Corpus Christi History
By Murphy Givens

Wednesday, Apr. 7, 1999

Hanging Times -- Part 2

Suspects found in a sheep pen

   After four men were brutally killed at a store in Peascal, on Baffin Bay, word spread that the bandits were in the area. One of several posses that saddled up included the Dunn brothers -- John, Mike, Matt and J.B. "Red John" Dunn, who wrote about this incident in "Perilous Trails of Texas."
   The Dunns set out from the old family homestead four miles west of Corpus Christi and stopped at Meansville, where the Means brothers joined the posse. A hired hand said he had seen sheepherders looking for work who were staying in an old jacal.
   The posse found the hut empty, but came across a lone rider who tried to get away. The Means brothers cut off his escape and one of them stuck a sharp-shooter in his ribs. He remembered seeing a group of armed men camped in a sheep pen a few miles away.
   "Red John" wrote: "The hard south wind had blown the big gate open and we charged right in among them before they knew we were there . . . I happened to dismount right beside a blanket where two men were asleep. One of these was Hypolita Tapia and the other was Andres Davila. After satisfying ourselves that these were the only men implicated in the murder and robbery, we took them back to Mean's village . . . We placed the prisoners in a vacant room under guard. First we took Hypolita out and told him that we wanted him to tell us all about the murder but he stated he would confess nothing. Then we took him to a tall mesquite tree and let him kick a few chunks out of the horizon, after which he stated that he was ready to divulge everything." Davila, after similar treatment, also confessed.
   Tapia said he was a vaquero and sheepherder. He said a Corpus Christi policeman, Tomas Basquez, had been in Buckley's store one morning and overheard there was a large consignment of goods and money going to Peascal that evening. Basquez wanted to raise 10 men to go down and get it. Tapia said he agreed to do it and enlisted 10 men to go with him, including Davila, an Anglo named Joe, Teodoro Aguillar, Pancho Luna, Antonio Martinez, Amador Lerma, a man called Octaviano and another called Chimito.
   Tapia said when they arrived at Peascal they saw that the boat on which the goods had been shipped was some distance from shore. They assumed the boat had landed the money and goods, but it had not landed and the raiding party found only $12 or $13 in the store's cash drawer. Tapia also told how the four men were killed and said that John Morton had been shot six times in the head and chest while kneeling in prayer. Direc Rachal wrote down their confessions.
   While the posse questioned the suspects, word spread of their capture. Ranchers showed up with a rope and plans for the two men, but the Dunn brothers convinced them that if they lynched them, it would destroy the evidence against the Corpus Christi policeman, Basquez. Tapia and Davila were tied up and delivered to Sheriff John McClane.
   During the trial, the two men changed their stories and said they were with the gang, but had held back when it reached Peascal and they arrived after all the shooting was over. Both men were found guilty and their hangings set for Friday, August 7, 1874.
   (There is no record of what happened to the policeman, Basquez, implicated in the crime. He apparently disappeared, leaving town on his own or perhaps dealt with by summary execution. It is one of those mysteries of the past.)
   The week of the hanging, Tapia asked that he be allowed to marry Trinidad Bayestero, who had lived with him for several years. The day before the hanging, on Thursday, the two prisoners were allowed to shave and dress in white shirts and black pants. Tapia's friends and relatives were allowed to attend the ceremony. The bride wore a calico dress and black shawl.
   The ceremony was performed by Father Claude Jaillet. He returned the next morning to escort the two men to the scaffold, still wearing the wedding clothes.
   It was not a public hanging; there was a list of official observers. The gallows were built as an extension off the balcony of the old county courthouse. As he was led to the scaffold, Tapia said, "My friends, I am here today to die by hanging. I have killed no person nor helped kill anyone. The people forced the party that was guilty to swear against me; but it is all right. Goodbye." Davila stood with his eyes downcast and said nothing. Screams were heard outside the fence when the prisoners dropped seven feet to their deaths.
   (This is the second of four parts. Part three will appear in this space next Wednesday.)