TAXES PAID IN CROWS

The people of the frontier counties were complaining of the constant depredations of the crows, squirrels, and wolves, as well as the ravages of the Indians, so the second General Assembly passed the following law in 1797:

Each county in this State (Tennessee) is authorized to lay a tax to be paid in squirrels or crows scalps on every person subject to a poll tax in their respective counties, not exceeding twenty five squirrels to each poll. One crow's scalp was to count for two squirrels scalps, and every person who failed to deliver his number of scalps was to pay one cent for each undelivered scalp. The scalps were to be delivered to the respective justices appointed to take the lists of taxable property and were by them to be burned after making proper entries on their books. (Image from The Graphics Fairy)


I don't even want to think about doing this!