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The
Bastrop Advertiser 1890s NOTICE
OF INTENTION TO APPLY TO THE 22ND LEGISLATURE FOR A SPECIAL ACT OF SAID
LEGISLATURE, PENSIONING
JOHN D. MORGAN, A RESIDENT CITIZEN OF BASTROP COUNTY, TEXAS. Notice
is hereby given that an application will be made by John D. Morgan, a
resident citizen of
Bastrop county, in the State of Texas, to the Legislature of Texas, for a
special act, pensioning
John D. Morgan, of Bastrop in the State of Texas for services rendered by the said
John D. Morgan in the military forces of said State, as follows, to wit: In the
army of the Republic of Texas, in the company of Captain Rogers, under the
command of Felix
Huston and also in the company of Captain C. L. Owen. Afterward
under the command of A. S. Johnson. Also
as a volunteer, in the Santa Fe expedition in 1841, and also in the Mier
expedition in 1842,
enlisting under General A. Somervell, in Captain Eastland's company, was
twice taken a prisoner.
The first time he was released, and the second time he escaped from the City
of Mexico.
On both occasions he returned to Texas, and re-entered the army. He was in
addition to the
above, afterward frequently engaged in conflicts with the Indians and
Mexicans. He is now in his
seventy-second year poor and totaly unable to work. JOHN D. MORGAN, Bastrop
County, Texas,
January the 1st, 1890. The
above petition is indorsed by a ..... ***** Bastrop
Advertiser LOST -
A yellow and white spotted pointer dog. Has a scar about eight inches long
down his back.
When he left home, had on a leather collar about an inch wide. H. P. LUCKETT,
BASTROP, TX FOR
RENT A
prompt paying renter can rent the small resident building, on corner of Main
and Farm streets,
formerly occupied as the ADVERTISER office. Apply to the editor. While
cases of small pox are cropping out in surrounding towns, our people should
use every caution
against it. W. J. Milley & Co have on hand pure... ******* Bastrop
Advertiser 1/1891 Marriage
licenses were issued by County Clerk W. E. Jenkins from 12/1-31/1890
inclusive: J. H.
Thompson, M. M. Sapp White O. ?
James, Nannie Clemons G. B.
Stark, Martha Snowden C. C.
Moore, Welma L. Walker Samuel
Eschber, Margaret Kalciouf Z. H.
Wilson, Mrs. Mary E. Wood W. R.
Scott, Jennie Gregory R. K.
Richmond, E. T. Nuckals C. T.
Lunday, Callie Hoskins Chas
Horton, Janie Brown W. F.
Smith, Lee J Tanner Frank
Woehl, Selma Wolf J. T.
Alexander, Mary Carter R. L.
Williams, Rosa Williams Rufas
Robinson, Myrtle Hart P. W.
Tummins, Mrs. Ernesteny Gardhousen W. K.
Petty, Mary Kelly Colored Dallas
Cannon, Lizzie Jackson William
Trigg, Seymore Herron Henry
Edwards, Francis Jackson G. W.
Hubbard, R. A. Dixon Ed
Miller, Lucindy Cooper Eli
Hill, Mary Sneed Calvin
Wilaon, Mrs. Hanna Jones Leondas
Hardeman, Rebecca Jones Monroe
Johnson, Precilla Jones Milley
Hargrove, Celina Martin Henry
Hardeman, Catherine Henington Erving
Jackson, Mary Hill Fone
Aldridge, Christiana Smith Phillip
Armstrong, Rachel Johnson William
Crockett, Harriett Tyson Robert
Maxwell, Dora Keer John
Leonard, Martha Mathews Jeff
Moore, Eliza Williams William
Calton, Endocia Phillips J. H.
White, Batina Fonlain Jim
Riles, Mary Easley Jim
Jones, Mary Ann Patton H. C.
Lee, Rebecca Williams Howard
Bell, Celia Black Washington
Jones, Clora Anderson T. L.
Brown, Minnie Kellough George
Simmons, Pagie Miller Burrell
Priestley, Mrs. Matilda Yancy Barrey
Edmonson, Manevia Marshall A
splendid audience greeted Miss Neally Stevens at the opera house Wednesday
evening. The difficult
and varied programme was exquisitely rendered, finishing a treat to our music loving
people long to be remembered and never before enjoyed in Bastrop. On this
occasion Miss
Stevens fully sustained the endorsement given her by the.... ***** 2/7/1891
Bastrop Advertiser A
BRUTE IN HUMAN FORM On
Walnut Creek, 10 miles from Bastrop, there is a neat little Catholic church
of people that love
peace and harmony with their neighbors of even not the same creed. They have
for 14 years worked
and toiled to build for themselves a house of worship corresponding with the
high dignity
of Him to whom it was consecrated. They succeeded, and love of God and love
of the neighbor
was taught within the walls of the little chapel on Walnut Creek. And now
comes the brute
in human form and with fienish hands destroys the chapel. On Friday night,
the 23rd last, between
11 and 12 o'clock, it was consumed by fire and all the contents burned to
ashes. A letter
which was found near the ruins, explains itself. It reads as follows, I give
the original
text: BASTROP,
TEXAS my
dear enimies - this being the reck day I will give you a notice that your
outfit is in slim show.
By g--d I am this witch is my idea to do is to upset this, witch oyou will
this morning find
the ruins, please do not mention this to no body is it will cause you trouble
the owner will
please not say nothing for if you do b--ll is to pay By g-d to the dutch and
marican catolic
suns of B---s. from a
lover make out our names if you can B. C. H. S. This
would be a nice opportunity to our officers to vindicate the honor of Bastrop
County. SCRIBE. **** 7/11/1891
Bastrop Advertiser THE
FOURTH AT BASTROP The
celebration of the grand old Fourth at Fireman's park was not the success
expected or hoped
for. A good many who would have attended objected to paying the two bits
entrance fee at the
gates, and there seemed to be no concert of action, even among the committeemen. Stock
raisers didn't like to pay an entrance fee to compete for a prize. The
receipts, however, were
sufficient to defray expenses. There
was some fine stock on the grounds, a part of which competed for prized. G. W.
Jones, Jr took the first premium on his fine Bay stallion, over several
compeditors. The 10
years old Jack, belonging to J. H. Scott, of McDade, took first premium for
best on the
ground. Ben
Johnson's colt, sired by G. Thos. J. Smith got the blue ribbon for the best
home bred stallion
on the ground. W. T.
Higgins black filly was driven around the track several times, but could get
no entries
against her. George
Schafer's fine stallion, "Black Hawk Bashaw" with several of his
colts, attracted general
attention. Louis
Eilers, Jr, had his fine cow out and it was generally admired. E. B.
Burleson had two of his thorough bred Herfords o exhibitio, and of course,
took the blue
ribbon. The oted male and a seventeen months old heifer were particularly
commented upon,
and the "bald-faced" breed were pronounced just splended and hard
to beat in any country. Will
Goodman was the only one of the committee who seemed to give any attention to
matters on the
grounds, but with fate against him, did all he could to make the occasion as
near a success
as possible. Senator
Carlisle is of the opinion that any democrat can win next year. A
gallows, at Fort Smith, Arkansas, it is said, counts seventy-two victims. **** 8/1891
Bastrop Advertiser She
Killed the Evidence of Her Shame and Will Tell Nothing. SMITHVILLE,
TEXAS Aug. 17.- A case
of infantcide has been discovered three miles southwest of town. Miss
Mollie Wilson, a girl seventeen years old, gave birth to a well developed
girl baby Sunday
morning. When found the top of the skull was crushed in and the body buried
under the
sand with a covering of oak leaves. The girl refused to assign any reason for
her act and will
not give the name of her seducer. The girl is an orphan whose father was
highly respected. The
crime of seduction is one of the most damnable that inflict this country. Our
legislature should
have increased the "age of consent" to eighteen years, and when a
villain seduces a girl
under that age, the death penalty should be speedily inflicted. To satisfy
the lustful passion
of an infamous brute, the life of an innocent girl is wrecked, a respected
family disgraced,
and society outraged. In such cases the seducer should be made to suffer even
more than
the seduced. There can be no possible excuse or mitigating circumstances, for
the seducer
of young girls, and for him there should be no pardon. Until the public
condemnation of the
man is as strong and as lasting as with the unfortunate girl, these crimes
will continue
to exist, to the detriment of good society. ***** Bastrop
Advertiser 1/1892 We are
glad to hear, from the physicians, good reports from the sick. All are
reported doing
splendidly this Friday morning, and with proper care, to prevent a relapse,
will soon be
out. Misses
Maggie and Nelie Green, in their happiness, did not forget the toil worn
printers, but sent a
nice lot of cake from their Leap Year party, to sweeten the labors of the
Advertiser force.
