knocked into a ditch by a ram, She broke her collar bone and ribs, and wasfound unconscious by the farmer. She later died from her injuries. Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, 30 January 1906 p. 7: Mrs Catherine Ryan of Templemore, co Tipperary was knocked down by a ram when walking through a field. She was repeatedly butted when she tried to get up and subsequently died as a result of her injuries. Tamworth Herald, 27 August 1910 p. 7. ‘Killed by a ram.’ William Henry Lloyd, a shepherd aged 32, was working in a field when he was attacked by a ram which gored his right side. Despite receiving medical attention, he subsequently died of pneumonia and other complications. Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 9 January 1911 p. 5: ‘Killed by a sheep.’ Mr George Pearson, a farmer aged 60, was knocked down when he attempted to stop sheep running down a lane. He suffered a fracture at the base of his skull, and died from his injuries.
