Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-01-16
SENT INTO THE FUTURE.
A WItless Mexican Explates Cold
BloOded Murder Committed in
La Sale County.
Eli Madison Drops From the ScafYold
In. BenumOnt with Repentance
: q in His Heart.
Negro Hanged at Benevine, In., while IN
Painting Fit-Nevada, MO-. tho
Scene of Another Execution.

Special to the Gazette
. NOT SENSE ENOUGH TO NE AFR,ip
CorULIA, TEX, Jan. l5.--,Jose Maria
Mendoza expiated his crime to-day. The
death warrant was read to him shortly be
lore o'clock. He only said, oyery wen y
Accompanied by a priest he walked to the
scafold. He mounted the stair.steps
with steady mein, and when he reached
the platform turned and viewed the crowd
calmly. The priest, with outstretched
hands, blessed him, then turning to the
crowd said; "Citizens OF Cotnlla-The
man who is 10 die to-day is ignorant.
lie admits the killing and is sorry
Tor II. lie wants you to pray
Tor MN and keep your children from
drink. lie believes In God. He has no
grudge against any man. He only asks
! you TO pray for him. To the relatives of
MS victim he says, Forgive me as | hope
to be forgiven"
The prisoner turned promptly at his
PASTORS closing words and held his hands
behind him for the rope From the time
he was tied until he fell IL was inst one
minute and forty-nve seconds. He
weighed say 100 pounds. He fell eight
feet and he never felt 1t. He had on new
shoes and they clicked together rapidly.
but there was no other motion in him.
nc was pronounced dead In four minutes.
put In his black coffin and buried. The
crowd, which numbered possibly 200, was
very orderly. There were but few Next
cans in u. The parents OF the doomed
man, who live in Laredo, did not attend.
There were no jarriDg details in his death
ana none OF the disgusting features which
~ aliy attend the execution of those who
ule by the rope. 1t was nice, orderly
sceance and the people beyond little
ribaldry Immediately before death were
nolseless, and looked on it as the simple
expiation OF a terrible crime. Mandeola
received the last sacrament Of the Cath
Ollie church and died In that belief. He
seemed on the scaffold to be possessed by
desire to oblige the sheriff in any way
In his power, and took all the positions
pointed out to him with great doSility.
interviewed in the Jail, he said that he
recollected very little about the killing.
lie regarded bis sentence as unjust, but
ne, yas FshhsnBJsQ die. ! 1t was like killing
fellow did not have any sense. He did
not nave sense enough to be afraid.
HISTORY OF THE cRIME.
nv CEllilt lOT WHICH jose NlUIll
Mendoza, Mexican, paid the penalty
with his life to-day, was one of the most
atrocioIs and cold-bloodcd ever perpe-
trated in La Sale county, and at the
time, March Z, 1885, created such wide
spread Indignation among all classes OF
people, that the officers who made the
arrest were compelled TO observe great
caution in order TO prevent a lynching.
The particulars Of the killing are about
these:
On the morning Of March Z Jose Maria
Mendoza went to the store of G.. M.
Hodges, who was also the station agent
at Enclnal, and secured a loan OF two
dollars on a pistol. This he spent for
whisky, and returned TO Hodges in the
| afternoon and demanded his pistol.
Hodges refused to let him have 1t until
he paid the two dollars of borrowed
money and also store bill OF four dol
lars aud seventy-hve cents. Mendoza
left the store, but returned short while
afterwards with borrowed Winchester.
Without word Of warning as to his muir
derous intentions, he fired two shots into
Hodges, either of which would have been
fatal, producing instant death. One
OF the balls from the Winchester
passed through the body Of
Hodges and wounded bystander named
Morrison in the leg. AT the time OF the
shooting Hodges was standing in front
of the depot talking to several friends,
neither of whom observed the murderer's
approach, and had no intimation of his
! intentions. When Hodges fell dead on
the floor Mandeola fed across the street
with the Winchester still smoking in his
hand, and on entering store was soon
| ao1 ~ n m off suhA
demanded his surrender. Mandcola re-
fused to comply until promised that they
would protect him from the mob and turn
him over safely to the officers, which they
did on the same evening, and on the arrival
of Sheriff Charles Mckinney he was
taken to Cotulla and jailed AT the sub
sequent trial he was adjudged guilty OF
murder In the first degree, with the
death penalty attached, which was con-
| 1rmed on an appeal to the supreme court.
| Several Intellectual attempts were made
to interview the condemned man In jail.
~ jnvariable story was that IL was true
sous KILLED Hodges, and that his rea-
with The we're that he had a quarrel
r,n,,ax, Ana h,nde ed man about some
few DAYS before tbbauling goods, and
other quarrel about ing tney lau IN,
pledged to Mr.. Hodges fol 'nas NC nSu
purchased. He also says thatU ~, 800 49,,
of the killing he had been drinkihs us
was excited by the mescal he had take.
He exhibited no feeling or repentance
when talking about the murder, but APP
peared 10 regard 1t as matter
\ Of little or no Importance. Mendoza is a
Mexican, above the average in both ap-
pearance and intelligence, and no one see
ing him for the first time would imagine
he was the perpetrator of one OF the most
deliberate assassinations that ever dis
graced the state.
G. NJ. Hodges was popular young
man, not over thirty-hye years OF age, a
native Of Missouri, and enjoyed the uui-
versal esteem OF all who knew him. The
manner OF his sad death WAS terrible
blow for his aged parents and friends,