Such kind remembrances are appreciated and not soon forgotten. Jeff
R. Boseman, secretary of the Bastrop County Farmer's Aliance, passed through
Bastrop en.. *** Bastrop
Advertiser 1/1892 We are
glad to hear, from the physicians, good reports from the sick. All are
reported doing
splendidly this, Friday morning, and with proper care, to prevent a relapse,
will soon be
out. Misses
Maggie and Nellie Green, in their happiness, did not forget the toil-worn
printers, but
sent a nice lot of cake from their Leap Year party to sweeten the labors of
the ADVERTISER
force. Such kind remembrances are appreciated and not soon forgotten. We
rejoice to note Dr. Luckett able to resume his practice. The Doctor had quite
a seige with
the grippe. Miss
Emma Billeison, of Austin, came down to attend the Masquerade ball at the
opera house, Monday
night. Judge
George Milton, the efficient Justice of the Peace, of McDade, was among the
pleasant visitors
to our office Monday. C. C.
Highsmith, Esq., is off on a professional visit to LaGrange, Columbus,
Richmond, and Houston
to return today or tomorrow. Mrs.
Capt. Dan Grady, we learn, will soon move out to the farm-residence of her
son-in-law, Mr. T.
K. Moore, and live with her daughter. Miss
Joe Johnson, after a pleasant visit of several days to Bastrop, guest of the
family of Mrs.
Kate S. Maynard, returned to Austin Wednesday. Mrs.
Della Reynolds and Mrs. T. J. Trigg went up to Taylor to attend the dedicatio
of the $13,000
Christian church at that place, returning to Bastrop Monday. District
Clerk Rufus J. Griesenbeck and family, left for San Antonio, Tuesday morning,
via Austin.
Mr. G. goes as a representative from Guttenburg I.O.O.F. lodge, of Bastrop,
to the grand
lodge, which holds its annual session in that city this week. C. C.
Watterson, the popular and energetic post master at Watterson, gave the
ADVERTISER office
a pleasant all Wednesday. Mr. W. is in his 72d year, and but few men have
carried age better.
He is now as active and sprightly as many men half his age. May he live.... *** Bastrop
Advertiser 2/1892 Remember
the admission fee of 25 cents will be the only charge made at the Valentine
party at the
residence of Mrs. McDowall, this Saturday night. Everything else free. On
acount of the Valentine party at Mrs. McDowall's this, (Saturday) night, the
Histrionic Club
has postponed their meeting at the Opera House until next Saturday night, Feb
20th. Brick
is being placed in the walls of the new jail, and the prisoners have all been
moved to the
jail at LaGrange, preparatory to tearing down the old jail, in brick and
timber to be used
in the new one. The
ladies are making extensive preparations for a Leap Year ball and supper, at
the Opera house
o the 26th. The ladies will make the boys ask ? of themselves, and Wall
flowers will not be
permitted to gade and lose their luster. Boys, take items: It will prove
beneficial when your
time comes after a while. ***** Dots
from Donnell Community DONNELL
COMUNITY 3/28/1892 Editor
Advertiser: Winter
has passed and gentle spring in all us soft beauty, welcomes us and bids us
rejoice and be
glad. Although we feel very much discouraged owing to the late freeze partly
killing fruits,
gardens, and corn. Health
is tolerably good at present, though the Gripp has been raging in our midst
for some time,
but we hope its career is over, having heard on only two cases lately, Messrs
J. A. Whitworth
and J. T. Gray. Our
school will soon be out. The last day will be spent in examinations of the
pupils. We will
have some recitations. But cannot promise an entertainment, owing to the
disadvantages of the
school buildings. Invitations
were sent out last Friday by Mrs. Munger for a quileing to be given on the
ensuing day.
Of course we were glad to take it in. Saturday morning found a jovial crowd
gathered and
they had merry times, if happy faces and bright smites mean anything. At 12
o'clock the invitation
to come to dinner was received and all did justice to the splendid dinner
which had
been prepared. The evening was equally well enjoyed. After the quilting was
over they repaired
to the hospitable home of Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Whitworth's, when all joined in
singing, music
and reading. Our
Sunday school organized a few Sundays since with Mr. G. W. Corbell,
superintendent, it is increasing
in interest and strength. We
have had several spelling matches since my last letter. Two of which we will
especially mention.
In one Mr. Howard Smith deserves credit as he spelled some time after the
others missed.
The other is Miss Mina Whitworth, excelled. After all spelled until they were
tired, there
were several recitations and dialogues which were well rendered by the school children. Reports
of guns can be hears bringing down game by the score. Mr. Bud Hemphill, one
of the hunters
is somewhat, discouraged as the others are surpassing him. But don't dispair
Bud, probably
luck will change as you have changed your hunting ground recently and perhaps
by trying
stones you will succeed. Our
little friend, Rillie Kent, is very sick but we have hopes of her recovery. Mrs.
J. Hoskins and little daughter Annie, have just returned from a long visit to
her daughter
Mrs. Pearson, of Travis county. We are glad to have her among us again. Miss
Mary Catchins accompanied by Miss Emma Smith, visited her sister, Mrs. B.
Yoast, this week. Mr. Ed
Donnell, and family have visited relatives in Caldwell county recently. If
this appears, when opportunity affords you may look for another letter from "CONSTANT
READER." ******* Bastrop
Advertiser 4/2/1892 R. H.
Dixon, a former citizen of Bastrop county, a former resident of the Red Rock neighborhood,
was killed the first part of the week, by a Mr. Martin in Travis county. Dixon
had rented land from Martin and disagreeing upon some matters hard words
passed between
them. Afterwards Martin went on the premises rented by Dixon, who ordered him
off, which
order Martin failed or refused to obey, when Dixon started toward him, and
was killed by
Martin, who surrendered to the officers, and enters a plea of self defence. ***** 6/1892 TOBE
COOK HANGS THE
MURDERER OF MISS IDA BELLE MOORE SUFFERS THE PENALTY OF HIS CRIME. Hangs
Until He is Dead! Dead! Dead! A Full
History of the Crime, the Trial and the Hanging. DIES
PROTESTING INNOCENCE. ASCENDS
THE SCAFFOLD CHEERFULLY AND WITH A FIRM AND VERY STEADY STEP. His
Case Having Gone Before All Earthly Tribunals, Now Goes Before the Great Bar
of God. The
scaffold upon which the murderer and rapist, Tobe Cook, alias Henderson Cook,
was hung, was
erected on the inside of the jail, a wooden structure, about sixty eight feet
in size, the
rope hanging from a large steeple fastened in the ceiling about seventeen
feet from the floor,
the drop being about eight feet. About
fifty persons were admitted into the room, and between 400 and 500 on the
outside. At
precisely 1:33 o'clock, Sheriff G. W. Davis and Deputies H. N. Bell, James
Fitzwilliams and J.
F. Nash turned the bolt in the big door, passing in with the condemned man,
who excalimed,
as he started, "Here is an innocent man dressed up for the
gallows." Passing up the
steps of the gallows, he said, "Here we go; here we go." He
ascended the scaffold with a firm, steady step, showing but little
nervousness. The
only persons, besides the prisoner, on the scaffold, were Sheriff Davis,
Deputies Bell, Fitzwilliams
and Nash and Elder Sterling Warmly and Emmett Richardson, colored. When
the prisoner first stepped on the floor of the gallows, he made a movement as
if to place himself
in position for the rope, as if ready and anxious to have the affair over as
soon as possible. Sheriff
Davis read to him the death warrant, after which religious services were
conducted by Elder
Sterling Warmly, who read the prayer of David, from the Eighty-sixth Psalm,
and Emmett Richardson
led the singing. While
Sheriff Davis was reading the death warrant, the condemned man seemed
perfectly indifferent,
looking carelessly around upon the crowd, but during the religious services
he appeared
more attentive and interested. He was
then told if he had anything to say, the opportunity was offered him. He
began: "Everyone
of you that swore falsely against me, the innocent stands before you, dressed
for the gallows,
to suffer for the death of Ida Belle Moore; I am innocent, ignorant of her
death.!" He
asked, "Do you want to hear a lie?" Someone from the crowd, said,
"I am satisfied of your guilt."
At this he cried, "Don't you believe the truth? Don't you believe the
truth, when I twll
it to you standing here with this rope in my hand, ready to die?"
Continuing in the same strain
he has kept up for several weeks. He talked about twenty five minutes,
winding up by looking
through the window and speaking to the crowd on the outside, showing them the
end of the
rope, and asking, "Could I hold this rope and not tell the truth?"
