San Saba County news. [volume] (San Saba, Tex.) 1874-19??, 1893-05-05
HANGMAN'S HARVEST.
Three Rape Fiends Pay The Penalty On The
6allows Tor Their Awful Crimes.
LARGE CROWDS WITNESS THE EXECUTIONS.
ziedoIph Davis, Jim Burke and sam sssssi are
Royalty Entertained by Texas sheriHs the
Last Day Of Their ESistance.

BoNHAM, Tex, April 29.-By $50
o'clock Thursday night the city was
full of people, who were here for the
purpose of witnessing the execution
of Sam Massey and Jim Burke. There
were more winchesters and shotcuns
in the city than were ever seen here
at any one time. There seemed to be
an impression among the crowd that
in some way or other the execution
would be stayed. If anything of the
kind had happened no power on earth
could have saved Sam Massey and Jim
Burke from the vengeance of mob.
The first rays of the rising sun peep
ing through the bars of the cell in the
Fannin county Jail yesterday morning
fell upon the two doomed mon. Long
before this Sam Massey had arisen
and was moving about the cell hum
ming TO himself snatch OF an old
time camp meeting hymn and then as
his spirits rose he broke fourth into
words and full tune one
awake in the Jail listt
heard him sing in the
sounded like that befc
did from the shadow
doom maybe it was
that leat to il weir
How different was IL
whose right name is Thompson. SUI
len and silent he had slept only few
minutes during all the night, his last
night. which must have seemed to
him an age. In contrast to Massey
he stood with his head pressed against
the side of the cell and muttered and
mumbled out some inaudible
plant At noon both prisoners
refused dinner, but Massey accepted
wine. Both made confessions of their
crimes from the scaffold. The trap
was sprung and life declared extinct
in nineteen minutes. Massey paid
the penalty for beating into insensi-
bility with blackberry club William
Smith, his wife and their little
boy, and also outraging the person of /
the lady while she lay insensible. The /
injuries inflicted ultimately resulted /
in the death of Mrs. Smith and her
husband was rendered permanently /
deaf. Burke was guilty of ravishing /
Mrs. NJ. Z. Clements, a white>woman, I
81 years OF age in Lamar county, Au-
gust /, 1892.
HALLETTsyILLE. Tex, April 20
Early yesterday morning people from
he country began to arrive in town.
" / o'clock no less than 2000 men,
women and children, white and black,
Dad congregated in the streets around
The Jail yard to witness the hanging
If Ziedolph Davis. At o'clock yes
terday morning the sheriff took Davis
10 the Catholic church for confession.
Neatly dressed in black, with slippers,
he walked TO the scaffold and ascend
ed the same. Sheriff Houchins read
The death warrant and Davis arose
and bid the crowd good bye. He then
took his stand on the trap and shook
bands with the sheriff and deputies.
The black cap and moose were adj
iusted, when Sheriff Houchins pulled
he lever to the trap and down went
Davis about seven feet. Death must
nave been instantaneous, as he barely
lwitched twice. In twelve minutes
le was pronounced dead. Aris
vas only 81 years of agS and
1aid the death penalty for brutally
Mrs. Lou Ballard, whose
but a short time before had
,een assassinated by unknown par
les.