[collected 2002-09-17] THE CODE OF THE WEST - STRANGE LAWS OF COLORADO by Pam North Laws are put on the books for a variety of reasons, many of which have become obscured with time, leaving later generations in perplexity as to the intentions behind some of those odd rules and regulations governing society. Others are a little more apparent in their goals, but now merely seem antiquated. Colorado has its own share of laws which are curious. A highway department directive still exists that requires automobile drivers to honk their horns when rounding narrow canyon curves (so much for a quiet mountain drive! ). In 1953, $1,000 fines and six-month jail sentences were the punishments meted out to any member of the general public driving a white automobile; only Colorado State Patrol vehicles could be white. At some unknown point in time after that, this rule obviously was repealed, as white cars abound on the highways today, all legal in this respect. The color is popular for both aesthetic and safety (visibility) reasons. It is still on the books that it is illegal to ride a horse while intoxicated, or to ride a horse over twenty miles per hour in Denver. Other Denver laws included prohibitions against driving cattle on the city streets, or city employees having any debts, and it was a requirement that a notice be posted if an animal control officer had intentions of impounding any of the area's dogs. Denver also had a law allowing the mayor to draft the city's men as needed for emergencies or law enforcement purposes, the enactment of this originally intended as a precaution against Indian attacks. The Gregory Gulch gold diggings (later to become Central City and Black Hawk) had its own method of justice for the crime of murder; its criminal code stated that, "any person shooting another, except in self-defense, shall be fined $500 and receive as many stripes on his bare back as a jury of six may direct." (There are people today who would consider such punishment as that a small price to pay to eliminate their mothers-in-law or their spouse's lovers). Empire, at the foot of Berthoud Pass, apparently did not hold a high opinion of attorneys. The small town had few laws, but did have one specific ordinance aimed at those who practiced this profession: "No lawyer shall be permitted to practice within the district", and for any who flaunted this directive, the penalty for violation was fifty lashes and banishment. Other mining camps, such as Ruby, atop Kebler Pass near Crested Butte, had a similar view (perhaps these towns were actually ahead of their time). Ouray had several interesting laws on its books. One required a stage coach driver to halt the stage five miles outside the city limits, and make any passenger who was suspected of having smallpox or other communicable diseases (colds?) disembark. Transporting the contents of privies through town was illegal, except between the hours of midnight and 5:00 a.m., but dead animals, including horses, had to be removed withing six hours of demise. Moral issues in Ouray also merited special laws. No woman was to work as a bartender or waitress "for the purpose of attracting customers," and minors were prohibited from frequenting saloons, houses of ill-repute, billiard parlors or bowling alleys between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. (which leaves the question of whether they could legally be in those places at other hours). Old laws, often still on the books but simply not enforced anymore, are often amusing, but more importantly, they provide a view into the culture and morality of a past era, and can illustrate how much times have changed. Resource: I Never Knew That About Colorado, by Abbott Fay.