Of course, he was certain of a
safe entrance into Heaven, where he would be given a seat on the right of
Jesus. He
asked for just one more prayer from Elder Warmly, who reascended the steps,
delivering a powerful
and impressive prayer, the condemned man kneeling upo his knees with his head
resting upon
the railing of the gallows. After the prayer, he shook hands and embraced the
elder, and at
2:12 the officers begain pinoning his legs, when he came near falling, only
prevented by the
officers catching him, thus dhowing for the first time, signs of fright; at
2:16 his hands were
tied behind his back, the rope placed around his neck at 2:17 and the black
cap over his head
at 2:17, as the cap covered his face, he exclaimed: "Innocent
blood.". The trap was sprung at
precisely 2:18, when the spirit of Tobe Cook, burst from its clay socket to
be ushered before
that God, which gave it life, and before whose tribunal he is to be judged
for the deeds done
in the body. He
struggled but little, and was pronounced dead, by the physicians, at 2:33 but
at 2:40 a close examination
showed slight fluttering of the heart, which ceased, altogether at 2:43. It
was 9 minutes
of 3 o'clock when the body was cut down, and on examination the neck was
found broken, the
third joint from the head was broken. Had it been the first joint, death
would have resulted quicker. The
hanging, throughout, and everthing connected with it, was a pronounced
success, and too much
credit cannot be given Sheriff Davis and his deputies, for the faithful and
careful carrying
out of the sentence of the court. Sheriff
Davis had clothed the condemned man in a nice suite of clothes, patent
leather shoes, furnishing
a neat coffin in which to bury him. After
the body was cut down, and the physicians had gone through with their
examination, it was taken
chage of by his mother, wife and brother in law, and by them carried to
Hill's Prairie, where
the burial will take place today, Saturday. The
utmost good order prevailed throughout, and notwithstanding the stout
protestations of innocence
from the condemned man, the great preponderance of evidence against him, was
so overwhelming,
that those who know of it have not a shadow of doubt as to his guilt, and honestly
believe he died with a lie in his mouth. IN THE
JAIL Between
2 and 3 o'clock, Thursday evening, we visited the condemned man. We found him
talking to
several persons who were standing around his cell; he was still protesting
his innocence, and
expressed himself as confident of a safe and certain entrance in the portals
of heaven, when
he would not stand but have a seat by the side of God - there the white and
black would drink
from the same cup and eat of the same Heavenly bread - that he and his God
knew of his
innocence, and God would be his judge. We
told him if he had anything to say that he would like given to the public, to
say it and we
would write it down and publish it as he gave it, that we had no desire to do
him an injustice.
He replied taht he was not in the humor to talk them. We asked him if he
could write to
write what he had to say and we would publish it. To this he replied that he
could write, but
could not now, adding if we would come back next morning he would tell us all
he had to say, and
wanted it published just as he gave it, which we promised to do. He then picked
up the bible,
laying near him and called our attention to the 37th chapter of Psalms,
reading the 1st and
2nd verses, remarking, "that is my consolation; in that I put my
trust." The verses read as
follows: "Ffret
not thyself because of evil doers neither be thou envious against the workers
of iniquity "For
they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green
herb." He was
told, if guilty and he confessed it, he could the better face his God, with
the hope of pardon,
and, if guilty and he denied it, he could not face God. He replied, "No,
nor man either,:
addressing a bystander, "if I was guilty I could not look you in the
fact.", looking
the person square i the eye, rather malicious, but without a sign of
flinching. FRIDAY
MORNING About
9 o'clock, Friday morning, we visited the condemned man in his cell. His
mother, and wife
had just left him, the wife having in her hands his hat, and the mother, his
shoes, which he had
given them. There were present Rev. W. Wootton, also. Elder S. W. Wormly,
collored, and
several others. He still protested his innocence, said he was telling the
truth and would tell
the same tale as long as there was life in his body. He requested us to write
his name Henderson
Cook, said he had been prosecuted under the name of Tobe Cook, but Henderson
Cook was he
name. When
asked if he had anything he wanted to say to the world, he replied:
"Yes! I want you to tell
the world that I am innocent; that I have been prosecuted falsely and
convieted of that which
I am not guilty; I knew nothing of the death of Miss Ida Belle Moore until
Friday, the morning
after the murder." When asked how he recounted for the track of his
sandals on the ground
around where Miss Moore was killed, he said: "My sandals, made out of
old boot legs, was
never there, I had them on and was plowing in my field on the day Ida Belle
Moore was killed,
and plowed that day until the sun was down in the tops of the trees; the
bible tells me to
forgive those who have falsified against me, I forgive them, but there are
persons who knew
and seen me at work in my field." mentioning the name of one white man
and his children. He
censured the jurors for their verdect, saying he had heard that one of them
said he had told
the judge he had no prejudices for or against the prisoner, only that he
might get on the jury
and break his d-n neck, but yet, he said, he forgave him. Elder
Wormley and others sang the sont, "I heard the Voice of Jesus Say,"
the prisoner joining in the
singing. At the conclusion, a very affecting prayer was given by Decon
Tilmore. The
prisoner asked to see Mr. Fowler, one of the attorneys, who prosecuted the
case. He was sent
for and on coming in Cook told him he had heard that for the sum of $700 he
(Fowler) had
worked up evidence against him (Cook) for which he had but a few hours to
live and he
wanted to know why he did it; what harm he had done him?" Mr.
Fowler explained to Cook his connection with the case, saying he had given
his services for the
good of society, as any good citizen should do, without charge and without
the hope of pay:
he had received nothing for his services, but had given money and time to
ferrett out the
guilty party. He then recited a part of the evidence, to some of which the
prisoner strongly,
and excitedly objected. He defiantly told Mr. F. that that was all he wanted
to know; that
he would meet him at the judgement bar of God; and that it would not be long.
Mr. Fowler told
him, that he did not want to excite him or parley words, but he was confident
of his guilt, he had
worked up the evidence, was fully convinced, and the parts he had taken was
the proudest of his
life, because it was a crime he was particularly against, and felt taht he
had only worked
in the good of society. At this Cook became very much excited and, looking
Mr. Fowler fiercely
in the face, he said: "In three months from now the ground up yonder
will open for you
and then we'll meet face to face at the judgement." to which Mr. F
replied: "Yes, I may die
before night." Cook repeating, "in three months the ground will
open for you." At
10:30 o'clock, the prisoner was brought from his cell and standing before a
large bath tub, Elder
Warmley, assisted by Deacon Tilmore and others, sang a song after which the
condemned man
was baptised. As he entered the water, he clapped his hands, repeating the
clapping as he come
up out of the water. He was then neatly dressed and prepared for the last and
final act, when
his soul would go to face that God which gave it life. Early
in the morning the crowd, white and black, began assemlbing around the jail,
and by 11 o'clock,
several hundred people had gathered, in the hope of getting a glimpse of the
hanging. HIS
SENTENCE. On
Tuesday morning, April 3, the condemned man was brought before Judge
Teichmueller, in open court,
to be sentenced to death for the murder of Miss Ida Belle Moore. He seemed
calm and self
possessed. When ordered by the Judge to stand up, he arose from the seat and
advancing several
steps, stood before the Judge, with the tip of his fingers resting upon the
table, assuming
the attitude of a preacher preparing to exhort his congregation. The Judge
said: "Tobe
Cook, at the last term of the district court the grand jury returned an
indictment against
you for the murder of Miss Ida Belle Moore; you were arraigned and tried
before a jury
of your own selection; unable to employ counsel, the court appointed able
cousel for you, in the
person of two attorneys, Hons. R. L. Batts, and R. W. Siddall; after due tried
the jury returned
a verdict of guilty with the death penalty; through your attorneys,
application was made
for a new trial, which, after careful consideration of the argument, was
overruled, when your
case was appealed to the appellate court which court has affirmed the
sentence of the court
below, have you anything now to say why the sentence of death should not be
passed upon
you?" The
prisoner replied: "Yes, Judge; I am perfectly innocent of the charge, I
am as innocent, judge
as a stran of hair on your head; I am as innocent of the murder of Miss Ida
Belle Moore as the
stran of hair on your head; I was never, though 37 years old, on that farm; I
am innocent
of the acusation." He
spoke in a low, smothered tone of voice, giving to it a tone characteristic
of the negro ehorter,
evidently as a pleading for sympathy. Judge
Teichmueller continuing said: "Your trial has been fair and impartial;
after a patient investigation
of your case, you have been found guilty; the evidence against you, though circumstantial,
has been voluminous and very positive; if there had been any doubt in my mind of
your guilt, the fact that your case, in all its enormity, has been carefully
reviewed by the appellate
court, a court where no influence of passion or prejudice can reach, has
destroyed every
shadow of doubt; your protestations of innocence are natural, and but to be
expected. I will
designate Friday, the 10th day of June, 1892, as the day of your execution,
when, with in the
walls of the county jail of Bastrop County, the sheriff will proceed to
execute the sentence
of the court, by hanging you until you are dead." As the
prisoner left the stand he faced the crowd, and bid them "Good-bye to
you all; I'll ot see
many of you any more, but I want you to remember there is one darkey as
innocent as a stran
of hair on your head, going to die for the crime of another." The
officers started back with him to the jail, when he espied a number of
colored people, to whome
he protested his innocenct of the acusation, telling them that for months he
had laid in the
old jail, suffering for a crime, he had never committed, adding "ain't
it harrid; I have been
dragged from the old jail to LaGrange, and with handcuffs my hands, shackles
on my feet and a
rope around my body, I have suffered from freezing cold, till my feet and
legs are now swollen
from the effects of the frost bite." and illustrating how he was forced
to rest and sleep
in jail, he exclaimed, "O-h-h-h-h ain't it ha-r-r-d?" which brought
from them an answer, "Yes,
it is har-r-r-d!: He was
returned to jail, but never ceased talking in the same strain until he had
been locked on the
inside of his steel cage. HISTORY
OF THE CRIME At
about 2 o'clock, on Wednesday, June 17, 1891, Miss Ida Belle Moore, a
step-daughter of Mr A. J.
