The Waco daily examiner. [volume] (Waco, Tex.) 187?-1888, 1881-12-14
WEARY WAITING,
Austin Sims hailed After
Three fears Imprisonment.

In 1876 Austin Sims, a Young man
who lived IN the Perry neighborhoOd
was supposed to have murdered James
Mellon. Officers and citizens united III
hunting for him, but he eluded them.
A body was found in some brush near
where Sims was supposed to be, and
for time it was believed he had been
killed by pursuers. However after the
excitement had in a measure subsidized
and months after all pursuit had been
abandoned, Austin returned and sur
rendered himself to the authorities
He was indicated and in 1879 was tried,
found guilty and sentenced to thirty
five years Imprisonment. \ new trial was
gtanted, but owing to the sickness of
a main witness for the prosecution the
state has asked for two continuances.
This entities the defendant to bail,
and yesterday Austin's sister, Mrs
Mary Hansford, and his
father, Elisha Sims, appear
ed before the court and
made showing satisfactory to
Judge Rimes, and, in the further con
sideration OF the precarious health of
the defendant, the sureties were ae-
copied, and Austin Sims was released
from custody on the charge of muir
der, the bond being fixed at 81 800.
In 1877 Austin was also indicted on
three charges, theft of COW, altering
brands on a gelding and altering
brands on yearling. Mrs. Mary
Hansford was accepted as surety i'll
the sum of 800 on each Of the three
charges, and Austin Sims walked out
of the courtroom temporarily free
man, after remaining III the county
jail two years and ten months. His
father and mother, sister and several
friends were present, and the meeting
was a glad. one. Mary Hansford is the
widow of ID. l.. Hansford, who was
found hanging to tree in this county
in 1876. About two years ago she
married Phil kirkpatrick, but at the
present term of court obtained a
divorce on the ground of cruelty. She
has chung to her brother through all
his troubles, and has made attempts
at every term of court to secure
his release on her surety, but the |
amount fixed by Judge Alexander, !
$500, was beyond her means, al |
though she owns, in her own right,
cultivated farm in Bell county of two
hundred acres, valued at SIS per acre, |
besides forty acres of good timber-land !
She also has homestead of two hun |
bred and forty acres in McLennan !
county. At the time of his arrest Aus !
tin owned Il considerable number of !
cattle, but they strayed away, and now
he has nothing. His father, Elisha |
Sims, owns valuable homestead and |
stock, but his sister fur
nished the financial security. Mary |
is still young and good
looking woman. Her devotion to an |
brother is indeed com
mendable, and, under the circum-
stances, the accomplishment of her de |
sires will doubtless be approved by the !
public. Austin, some time ago, was at
tackled with humps, and not uncom-
mon termination of the attack |
has made very notable in
roads upon his health, and this fact led
Judge Hines to reduce the security to
m amount which could be met 10y the
relatives, taken IN conjunction with
The fact that the state has been the
cause of delay in the trial The total
imOut fixed formerly, including the
.hree minor charges, was $500