Bellamy, about 16 years old; living near Upton about eight miles below
Bastrop, visited a
neighbor about one-half of a mile distant from her home. At about 5 o'clock
in the afternoon she
left that neighbor's house for that home she never reached alive. Almost in
sight of home she
was seized by a fiend incarnate, choked and dragged under a one-stran barbed
wire fence and
carried on through the woods to a secluded spot, where she was murdered,
choked to death and
then outraged and her lifeless body left on the ground, where it was
discovered later by anxious
friends cold in death. It is
needless to say the country was aroused. A runner, was sent to town and
immediately Sheriff
Davis, with a posse, and accompanied by County Attorney J. B. Price and Hon.
J. P. Fowler,
went down to ferret out the murder. Suspicion soon rested upon Tobe Cook, a
black negro,
who was placed under arrest, and who would have been instantly hung by an
outraged populace,
had not there been a shadow of doubt of his guilt and the counsel of cooler
heads prevailed.
After quiet was restored, and all danger of summary justice being meted out
to the fiend,
Governor Hogg telegraphed Sheriff Davis to "protect the prisoner at all
hazards," adding,
"there is a standing reward of $1000 for the arrest of each and every
man who assists or
engages in mob law," and yet, not a dollar was offered for the capture
of the fiend who had
perpetrated the double crime. At the
examining trial he was committed to jail without bail, and at the fall term
of the distant
court, the grand jury returned two indictments against him, one for rape, the
other for
murder. In the trial of the murder case, the jury returned a verdict of
"murder in the first
degree, assessing the death penalty. A motion for a new trial was overrulled,
when the case
was taken to the appellate court, which affirmed the verdict of the court
below. The
prosecution was conducted by District Attorney W. E. Maynard and Hon. J. P.
Fowler, the defense
by HOn. R. L. Batts and Judge R. W. Siddall. The case was stoutly contested
from beginning
to end. Following
is the list of jurors by whom the case was tried: W. W.
Boon, foreman: Otto Ebner, G. Hemphill, J. R. Caston, W. A. Trussell, W. N.
Scales, J. A.
Thompson, Lewis JOnes, Almer Woods, George Perkins, JOhn A. Davis, J. M.
Taylor. The
Jurors deliberated less than an hour before returning their verdict, which,
on the first poll,
was unanimous "Guilty of murder in the first degree, with the death
penalty." Tobe
Cook was about 37 eyars old, about six feet high, and in form, a rather good
looking specimen
of the negro race, and would be considered rather a bright, intelligent
negro. The evidence
against him was entirely circumstantial but of the most positive character. The
tracks of the murderer were carefully measured, and their peculiarities
noted, before suspicion
rested upon any particular person. These tracks indicated clearly that there
was a covering
of some sort on the feet at the time they were made, but that it was neither
boots or
shoes. There appeared from these tracks to be three holes in the sole of the
covering of the
left foot, and also something projecting in front, which made a peculiar mark
on the ground
immediately in front of the left big toe and there was a deeper impression
made slantingly
across the right track as if made by a seam in the covering of the right
foot. It was
shown beyond all doubt that oe the day of the murder Cook had upo his feet a
pair of leather
moccasins made from old boot tops, and that there were three holes in the
sole of the one
used on his left foot and a piece of leather projecting in front of it, and
taht there was a seam
slantingly across the sole of the one used by him with these moccasins on
were of the same
size and corresponded with and were in every respect identical with the
tracks of the murder.
The identity of Cook's tracks and those of the murderer was established by a
large number
of credible witnesses. It was also shown that Cook was absent from his home
at the time of the
murder and that he was not only unable to account for his whereabouts on that
day, but it was
shown beyond all doubt that the statements made by him as to his where abouts
at the time
of the murder were wholly false. It was also shown that he had been in the
habit of going into
the field and "fooling away" his time with two negro girls, while
their parents were not with
them and that these girls were at work away from their parents in the field,
near where the
murder was committed at the time of the murder, and that they said they were
expecting Tobe
there that day, and he was seen at one place, and the evidence tended
strongly to show that
he was seen at another place on that day on the way to the scene of the
murder. At the time
of the murder the deceased were a large metallic breastpin with sharp points
and sharp edges
to it, and in choking her to death with his hands this breatpin was pressed
against her
throat with such violence that it was bent and broken and her neck scratched
and wounded with
it. When arrested Cook had four wounds upon his right thumb and forefinger,
such as could
have been made by this brestpin, while he was in the act of committing the
murder, and he
gave very contradictory and unreliable statements as to how he received these
wounds. There
were other circumstances proven in evidence too numerous to mention here, but
as stated by the
court of appeals the circumstances taken together are abundant and show
conclusively that
Cook is guilty of this heinous crime. Presiding Judge White in delivering the
written opinion
of the court of appeals in the case says: "The evidence shows that the
murder was committed
by the deceased being choked to death, and also shows conclusively that it
was committed
in the perpertration, or attempt at the perpetration of rape. The record in
the case is
very volumnous, and the evidence entirely circumstantial in character; but,
while the testimony
is circumstantial in character, a most mature consideration of it in its
various phases
has forced upon us the conviction that it is conclusive, and establishes the defendant's
fuilt of this most heinous crime beyond all reasonable doubt. We do not deem
it necessary
to discuss this testimony; or even recapitulate it, in its most important
features. Suffice
it to say that in our judgement it abundantly sustains the verdict, and fully
warrants the
judgement, which inflicts the extreme penalty of the law. The record shows a
most fair and impartial
trial, in which all of the rights of the defendant were accorded him, and in
which no
action is shown in any manner prejudicial to his interests. Having found no
reversible error,
and believing the punishment is fully justified by the heinousness of the
crime which the
defendant has committed, it only remains for us to declare that the judgement
is in all things
affirmed". HISTORY
OF THE CRIME On
Wednesday, June 17, 1891, Miss Ida Belle Moore, a step-daughter of Mr. A. J.
Bellamy, about
16 years old, living near Upton, and about 8 miles south of BAstrop, visited
a neighbor
about a mile distant from her home. In the evening she left the neighbor's
house for that
home she never reached. Almost in sight of home she was seized by a fiend incarnate,
choked and dragged under a barbed wire fence, through the woods to a secluded
spot where
she was murdered, choked to death, and then outraged, her lifeless body left on
the ground,
where it was discovered later by anxious friends, cold in death. The
country was aroused, and Sheriff Davis, with a possee, and accompanied by
County Attorney J. B.
Price and Hon. J. P. Fowler, went down to ferret out the murderer. Their
efforts resulted in the
arrest of Tobe Cook, a black negro, who would have been hung by an outraged
populace, had
not the counsel of cooler heads prevailed. This is the noted case where Gov.
Hogg telegraphed
the sheriff to protect the prisoner at all hazards, and that there was a
standing reward
of $1,000 for each and every man who should engage or assist in mob law. The
telegram was
sent after quiet had been restored, and all danger of summary justice being
meted out to the
fiend who murdered and outraged Miss Bell Boore, at an end. He
was, on examining trial, committed to jail without bail, and at the fall term
of the district
court the grand jury returned two indictments against Cook, one for rape, the
other for
murder. His case was set for trial Nov. 4th, on the charge of murder. In the
trial of the case
the jury returned a verdict of murder in the first degree, assessing the
death penalty. A
motion for a new trial was overruled, the case taken to the appellate court,
which court affirmed
the verdict of the court below. District
attorney W. E. Maynard and Hon. J. P. Fowler conducted the prosecution and
Hon. R. L.
Batts and Judge R. W. Siddall, the defense. The case was stoutly contested
from the beginning
to the end. TOBE
COOK, the
condemned man, is a brown negro, about 6 feet high, in form, a good looking
specimen of the
negro race. He is about 37 years old, and would be considered a bright,
intelligent negro. He was
convicted entirely on circumstantial evidence, but among those best
acquainted with his case,
the judge, jury, officers, and citizens, not a shadow of doubt exists as to
his guilt. Unless
Gov. Hogg should pardon, reprieve, or commute the sentence, Tobe Cook will,
within the walls
of the county jail of BAstrop, on Friday, June 10th, 1892, hand until he is
dead! dead! dead!!! A
short time since he was visited by his mother, in the jail at LaGrange, who
spent several days
with him there. On her return, it is reported, she confidentially told, to a
friend, that
while a LaGrange, Tobe confessed his guilt, and explained to her how the
bloody deed was done,
but we have failed to trace the report to any reliable source. If guilty, as
charged and
seemingly fully proven, hanging is too good for him, and if, in the future,
evidence should
develop to prove him innocent, those who condemned Tobe Cook to hang, for the atrocious
murder of Ida Belle Moore, cannot censure themselves; confident, from all the evidence
before them, of his guilt, they did what they felt was right, and
conscientiously believed
to be their duty as law abiding and law enforcing citizens. HIS
MOTHER VISITS HIM IN HIS CELL This
Friday morning, the mother of the condemned man, visited him in his cell in
the county jail.
They greeted each other pleasantly. She sang for him and prayed a very
earnest, affecting prayer,
after which she talked for some time. She is a pleasant faced woman of about
55 years of
age. She advised him if he was innocent to say so and stick to it, but if he
was guilty, to tell
the truth, and own it like a man. He replied "Mother, I am as innocent
as this piece of iron"
taking hold of one of the cell bars. A bystander reminded him of what his
mother had said,
adding "don't die with a lie in your mouth; tell the truth and if guilty
own it like a man;
you can then better meet your God." At this he became very much
exercised, laid his cup of
coffee on the floor, rose to his feet, and in a loud voice protested his innocence,
said officers
and lawyers had fixed the guilt on him, his mother adding, "and negroes,
and I know 'em
insisted that he would not tell a lie for everybody in Bastrop, that he did
not see Ida Belle
Moore that day, or at any time before during that year, and that he was
innocent of her
blood. HAS
MADE NO CONFESSION The
mother denies, most emphatically, telling to anyone, that her son had
confessed his guilt to
her; says he has declared his innocence from the first, that she believes he
has been falsely
accused and wrongfully convicted, and before the day of execution God will
disclose the
guilty one. ***** Bastrop
Advertiser 8/26/1892 FAIRVIEW
CEMETERY Softly
glides the murmuring waters, Where
the dead are sleeping, And
its voice seems softly sighing As of
some lone spirit weeping. Here,
upon the sunny hillside, Lies
fair - Bastrop City - With
its dwellers now so silent, Once
the brave, the gay, the witty. Slowly
drive me through its windings -But
no friendly voice doth greet us; Little
children here are many. But
they come not forth to meet us. Varied
are those mirthless dwellings; Some
could tell of wealth and station. but on
vanity and pride, Death
has writ- "Annihillation". Yet
how lovely is the scene! As if
traced by fairy fingers, Mark
we here, some chaste design, Where
the artistic fancy lingers; -Behold!
the faithful watchdog guarding a baby fair- That
numbered only sunny hours- -Here
an emblematic dove- There
a simple bunch of flowers. And
yonder- a simple shaft, No
marble of the sculptor's art. -Plain
- unpretending- yet how dear To
every honest Southern heart. It
stands like a sentinel, true and brave. Our
liverties to watch and guide- A
momument to a Confederate brave To
tell how a patriot loved and died. Lovely
Fairview-perhaps no more, I'll
con thy varied tablets o'er, But
never shall my soul forget The
tender thought, the sad regret, With
which I mused thy windings through- -And
turned to bid thee a silent adieu. ***** Bastrop
Advertiser 11/1892 THE
NOTORIOIUS DALTON GANG ALL DEAT BUT ONE. Correyville,
KAS, Oct 5 The
Dalton gang has been exterminated, wiped off the face of the earth. Caught
like a rat in a trap they were today shot down, but until four citizens of
this place yielded
up their lives in the work of exterminations. Six of
the gang rode into town this morning and robbed the two banks of this place.
The raid became
known to officers of the law and when the bandits attempted to escape they
were checked by a
marshall's posse. In the battle which ensued four of the desperadoes were
killed outright and
one so badly wounded that he has since died. The other escaped but is being
hotly pursued. Of the
attacking party four were killed, one fatally wounded and two seriously
wounded. The
dead are: Bob Dalton, desperado, shot through the head. Grant Dalton,
desperado, shot through
the heart. Emmet Dalton, desperado, shot through the left side: Joseph Evans, desperado,
shot through the head; John Moore, "Texas Jack", desperado, shot
through the head;
T. C. Connelly, city marshal, shot through the body; L. M. Baldwin, bank
clerk, shot through
the head; G. W. Cabine, merchant, shot through the head; C. J. Brown, shot
through the
body. Thomas G. Ayres, cashier of the First National BAnk, was shot through
the groin and cannot
live. T. A. Reynolds, of the attacking party, has a wound in the right
breast, but it is
not considered necessarily dangerous. Louis Dietz, another of the attacking
party was also
shot in the right side. His wound is serious, but not fatal. It had been
rumored a month
ago that the Dalton gang contemplated an immediate raid on the banks of the
city, arrangements
were made to give them a warm reception and for over a week a patrol was maintained
night and day to give warning of the gang's approach. The raid did not take
place and
then came a report from Deming, N.M. that United States officers had a battle
with the bandits
and three of the bandits had been killed. This report is believed here to
have been circulated
by the Daltons themselves, the intention being to divert the intention from
their real
intentions, and to fool the people in town into a sense of security. The
people however, were
not so easily decieved and when the report of the disaster to the gang in New
Mexico was
denied, the vigilance was renewed. Still the expected raid was not made and
finally the patrol
was withdrawn last Saturday, although every stranger was carefully
scrutinized as soon as he
appeared on the streets. N. B.
Moore, chairman of the Republican state executive committee, in a lengthly
open letter to the
Republicans of Texas, after reciting scathing arraignment of the Hogg
administration, as passed
by the Bastrop Convention, says: "It
now becomes the imperative duty of every repubican in Texas who has the
welfare of the state
at... ******* 6/1893
Bastrop Advertiser ANOTHER
KILLING. At Red
Rock, about 16 miles west of Bastrop, on Friday evening of last week, a case
against Will
Wilson was called in Justice Nyegard's court on a charge of fighting. It
being late in the
evening, the justice decided to postpone the examination until next day, ad
while in the act of
preparing a bond for Wilson, the latter announced that he would not give
bond, got up and
left the court room, followed by Deputy sheriff McClure, who endeavored to
persuade him to return
and sign the bond. Wilson drew his knife and attempted to cut the officer,
whereupon Deputy
McClure shot him, firing four times, one ball going through his wrist, and
the other striking
him in the breast. He ingered until about noon next day when he died.
Wilson's father in
law, Dona Harris, who came running to the gate, during the shooting, stopped
to pick up a plank
as he reached Deputy McClure, and not dropping it when ordered to do so by
the officer, was
also shot i the arm, a flesh wound, just below the elbow. Deputy
McClure handed us the following as his statement regarding the killing: "I
was forced to do what I did. I had Will Wilson and Donie Harris in chage in
justice court. Squire
Nyegard was fixing to give them bond, when Mr. Wilson arose and said: 'I
don't propose
to give any bond, so good day, gentlemen!' and started to the gate, where his
horse was
hitched. I told him not to go yet, that his bond would be fixed in a few
minutes, but he never
stopped. I followed him and overtook him at the gate. As I stood in the
gateway, he caught
me by the sleeve with his left hand and drew an open knife with his right. I
said: 'Mr. Wilson
there is no need of this trouble,' but he said I am a Wilson, I am, and I
will kill you.' I
pulled away from him and demanded the knife, but he said: 'No, you can't get
it. By God, I will
kill you.' "So
I shot to keep him from outing me, and shot him again when he started to get
behind his horse,
and had his hand at his side as if trying to get a pistol. I didn't want to
kill him, else I
could have killed him the first shot. I just wanted to stop him and thereby
save myself.
He never showed any sign of being hit. "About
this time Mr. Donie Harris, Wilson's father in law, came running out the
gate, at the same
time picking up a piece of plank of lumber. I ordered him to stop, saying: 'I
don't want
to hurt you, but if you don't stop now, I will kill you. You all are forcing
me to do this.'
He would not stop and I shot him in the arm. Then I looked to see where
Wilson was and he
had fallen about seven or eight steps from me. I sent one man for the doctor,
another to notify
the sheriff and another for a wet cloth to bind up Harris' arm to keep him
from bleeding to
death. So all was done, that could be done. The doctor and the officer came.
I came to town
that evening and have strayed through the preliminaries. I am sorry Mr.
Wilson died. I did
not want to hurt any man, but was obligaed to do what I did". From
those who know Deputy McClure well, we learn that his character is above
reproach, that he is
sober, energetic and trustworthy, and that he has ever been conscientious in
the discharge of his
official duties. Justice Finney placed his bond for the killing of Wilson at
$500, and for
the shooting of Donie Harris, at $100, which bonds were readily given. ***** Bastrop
Advertiser 11/2/1895 County
Clerk W. E. Jenkins has issued the following marriage licenses during the
month of October,
just passed: George
Duncan and Abbie Hamilton Albert
C. Billingsley and Kate Keele J. P.
Renfro and Lula Graves. Odilon
Aguine and Felleitas Regas George
Carr and Mattie Oliver Wade
Preston and Matilda Roberton Charles
A. Kellum and Martha A. Nelwing William
H. Young and Henrietta Jones J. A.
Delap and Mrs. Lillie K. Skinner H. A.
F. Wormley and Anna Jefferson W. T.
Smith and Lucy A. Woods Louis
Montgomery and Virginia Walter Mack
Miller and Claudie Smith Fred
Bryers and Mary Montgomery William
Winston and Mahala Moore Frank Doherty
and Mrs. M. C. Wilson A. L.
Harris and Julia E. Culpepper W. H.
Culpepper and Ida Culberton J. T.
Gray and Lora Roberts Lee
Roberts and R. Culpepper John
Caruthers and Rosa Humbles D. A.
Macklin and Mary Jones Major
Nolan and Sallie Powell Apolio
Enrites and Lus Estrada J. T.
Dancer and Mollie Morman Reinhold
Beck and Mary Hilbig Carl
Oppett and Margaret Schneider For
Sale - A good open top buggy and harness. Will trade it for corn. Apply at
this office. Statistics
for the year ending December 31, 1894 (lists
products and total sold) Total
number of farms in county, 1,320; number of farm laborers, 409; average wages
paid per month, $12; number of renters, 996; value of farming implements,
$24,899. ******** Bastrop
Advertiser 10/15/1898 COMMISSIONER
W. N. SCRUGGS I was
recently a guest in the home of our worthy Commissioner W. N. Scruggs, and
later, had the very
great pleasure of his guestship in my own home. For years I have known
Brother Scruggs, and
have thought it an honor to number him among those whom I count my friends.
During these
visits I have drawn from him the story of his life, and want to present it to
the readers of our
Advertiser in the hope that they may find as much pleasure in the reading of
it, as has come
to me in the writing. Brother
Scruggs is a native of Alabama, and was born in 1823. His parentage was of
that Scotch Irish
blood that has given to America our wisest statesmen, our most earnest
ministry, our most
industrious and prosperious farmers, our most successful business men, and
our bravest soldier
on the field of battle. The
father of Brother Scruggs was a soldier under Gen. Jackson and with that
famous officer fought
the Creeks at Horse Shoe Bend, and afterward the English regulars at New
Orleans. The grandfathers
were as young men, with Washington in his revolutionary campaigns and with
him at
Yorktown. His mother was a cousin to Moses Austin of early Texas history. The
father removed i 1817 from Tennessee to Alabama where as we have said, Mr.
Scruggs was born.
Here amid the beautiful green hills of the Tennessee river, and drinking the
pure cool water
of their numberless springs, Mr. Scruggs grew to manhood's years. Like so
many, of his day,
he was denied the privileges of good schools, and tells us that three monghs
would cover all
the time that he ever spent in any institution of learning, and we suppose
the schools to which
he did go, were very primitive in their accommodations, and worse than
primitive in the methods
of instruction. This
does not mean, however, that Mr. Scruggs is not a well informed man, for he
has made up in later
years by diligent hard study, and careful broad reading, what he failed to
secure in his
earlier years, and today one will scarcely meet a man better posted on all
questions of general
knowledge. Here,
too, in his 23rd year, he was married, the choice of his heart being a
cousin, Miss Elizabeth
Scruggs of Georgia, who accompanied him on life's journey till within a few
years past. Soon
after marriage Mr. Scruggs, hearing through acquaintances in Texas of the
wonderful attractions
of this new country, set his face to the westword, and in his old fashion
wagon, made
by his own hands, he crossed the Sabine at Gaine's Ferry and was on Texas
soil, camping his
first night in the State, just on the banks of that river, in the fall of
1850. Following
the old San Antonio road, the only road then in the state, Mr. Scruggs drove
directly to
Bastrop county, and settled on the Colorado a mile below the village that has
now become the
city of Bastrop. With
the Rector's he farmed, and did the work of a mechanic here, until the year
of 1853, when, to
satisfy the home sick wife he returned to the old home land, settling once
more amid the hills
of northren Alabama. But, it was never the purpose of Mr. Scruggs to make
this return to
Alabama anything but a visit, and, in leaving Texas, he did so expecting to
make an early return
to the state of his adoption. But, awaiting the preparation of others who
wanted to come also
to Texas, Mr. Scruggs was yet in Alabama when the great Civil war broke upon
the quiet of our
peaceful nation. Lending
then a willing ear to the call of his state, he volunteered on the first call
for troops, and
next to the name of the noted Gen. John B. Gorden was written the name of
William N. Scruggs,
a volunteer in the 6th Alabama Regiment. In the
organization of this regiment Mr. Scruggs was chosen first Leiutenant of
Company F, his
commission from the Governer of Alabama, dating April 7th, 1861. The
first call of this regiment to the front took them to Bull Run, where Mr.
Scruggs had his first
baptism of fire. Those who kow the history of war will need but to know that
the 6th Alabama
was a part of that heroic "Army of Virginia." and they will know
the war and battle record
which Mr. Scruggs helped that army in making. He was with his regiment i all
the principal
engagements fought by this army, Bull Run, Williamsburgh, the seven days
before Richmond,
Malvern Hill, where he led his regiment in charge after charge, all the day,
through, upon
the impregnable defences of McClelland's army; where, too, he saw the water
his men drank stained
and red with the blood of their fallen comrades, Antietam, Gettysburg, Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania,
where Mr. Scruggs said his command had an "awful time" and where
"it looked for a
while," said he, "like none would be left to tell the tale." At
Gettysburg Mr. Scruggs regiment occupied the center, and he led his men to
those heroic charges
from which so few of them returned and he himself with the skirts of his coat
bullet riddled
and cut into strings and schreds. As I
listened to Mr. Scruggs recital of his part in this the ost terrible of all
battles, I could
but wonder how it was his to escape, alive and uninjured. Who was it walled
with hissing led
the narrow lane he trod, and made it, so narrow that a step, and less than a
step, to either
side would have exposed his body to the death dealing bullets that were
riddling into
strings the skirts of his coat on either side? Were I
a Calvinest I would say it was preordination, I would say that God, when he
made the earth
and filled it with metal, had decreed that W. M. Scruggs should not be killed
in battle, and
the lead had heard and remembered. But, I
am Arminian, and prefer to believe that a christian wife had prayed that the
beloved husband
be returned to her, and to his home, and that God had heard, and was
rembering that prayer. Toward
the close of teh war, then the regiment was reorganizing, Mr. Scrugg's
company, which had
entered the service 139 strong, was found to number but seven icluding
himself. The others had
give up their livews for the cause that was soon to become the "Lost
Cause". And in this orgaization
Mr. Scruggs was promoted, receiving the commission of Quarter-master General,
and close
of the war found him at Blue Mountain Alabama, in the discharge of his
duties. But in
all these years and i all these campaigns and battles Mr. Scruggs had not
forgotten our Texas
and though his return from the war found him the owner of but a two year old
heifer, and a half
"fice" dog, neither of which were grown, he began soon to make
preparation for his long desired
return to the state of his adoption. In the
fall of 1870, Mr. Scruggs again found himself i Texas, after a sixty days
journey, unloading
his worn out family at Duck Pond in Bastrop County, without a cent of money,
or even a chew
of tobacco, in his pocket. The
farm and home he now owns in that neighborhood, and which he redeemed from
the virgin forests
tell of the labor and unremitting toil that have occupied the nearly third of
a century
that Mr. Scruggs has been a resident of our dear old Bastrop county. I
1887, Mr. Scruggs was elected a county commissioner and with but few
intermissions has ever since
filled this responsible office, and filled it too, we are glad to say, to the
honor of himself
and the satisfaction of his consitency. To those, if any, who would criticise
his course
as a member of this court he would, readily say, "the books are open,
read for yourself, the
record of my vote, on all questions touching the interests of my county or
the interests of my
constituency." Standing
on the platform of his past record he tells us he is a candidate for re
election, and we
feel sure that if the people of Precinct 4 knew, as the writer does, the
stand that Mr. Scruggs
has ever taken for economy in the business matters of the county, then his
election would
be assured, and assured not only for another term but for life. Mr.Scruggs
is a christian man. At a quarterly meeting held at Mr. Carmel, AL, the
presiding elder
preached from this text: "The Lord is a sun and a shield, He giveth
grace and glory, and no
good thing wil He withhold from them that walk uprightly." Under the
preaching of this sermon
Mr. Scruggs was convicted of sin and began at once to seek religion. This
meeting was protracted,
and on the eighth day of its continuance, when the preacher called for
mourners, Mr.
Scruggs in almost shouting happiness, arose in the meeting and said:
"Bro. Bartee, I am already
past the mourner's bench." He would have said more, for his heart was
very full of that love
which passeth all understanding, but there were others there, others who were
not ashamed to
shout the praise to God which they felt, and some of them at once
"occupied the time." He soon
after united with the Methodist church, living in its fellowship and devoting
himself to its
upbuilding and to the salvation of others through its influence till a few
years ago when he
joined the Christian church at McDade. Being a broad man, Mr. Scruggs was
never a churchite, never
believed his own church the only one, and was ever ready to work for the
world's betterment
in any church. He was ever felt that the battle is one, the enemy the same,
and that
which regiment or brigade he was in was no question so long as the right flag
was over him and
the enemy was in his front. Mr.
Scruggs lives yet where he first settled. The industry and economy of earlier
years have placed
him above want and with a sister, now in her 84th year, as housekeeper in the
house, he is
spending in peace and quiet the declining years of life. He does not
anticipate many years
more of lifes cares and burdens, but without fear and uncertainty he awaits
the call to the
better world, and to the better life. He loves his friends and knows of no
enemies. And the
only aspirations of his heart are to do all the good he can while living, and
to be ready when
the summons shall come. J. H.
Gillaspy Fourty-five
hundred hogsheads of tobacco destroyed by fire at Clarksville, TN on the 5th
inst. The
soldiers have quit licking the Spaniards and the country is now licking
revenue stamps to
square things. ***** Bastrop
Advertiser 2/12/1899 A
REMARKABLE SIGHT Smithville-
The present blizzard is by far the coldest weather ever known in this section
of the
country. The thermometer registered 4 degrees below zero at 7 o'clock this
morning and at
noon it was 6 degrees above zero with the sun shining. The Colorady river is
frozen over, a
thing that was never known before. The correspondent was told today by men
who have lived here
since the '40s that they had never seen the Colorady frozen over before -
From the Bastrop Advertiser
of Feb. 12. 1899. Superintendent
Fred. G. Haynie who has been in the Hospital at Austin for several weeks for treatment
of his eye, returned home Saturday. His many.... ****** 10/1898,
The Bastrop Advertiser On
Friday night of last week a Mr. Lake Cain (son of James Michael Cain), a
resident of the southern
part of the county, registered at the Midland Hotel and was assigned a room.
It is said
he had 75 cents, in money, ten cents of which he spent for morphine, 15 cents
he paid to Mr.
Wilkes for his night lodging. About 8 o'clock he went to his room and to bed.
He had
stopped the night before at the John Watts boarding house, but being unable
to get a room
for himself, changed to the Midland Hotel. It is said he was subject to
epileptic fits, and
was in the habit of taking morphine when he felt the spells coming on him. It
is supposed
he took the dose between 8 and 9 o'clock, Friday night. When discovered
Saturday morning,
he was in a comatose condition. Dr. Combs was called to see him, but the
deadly drug
had got in its work, and he died between 12 and 1 o'clock. Justice Jenkins
held an inquest,
deciding that he had died from morphine administered by his own hands, but
whether suicidal
intent or not, is not known. His brother, J. M. C. Cain, came up from
Smithville and
took charge of the remains which were carried to Upton and interred (at the
Young Schoolhouse Cemetery). *** August
13, 1898 JAMES
W. KENNEDY The
subject of this sketch, Mr. J. W. Kennedy, was among the very early settlers
of Bastrop county. His father was a Leroy Kennedy, an officer under Jackson
in the Creek war, 1813, and afterward, a member of the Legislature of his
adopted state, Alabama. At the
age of twenty-two, Mr. Kennedy left the old home land, and in company with
Maj. A. W. Moore, and others, turned his face to the westward. On New
Year's day of 18819, he reached and crossed the Sabine. This
was at Gaine's ferry, and here the little band of emigrants had their first
experience of Texas hospitality. The old ferryman, Mr. Gaines, had made the
day a time of feasting and merry-making with his neighbors, and slaves. And
to the company of happy guests the newcomers were very heartily welcomed,
and, not only so, but were detained for hours in the enjoyment of the
occasion. This
sort of hospitality, that compelled the stranger to stop, and that lured him
to tarry, long characterized, we learn, every section of our beautiful Texas.
It has of late retired to our western countries. Mr.
Kennedy reached Bastrop on the 11th, having driven from the Sabine to the
Colorado, in ten days, and, at once began work as farm hand, and overseer on
the lands of the Mr. Moore with he had come. But in
August of this year he joined a company of Texas Rangers, at Austin, and was
soon afterward sent to the Rio Grande, where, for the next twelve months,
life was made up of fighting Indians, raiding their country, and patrolling
that vast extent of our frontier reaching from El Paso to the Gulf, and
eastward to the San Antonio river and the Guadalupe mountain range. More
than one of his own number Mr. Kennedy helped to bury, as a result of their
frays with the wily Comanche foe. What became of the enemies dead, Mr.
Kennedy did not state, but we suppose they were either carried off by their
comrades, or made carion for the hungry wolf or starving vulture. Surely
Texas and Texans owe more to the old Ranger, than we have ever thought, or
ever paid, and it is a sad reflection, too, that if ever the delinquency is
to be made good, it must be dome soon, for even now, the old heroes of our
Indian times are fast passing away, and, in a little while there will be
naught left us, but to honor their graves and revere their memory. After
his service as a Ranger, Mr. Kennedy returned again to Bastrop, and worked
for some time in the sawmills owned by Moore & Sims. He then visited the
old home land, and his parents, but, being this time fully persuaded of the
superiority of Texas over Alabama, the visit was but a visit only, and he
soon again sought his western, his new home. When
the writer suggested that possibly some special attraction had figured in
this Alabama visit, Mr. Kennedy promptly answered, "no, I had never yet
cared anything for the opposite sex." Then I thought, what a lesson for
the swain of today love sick at seventeen. Not
long after his return to Texas Mr. Kennedy became a gold hunter. A man named
Stewart, living then in Milam county, claimed to know of very rich mines in the
Guadalupe mountains, and, calling for volunteers to help him in searching for
them, Mr. K., with many others joined the company. With
wagons and teams, provisions, camp, and mining outfit, the company proceded
to the western mountain country, where, alas! They made many a vain and
ineffectual day's search for the rich mines, and the boundless wealth with
which they had all hoped to return. Worn
out at last and discouraged, Mr. Kennedy one morning arose in the midst of
their camps and called for volunteers to return home and when the evening of
that day had come, Mr. K, said, himself, and thirty three others, pitched
their tents far toward the head waters of the San Saba. He
still believes the mines were there all right as to find them. Those left
behind, one by one, returned, some long after, but they had never found any
gold. They had only been more determined, but no less unfortunate then the
others. Again,
we find Mr. K, in the limber mills of Bastrop, coming finally to own this he
did what, no doubt, has been the wisest thing he ever did, he married. His
bride was a Miss Elizabeth Foster whose parents had come, in 1840, from
Missouri, and settled, first, near Bastrop, but afterward at Middleton
Springs, in Bastrop county. Soon
after the organization of the Confederate Government, Mr. K, received the
appointment of Postmaster at Alum Creek, a position he held till the close of
the war. The care of a large family made necessary that he stay at home,
while the office he held prevented conscription, so it happened that he
experienced none of the hardships and knew none of the dangers incident to
the life a soldier, yet, with all his heart, he believed in the principles of
the Confederacy, and, till a late date in the progress of the war, hoped for,
and believed in the success of the Southern cause. Under
the pretense that he had aided the South, by serving as a road supervisor
during the war, Mr. K, was forbidden to take the ironclad oath, by the powers
that were, and hence, for a year or two of the reconstruction days, he was
not allowed the right to vote. But afterward he took this oath, and once more
was permitted to have a part in governmental affairs of his state. When,
however, he came to cast his first vote, it seems there was not much in it to
stimulate his manhood, or encourage his reviving patriotism. For his was made
to approach the polls between files of soldiers, with bayonets meeting over
his head, and guarded and watched with the utmost vigilance till this sacred
duty to his country was done, and then led away by an accommodating orderly. When
visiting Bastrop, Mr. K, says his way had been to remain till night, and have
a good time with his friends, and on the above occasion he had fully
intended, he says, to follow his old established custom, but to his surprise
a very official officer pre-emptorily ordered him, at once, to leave town.
This officer, being backed by all proper authority, and that authority not
lacking in an abundant supply of "carnal weapons". Mr. K. says he
thought it would be decidedly to his advantage to give due heed to the wishes
of this very, very king? Officer, and so went home. The good wife was much
surprised at the early return, and was so pleased at it, that she was nearly
ready, Mr. K, says, to believe reconstruction and reconstruction officers
were pretty good things after all. But he says they were not, and the writer
is by no means ready to dispute the assertion. But
better days came, the administration of Davis gave way to that of Coke, and
peace and prosperity returned. Owning land in the Colorado bottoms, Mr. K,
followed farming till 1885, when he left Alum Creek, and moved to Paige,
where he took charge of the Grange store, and grange business then but
recently organized there. In
this he continued for four years after which he engaged in a little
confectionery and fruit business of his own in which he is still occupied at
the present time. He
owns a nice home in Paige, and though not by any means wealthy, yet lives
well, and spends pleasantly the closing years of his eventful life. Everybody
knows him, everybody likes him. Everybody wishes him well, and Bastrop
country will lose a good citizen, and the people of Paige a kind and loving
neighbor when he is no more. On the
wall of his room hangs a beautiful and nicely framed Masonic chart, giving
the more important dates, and events in his life. The
blanks for the insertion of the birth are already filled and I read,
"born May 26th, 1825," The blanks for the marriage date are also
filled, and those for date of his connection with the Order, but below is a
coffin, and over it are the woreds, "Called from Labor to
Refreshment." But the blank space for the date of this last event in
life's history, is yet unfilled. Pointing
to the blanks, Mr. K, feeling remarked, "It will not be long now till
these spaces, too, will be filled." But the writer hopes it may be a
long, long time yet, and in this wish we are joined by many, many of his kind
and loving friends. J. H.
Gillaspy. *** August
6, 1898 GAIL
BORDEN I
visited recently historic ground; historic ground, though marked by no
pillar, or monument to indicate its importance. Some four miles above
Bastrop, where the waters of the beautiful Colorado wash the shores of the
highlands, is the site upon which once sttod the rude cedar log hut of Gail
Borden. The Gail Borden whose name has gone the world around. As I
stood upon this site, I called to mind what I knew toughing the history of
this famous pioneer, and, with the hope of interesting some one, I would present
a few of these facts to my readers. Gail
Borden was born the first year of the now closing century of New England
stock. Removing from New York, he settled, during his earlier years in
Indiana, where he taught school, surveyed land and assisted his father at
farming. But
after a time his health so far failed, that he left his home and his parents,
and drifted southward, seeking a climate less rigorous, a clime where he
might gather again his lost powers, and improve his failing health. He
settled in Mississippi, at a place called Zion Hill, where he soon became
acquainted with the then famous Col. Eli Mercer, whose daughter, he not long
afterward, married. This
was in the twenties, and Texas was coming to be known in the older states.
So, in 1829, he gathered together his little worldly estate, and the wife
bidding a last farewell to the loving parents, he set his face to the
westward. He
settled on the La Vaca in Austin's Colony, where he engaged in farming, and
stock raising, till his abilities as surveyor became known, when Austin
apponted him as the official surveyor of the colony. When
that band of strong and determined men came together in 1833, at San Filipe,
to discuss what should be done in regard to the intolerable oppressions of
Mexico, Gail Borden was among them, a delegate from the La Vaca district.
History does not tell us what he did, or what he said, but we may well
believe that one who had been born with a New Englander's heredity and had
afterward in the Southland, imbibed a Southern's chivalry, was not silent in
that convention. Soon
after this he founded and published the Texas Land Register, the first paper
of any kind ever printed in Texas, and it was the press and type of this
paper with Santa Anna buried beneath the waves of the near at hand bayou. It was
while he was serving as Austin's surveyor that he visited the site of
Bastrop, surveying the lands for the new town, and other lands adjacent. It was
then he saw the beautiful and fertile lands lying above the town, and
choosing the location above mentioned, he built the cabin and moved his
family to this part of the colony, if indeed I may call lands above Bastrop,
a part of Austin's Colony. It was
now 1819 and the great stream of migration to California had begun, a stream
that dried up and all but perished upon the barren plains and burning sands
of Arizona and the Pacific slope. Moved
to pity by the tales of suffering, and being of quick perception, Gail Borden
now turned inventor. The
juices of the best Texas beeves seasoned with the best wheat flour, was
baked, and then ground to powder. This was the invention, this was the never
surpassed food, the "Gail Bordon Meat Biscuit", samples of which,
thirty years afterward, were as good and as wholesome as when first made. But
the demand not justifying, in 1853, he discontinued the manufacture of this
wonderful food. But, calling to mind one day, as he sat in the home of a
friend at Bastrop, that milk has in it all the elements of a perfect human
food, he began wondering if it, too, might not be condensed and preserved. Then
experiment followed experiement, and finally success crowning the effort, the
name of "Gail Borden's Eagle Brand of Condensed Milk" is known the
world over. But
about this time death came into the humble cottage, and she who had once been
the beautiful, ever happy Penelope Mercer, was laid away to rest in the
little, obscure graveyard, that may yet be seen near where the sluggish
waters of Sandy pour themselves into the currents of the Colorady. Gail
Borden, soon after this event, returned to the land of his nativity and
began, on a large scale, the manufacture of his condensed milk, and, the war
coming on, a greater demand was made for his product, as great, or even
greater, than he could supply, so that in a few years he became a very
wealthy man. Soon
after the war, however, he left his large condensing and canning facturies in
the charge of his sons, and again came to Texas. He did not return to his old
Bastrop home or his Bastrop lands, but settled farther south in Colorado
county. Here,
as in New York, he built quite extensive condensing factories. But his work
and his years drew to a close, and on the 11th day of January 1871, he
"wrapped the drapery of his couch about him." And lay down in the
embrace of his last slumber. He passed away from.. love by thousands who knew
him and knew of him, and will be blessed by thousands yet to be born. The
old Bastrop home, a part of it, at least was given in kindly beneficense, to
the Hatherly family by the son, Mr. John G. Borden, who spared no pains and
no expense to make the removal of these good English people from New Jersey
to Texas, a pleasant journey, and a successful and happy enterprise. Four
great factories, two in New York, one in New Jersey, and one in Illinois, now
furnish a world wide market with condensed milk, and when I reflect that this
wonderful enterprise had its inception in Texas, In Bastrop, and upon the
banks of our own Colorado, I am filled with pride, pride for my state, and
pride for the old town. When I
reflect that the tens of thousands of voyager upon the great ocean, the
millions of soldiers bent upon the war campaigns of the world, or the legion
of travelers that tread the frozen regions of polar zones, or press the
burning sands of the tropics may be, and are all supplied to day with a
Providence's rich, blessing to mankind, pure, rich sweet milk, and that the
great stream which now supplies the world, had its beginning with him whose
hands once reared the humble cabin upon whose site I stand, I am filled with
wonder at the possibilities of human invention, the possibilities of human
enterprise. J. H.
Gillaspy *** |
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